Our visit to Moose Jaw was another serendipitous recommendation by a local Canadian and spontaneous addition to our travel itinerary.

When a young woman at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Centre asked where we were headed, she strongly recommended that we visit Moose Jaw, which is just a short drive from Regina and was on our way to Saskatoon. So, we adjusted our plans and made reservations for the next day to tour The Tunnels of Moose Jaw. It was so worth a detour!

The underground tour was great fun, even if not entirely factually correct. We took the Chicago Connection Tour that focuses on telling the story of prohibition and Al Capone’s purported connection to Moose Jaw during the 1920s, prior to his 1931 conviction for tax evasion. The tour is given by actors in period clothing who weave the story of bootlegging and smuggling during Prohibition with other possible uses of the tunnels, such as lodging for early Chinese immigrants due to anti-Chinese sentiment. Apparently, there is no evidence for the latter.

The tunnels are elaborate and remarkable for their preservation, and the tour company provides an entertaining story. The railways greatly facilitated Al Capone’s illegal business of selling bootleg whiskey purportedly in bottles labelled “Maple Syrup”. It is quite feasible to imagine that Capone set up a bootleg operation on the Canadian side of the border for transport to the US and there is good reason to believe this is so, despite the lack of physical evidence. Sadly, we weren’t allowed to take photos in the tunnels.

The small town of Moose Jaw, population 34,000, demonstrates great civic pride with the large number of murals located throughout town.

We were hungry after our underground bootlegging excursion and enjoyed a Mushroom Swiss burger with fries and gravy on the side (that’s how they’re served in these parts) at Rosie’s on River Street. Later, we bought quiche, carrot cake and a cookie at the Old Farmhouse Cafe and Bake Company to take with us. We finished our visit with a delicious small milkshake from Deja Vu Cafe but were too busy enjoying the milkshake to take a proper photo.

What would be a visit to Moose Jaw without seeing Mac the Moose, the tallest moose in the world? Mac reclaimed the title in 2019 after new antlers were added, surpassing a rival statue in Norway. We understand that Moose Jaw and their Norwegian competitor have since called a “Moose Truce”.

Oh, and by-the-way, Moose Jaw’s slogan is “Canada’s Most Notorious City” because of its colorful history, especially during the Prohibition era.

RV parking is available for the Tunnels of Moose Jaw Tour on a surface lot between Manitoba Street W and River Street W.

Thanks for following along.