This 27-hectare (66-acre) park (1900 Heritage Dr. SW, 403/268-8500, mid-May–Aug. daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sept.–early Oct. Sat.–Sun. only 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Gasoline Alley open year-round daily 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m., adult $20, senior $16, child $15, an extra $12 per person for unlimited rides) is on a peninsula jutting into Glenbow Reservoir southwest of downtown.
At the entrance is a cobbled courtyard with shops and the excellent Selkirk Grille Restaurant. In the same building as the restaurant is Gasoline Alley, an indoor exhibit open year round showcasing the history of vehicles. Behind here, more than 100 buildings and exhibits help re-create an early-20th-century pioneer village. Many of the buildings have been moved to the park from their original locations.
Highlights include a Hudson’s Bay Company fort, a two-story outhouse, a working blacksmith’s shop, an 1896 church, a tepee, and an old schoolhouse with original desks. A boardwalk links stores crammed with antiques, and horse-drawn buggies carry passengers along the streets. You can also ride in authentic passenger cars pulled by a steam locomotive or enjoy a cruise in a paddle wheeler on the reservoir.
A traditional bakery sells cakes and pastries, and full meals are served in the Wainwright Hotel. To get there from downtown, take the C-train to Heritage Station and transfer to bus #502 (weekends only).