Reviews of Bar U Ranch National Historic Site (Travel Agency)

Gloria Williams

Great tour on horse drawn wagon.

Will Freeman

Stop in and enjoy a picnic

Terry Hoffart

Over the top living history museum wonderful caring staff excellent book/gift store kindness abounds. The campfire stories and the lady teller superb a joy to behold. The carriage team so Western and fun I hated to leave

Red A. Book Recently

Very nice visit.

Hιтeѕн ρατєl

Great learning experience

Dan Marcinkowski

Lewis in the saddle shop is so entertaining. I spend about an hour with him every time I go. He alone is a worth taking in an afternoon there. But there also are other great staff working as hosts. Stop at the chuckwagon across the bridge.

Mike Dalebozik

Great learning experience for kids.

Don N

What a wonderful way to remember and celebrate Alberta's rich ranching heritage. The staff and volunteers here are always so friendly and love to tell stories of the ranch history.

Rafael Olivares

Educational, historical site. Enjoy old stuff and simple times.

Robert Chiappini

Amazing historical spot

A&W Hamilton&Barchard

A favourite place for us. Picturesque drive along Hwy 22 South. Beautiful ranch, rich history, knowledgeable staff. Great place to picnic or indulge from the cafe now open. I highly recommend Bar U Ranch and a stop at Longview Jerky Shop.

The Robb's

I wish we had more time. Loved what we seen of this place. So much history in such a short time.

A Barnes

Not an experience I expected it to be! Although the ranch history and the buildings are fascinating and well maintained, the staff and treatment let me down. I would suggest to just move around the building on your own without booking a tour. I booked a tour for my family (spouse and 2 kids under 8), cost me close to $60 and was useless in my opinion. They gave some history on the ranch and dropped us down near the building without bringing us back up near visitor center. Maybe they are expecting more far away tourists to visit them and spend tourist money rather than someone more nearby. I missed the Canadian hospitality on this one, avoid if you can and a better experience would be the Heritage Park in Calgary.

Rosalie du Plessis

Seldom busy, great place to pass a day. You can walk, explore, learn and rest all in one place. The food at the cafeteria is GREAT!! 2019 has fee admission for youth so VERY affordable as well. They also have some great events that you can see like the old fashion harvest.!!

Ken deKlerk

All you can do at the Bar-U this year is walk around. Nothing open. No restaurant. No gift shop. No dining area to eat your own lunch in. No cowboy coffee at the round up fire. We still love going just to enjoy the solitude. Miriam is still at the camp fire to give you the history of the ranch. She's a gem.

Christine Robb

A very cool place with a view into our history. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff, hands on tour and a great place for some food. Leave your technology behind and enjoy a trip into the past!

Amber Capling

The thread of history here touches France, England, and WWI. Unique and significant place of history.

Carrie F

One of a kind National historic site..,.rich in history

jacqueline sanchez

Friendly staff, great experience

Peter and Corrie Bubik

Beautiful day trip from Calgary

Olha Zozulyak

So much history. Needed more time. Restaurant was slow.

Scott Schmitt

I'm from Calgary and this is the first time I've ever been here, I just loved it, so in-expensive and a beautiful drive heading out there. The ranch has such an amazing history it's actually quite shocking this all happened in our back yard.

Brian M

Awesome place to learn a bif about Cowbow culture and the people who made Alberta what it is today. Very special place. Ghd roundup explanation by Miryam is fantastic....

Yvonne Anderson

Very interesting place. Great history of ranching and Alberta. Worth the visit

Moustafa Mahmoud

Great place steeped in Canadian History , we learnt a lot from Mike

Debbie Maier

Really cool and informative.

Mustufa Kasidwala

What an excellent historic site. Very well maintained by parks Canada!. Definitely learned a lot about this very important piece of Alberta & Canada's history. Kids loved checking out the old buildings and animals. All staff were absolutely amazing and very informative!!

Andrea Dionne

Amazing piece of Canadian History

Deborah Payne

What hidden gem and a must do for locals and tourists. The staff are all very knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming. We especially enjoyed the history from Miriam. Lewis was very informative and shared the saddle making process. We loved the Johnny Bread (corn bread) from the ranch house and we wish we could remember her name. The kids loved the molasses cookies. The lady in the gift shop was fabulous too and the prices were great. This is one of the best experiences I have had in a National Park. We will be back.

Selene Miller

LOVE the Bar U ranch. We went to the old fashion rodeo. Real cow boys compete in regular ranch work.

James Gully007

We've visited it in Alberta open farm day, It was a sort of fun. Our kids enjoyed seeing and feeding horses. We had a horses-cart lovely tour. We also loved the historical post office and the old house. There was a stamped musical stage , too!

Peter Hyland

Very interesting history of ranching in Alberta. Worth a visit.

Daniel Morgan

Love sharing my experiences on locations I have visited.

Michele Jones

The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, located near Longview, Alberta, is a preserved ranch that for 70 years was one of the leading ranching operations in Canada. At its peak, the ranch extended over 160,000 acres (65,000 ha) with 30,000 cattle and 1000 Percheron horses. Two owners were instrumental in the establishment of the Calgary Stampede, forming part of the Big Four. The Big Four were the wealthy Alberta cattlemen Patrick Burns, George Lane, A. E. Cross and Archibald J. McLean.

Michael H

Great place. Very interesting

ReBecca Horne

Put your cell phone on silent and step back in time for a couple hours. So glad a place like bar U exists. To briefly touch both the harsh nature and beauty of the original ranching life.

Belinda Waters

Great place to spend time exploring Canada's glorious past.

Veronica Linkletter

Not as big as I thought it was. Also I was under the impression that there is a restaurant. This is not true, it's more of a cafe. However having said that the food was great and the staff very friendly.

Caroll Hibshman

The roast beef sandwich served on a bun with real gravy ($9.99) is out of this world.

Cliff Gonzalez

Great place with a lot of history

Manfred Kintop

Lots of fun, great place for the family. We especially enjoyed the trail ride. The guides were very informative. And it's free if you have a park pass!

Graham Louden

Interesting place and very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Should visit in summer... nice view of the Rockies on the horizon.

Jerry Jones

Loved it. Check out Bar U! Really good food and nice place to visit. Living history.

Ngo Hai Anh

This is truly a national treasure!! The site is true to its roots and the staff are very well informed and dedicated to the site, its history and artifacts. Anyone interested in Percheron draft horses should see the teams they have there. Magnificent!!

Kristy Kivia

Great spot to bring guests and learn about Alberta's heritage. Excellent storytellers.

Dr. Marco Navarro-Genie

An amazing experience. The Bar U Ranch is well worth the stop. There is lots to learn here about the history of this ranch. I definitely recommend sitting down by the fire and listening to the presentation given.

Sly Houst

Great settler history of one of the world's biggest cattle ranches. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable about ranch history. The ranch was on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut'ina First Nation and the Stoney Nakoda Nation. I'm disappointed there is very little reference to Indigenous folks and how the ranch affected them. An honest inclusion of Indigenous history in the area would move my ranking from 3* to 5*. C'mon Parks Canada. You can do better!

Ray Hodgson

Always worth the visit! Make sure you stop for some camp coffee and listen to the story of the old west. You might be surprised by what a day in the life of a cowboy was really like.

Bob White

Excellent display of ranching history.

Dennis Terribile

Beautiful place, and the staff very friendly. Perfect site for school field trips

Ryan Stade

Well worth a visit. I would have liked to stay longer.

Pawel Kozielski

I came down today with my parents, we had a blast!! Many friendly and informative staff members here happy to talk to us. The historical value of Bar U Ranch is through the roof. I am so happy to know the buildings are original too. Tucked away in the scenic foothills of Alberta this place is highly recommended by me!!

John Spenceley

Great spot and great people. People who work there because they want to, not because they're paid to. A little rough around the edges but so was the Old West

Pat Higgins

Funny and informative oh and have the coffee as the lady says put hair on your chest lol

ryan chan

Lots to see, very good historians and living history volunteers on site

Bryon Howard, Realtor

It is a awesome place to check cowboy history in Alberta..

Wayne Spivak

We visited Bar U Ranch with the idea that we would just drop in for a quick visit and ended up staying for almost 5 hours. I cannot understate how interesting we found the interpretation of this important aspect of Canadian history, which until our visit we were quite unaware of. Highly recommend. Make sure to talk with the interprters who have lots of great information to share.

Emil Holmgren

Good historical site.

satbir joura

Great location, definitely worth the trip.

Christien Stone

Great historical value.

Elmer Murga

Very nice, picturesque price of Alberta history.

Adam Gordon

Wonderful location, staff are knowledgeable and personable. Beautiful location for all ages. Horse wagon rides continually go bask and forth making it easier for those with limited mobility

janet stretton

Living in Calgary all my life, I had never stopped here …. until today. We finished camping further south and pulled in to this National Historical Site. It’s still a working ranch. But, quite small compared to the original size and scope …

Heather Loreen

Should be better to post signs with the attractions provided, many parts you're not allowed to go in and no information posted on the doors

Laura Rincon del Angel

Beautiful location - nice grounds & good interpretative centre with helpful & interesting local staff. Bar U celebrates the history of Ranching in Canada.

Eric B

Great learning experience

Jeff Ryan

The ginger biscuits at the Cookhouse are amazing! Does anyone know if they still bake them? Last time i was there they even shared the recipe!

David Smith

Awesome historical site, take enough time (3-4 hours) to see every building on this site.

Carole caron

Nice attraction.

mark veitch

awesome site lots to see and do. relaxing

Chris Pawluk

Beautifully maintained historical ranch. Ask Bruce for the historical perspective. This ranch saved the area from encroachment of the Americans. Thank the Lord!

Katy Emanuel

The people working there are incredible!

Alan Chiu

No wi-fi

Edgerton A Hightower

Amazing place... Christmas crafty show was down in vendors from last year but still a great show

John Shelton

Very nice place to walk and see historic houses in the old days.

Christie Thacker

A nice historic site that gives you a good idea about how Alberta's early ranchers and pioneers lived and worked on the open range.

Tanya B

The ranch did have charming guides, but some of buildings were virtually empty with no in-depth explanation of what the building was used for. There was antique farm equipment scattered about, but most of the pieces weren't labeled so a visitor wouldn't really know what they were looking at. Having grown up on a farm in Alberta, I found this experience very underwhelming, especially since its been granted the distinction of being a historical site. I had hoped it would be a rich educational experience, but those choosing to visit the site to learn about life on a ranch would be better off going some where else. This space really could be so much more. Hopefully it improves over time.

Kenneth Fung (Kenneth Fung)

Great day out with wonderful interpreters of the Bar U ranch aspects of ranching life. We were interested to learn about the Stoney Nakoda First Nation and their history with the ranch. Highly recommend the picnic lunch.

Peter Stolc

Great place to see and learn about the early stage of Alberta - great staff with lots of interesting stories

anke effey

Good Parks Canada location for learning about Canadian Ranching operations and how they developed. Interpreters are found at various building but it feels like wherever they are not at that day you are left to your own devices. Our kids 3-7 enjoyed the 1.5 hours we spent there and it is a great place to stretch legs as you enjoy the scenic hwy 22 along the foothills from Calgary to Crowsnest pass or vice versa

A J Jerry Flaman

Such a beautiful place to go for a walk and learn some Alberta history. Guides are knowledgeable. Lewis is an awesome poet.

Mary Salvani

Great experience, very knowledgeable staff!

Zeke News

Great to hear the history of the Bar U Ranch and its contribution to wild west economy. They were hard working cowboys.

Steve Won

Excellent get away from busy life. Specially Canada day.

Ed VanWieren

A beautiful ranch along Highway 22. Give yourself at least a couple hours to meander through, and definitely stop by the round-up camp to share a coffee & chat with Bruce, who well tell you a lot about the history of the place. Make room for a burger at the end of the day - you won't regret it!

Satbir Joura

So beautiful, we live in a spectacular Province

E Cheeney

Great day trip location! Ne hour south of YYC.Theyve got picnic sites on the ranch too! Great cookhouse cafe menu, home cooked pies... Hay wagon ride is a great experience! A wonderful place with real authentic western hospitality.

cedric cunningham

Wow, better then heritage Park. Aweome

Blake Downs

An interesting site to walk around and see the historic buildings. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable.

Jérôme Boutin

Excellent experience, all the interpreters are very informative. Plan more time than the designated 2 hrs, we spent 5.5hrs there. So much to see and do. We will definitely come back.

Christopher Klassen

Historical still working Ranch. Originally 160,000 acres. GREAT staff and real cowboys. Authentic buildings and interiors. Extremely educational.

Nicole Soltys

Wonderful working ranch museum with friendly and knowledgeable staff. We spent longer than expected time here because it was so interesting. Shuttle vehicles were offered (and accepted) due to the chilly weather and limited mobility of some members in our small group of 4 people. Definitely recommended

Charm D

Fun place... gonna miss the Aug 19th rodeo. Friendly knowledgeable staff. Too bad the smoke was really bad cause it made all the pictures hazy.

Chad Milroy

Participated in a Cowboy Challenge at the ranch and was very fortunate to see and pet the buffalo each morning. Beautiful ranch

Anson

It was excellent. Love the place.

JC Murphy

Beautiful place. Too bad it not wheelchair accessible

Mike Paterson

Great place everyone should come out here for a history lesson ( great staff).

Ken Bowser

Loved it!

David Clarkson

Great tour, with guides who knew what they were talking about, and engaged the group of students we were with.

Sean Kheraj

Awesome place, you'll definitely learn new stuff. Free with Canada Parks Pass.

John Smith

Great place to visit to learn about the role a ranch played in Canada's history!

Sid Gregr

Spectacular location for a wedding!

Dale Haigh

Excellent ! Shows how hard it must have been for early settlers

TestMummy

Great !!!

Tim Ohara

This was so much more than we had expected. We thought we would walk around and look at old buildings. The people were so friendly and informative. We very much enjoyed it. And the price was very reasonable. We probably stayed there 2-3 hours. Because of time we did not eat at the cafe or visit the gift shop

Ray Gee

Learn something new every on visit

Enrique Aliaga

Must see for a piece of Alberta/Canadian history, beautiful location

VIPUL JASANI

Great place for a family day trip. Surprising amount of history here.

Colleen Randall

Loved it. So peaceful and so much to see and do. Also bought a pie to take home with me

john clarkson

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Bar U. Great exhibits and the Stoney Nakoda camp is an excellent addition.

Matthew Brazeau

Nice way to spend an afternoon. Very interesting

Zelicious

Really cool location. Great place to pick up souvenirs and food if it happens to be on the way to wherever you're heading. Worth checking out at least once!

Ramon Saavedra

A gem of the southern Alberta foothills. Highly recommended to visit. It offers an often unexplored part of our western history and a connection to the Mother country.

Jacintha Jacquard

Interesting place and friendly explanations about the most authentic and amazing ranch in Alberta. Living history of those who contributed to the most amazing world of cowboy rodeo exhibition. You will spend a beautiful day in this historic place.

Sukhvinder Malhotra

Kids had a great day wandering around the ranch and checking things out. Not much hands on for kids and staff down on the grounds didn't really interact much with the kids.

Peter Wallis

Fantastic piece of Canadian Western history. Staff at the Ranch were all very friendly and shared some great stories. Great place for families to visit.

Jessica Pelland

Hot but very entertaining

Samantha Pinto

Our daughter's wedding was there

Adena Rounding

Albertans must visit this place.Great historic story of this ranch.

Dan S

This is a great place to get a taste of the OLD west.It is a truly beautiful place nestled in the foothills of Alberta. Two of my friends and I volunteer every Wednesday .We paimt,repair tables ,work on old machinery,,haul firewood or any other chore they have for us. It truly is a world away. You will enjoy your visit.

Cathy Prohl

Very well kept, still operational ranch. Friendly and informative staff, good parking. Expect a bit of walking, but it’s worth it.

Graham Sucha

Had a wonderful tour of the site on a wagon! Beautiful landscape.

Cheryl Dobranski

Amazing place. Will be coming back

Marina

It was ok... pretty view of the mountains tho.

Dean Decker

Love seeing our Alberta ranch history preserved for future generations to see. Authentic displays, buildings and a horse-drawn wagon ride. Cowboy coffee and gingersnaps were a nice touch. We also enjoyed the chore horse competition, and Dad threw a loop in roping practice. It brought back many memories of his childhood on the farm.

John Newell

Always interesting, every time learn something new

David Nyarko

Extremely interesting

Shelly Rulli

I didnt think I'd have much of an interest in going to visit an historical ranch, but I was def wrong. The staff were incredibly nice and knowledgeable; they even gave me tons of tips on what to do in Waterton. It was amazing learning about an important part of Alberta history that i never even thought about. Go, give yourself at least 2 hours and hope it was as fascinating to others as if was for me.

Yvonne Harris

Grandkids 3 and 5 loved roaming from building to building. Super friendly staff.

Veronica Ruiz Godoy

Great place to bring your little ones to learn about Calgary

Ross

Nice experience. We didn't leave enough time to see it all well. Great French fries too.

Cindy Shaw

Great little place to spend a day. Beautiful land and loved the history lesson from the french lady by the fire.

Randy

Such a great place for adults and kids. Brings you back into the past. Great experience. We were fortunate enough to be there for the work horse competition. Bring water!!! They dont sell any in the park!! They do have a refill water bottle available in the main building.

Peter Wiebe

Nice visit, good turnout!

Helmut Strauss

A gem of Alberta

John Simpson

Great piece of Canadian history

Evan Rankin

Great place to visit.

Vipin Savai

A must see.

Jorden Brown

Took the family here for Canada Day. It was a fantastic experience for all ages. It is nice to see the Canadian Government investing in heritage that represents early settlers. Thank you to the staff for an amazing day!!

Patricia Peckham

A really interesting place and the campfire stories on Canada Day were a lot of fun.

Glenda Vanderploeg

Awesome place to bring the family

John Egeland

A great place to learn about how cowboy really lived and what the settlers dealt with. Wonderful spot. Pretty cool displays of the many different kinds of barbed wire. I never knew there was such a variety.

Mathieu Béland-Lachance

Very nice setup! Good food & staff!

Mike Eddy

Great location to stargaze.

Ross Butler

Had a great day with the family!

Ciaran Brooks

I'm so glad we finally stopped in and visited this historic ranch! There is so much information about the history of the area, the people who lived and ranched here, and the importance of preserving the ecosystem.

Jason Burrows

Lots to do and see.

Glenn Monk

Worth the visit. Listening to the history from the interpreters is incredible! We will be back!

Anita VZ

First time visiting this site. Very interesting and would go back again in July or August.

Charles F

It was not what I expected. We took the children there from work. We didnt see alot of farm animals as expected. Even the horses were just small numbers. I told the other group to channel their field trip to somewhere else fun for the other children. Especially driving for 1hr 40 minutes with 23 children.

Andrew de la Ronde

Some of it is under construction but what I saw was really enjoyable

Genevieve Schmidt

A most interesting place. Very kind staff! ????

Jeremy Knodel

Fabulous! If you don't know about Alberta history, horses, and western friendliness, you need to go here. Everyone that works there is happy and friendly and that makes you happy and friendly. Good covid practices. Spend enough time to get to know a horse...will set you up for another week of work in the big city.

Laurie Donaldsn

Amazing experience. Great learning opportunity for the kids. Well worth the drive from Calgary.

Jay Wickens

Nice place to visit. Great staff very informative.

doug spielman

Interesting site with enthusiastic, knowledgable and friendly presenters. The cost is very reasonable.

murray phillips

The buildings are well preserved and it was nice to have an interpreter in the cook house while was making cookies in the cook house. We went during the chore horse competition and it was neat to watch and they had a pamphlet telling you about it. The book that you get when you go in is very detailed and will visit again in the future.

Greg Candy

Was out there for a MEC bike ride

robert stokes

Surprisingly interesting. My 9 year old son enjoyed it as well.

Ron Worshek

It was an amazing tour, highly recommend to anyone wanting to find out about our awesome heritage.

YT12ish

Too short but beautiful.

Daniel Valderrama

A grey historic site.

Marian Johnson

It is a great place for a day trip. Fun and activities for all ages, including crafts, videos, branding, wagon ride, roping and rope making. There is a restaurant but we brought a picnic lunch.

Andrea Prado

The place looks absolutely amazing still!! Funny story, I broke down on the side of the road yesterday and found a knife that had the words Bar U Ranch on it ???? I looked it up on Google and this is the site that came up, the funny part of the story is I work and help restore that back in the early 90s and it still looks as good as the day we left there!! Excellent job on keeping it up!!????????

Vikki Perkins

It ok, Interesting history about cow boys

RON BROOKS

Awesome place to see the past and to have a great burger.

Wanda

The history of this ranch is steeped in Legend. As a National Historic Site, it will continue to tell stories to future generations about its significance. The displays and park staff are all exceptional. Wear good shoes. You will be walking a lot.

Grant Stange

Enjoy the grounds. Staff and volunteers are awesome. Great experience for all ages and abilities

Elliot Norman

Ride wagons and experience ranching in Alberta. Learn how to rope and feed livestock. Hosts events and celebrations yearly. Great site for kids to visit.

Brad Lorne

Unique little treasure of history, tucked away in the picturesque foot hills.

Dale Pulkinen

Really enjoyed this historic site. All the information provided was very interesting, the staff was lovely and of course the location was beautiful and well preserved. Would recommend for a family outing, small children will enjoy the farm animals.

Kel GS

A true destination stop in Southern Alberta. Check their calendar for the Great events put on in the summer months. I love the Christmas Market in December, hosted by Cattle Cait McLean.

Marcella Parker

Worth a visit, the guides on site are an excellent source of information, lots of old buildings to look at, and had some coffee or tea beside the fire while we learned about the history of chuck wagon racing. Everyone was super friendly, and now we know the history of the percheron horses in Canada. We came for a special event, which they hosted for us, facilities were clean, staff were helpful, plenty of parking on site, and HWY 22x from there which runs North/South is a lovely drive.

jinx and randy romans

Beautiful, fun, interesting place. Great for all ages. Note that they do not sell bottled water and only water available is where you check in. If you have a parks pass the admission is free. Definitely will return.

Penny Hodgson

I visited this ranch for business purposes, so it was not officially open when I visited. Although, I am very anxious to bring my family for a visit when it IS open so we can enjoy the venue. It has lot's of interesting history and I look forward to going back.

Ovidio Caceres

If you ou like the WEST, horses and cowboys make sure to experiance all of this.

Peter Hunter

This place is Awesome. Brings me back oh so much Great memories of how my grandparents lived back in the days. This place is so Much the worth of the "Old Alberta Western Days @ it's Best" God bless Our Alberta History of 125 years.

David Gamble

Cow boy town

Alimat Adebimpe

The guide was really interesting. The kids loved their experience too.