Nestled in the southern Alberta foothills, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the Bar U Ranch is located in some of the most scenically breathtaking ranching country in the world.

Approximately ninety minutes drive southwest of Calgary, Alberta, the site lies just west of the junction of Highways 22 and 540, along The Cowboy Trail.  Whether driving from Calgary, Banff, Kananaskis, Okotoks, High River or Pincher Creek, Alberta, the ranch is easily accessed and is close to all amenities.

Situated on the crest of a valley overlooking the creek side headquarters of the historic Bar U.

The wheelchair accessible Visitor Centre includes a reception area, fireside lounge, restroom facilities, heritage displays, video theatre and gift shop.  Guests may either walk from the centre down to the ranch headquarters, or take a horse-drawn wagon shuttle.

Hours

The Bar U Ranch National Historic Site is open to the public from the middle of May through the end of September.  Seven days a week, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.  For exact opening and closing dates, please contact the administration office. 

Admission

Adults - $12.50 Seniors - $10.75 Youth (17 & under) - free

Not your ordinary gift store.  Great buys on books, prints, cards, hats, toys, jewellery, you name it.

Plus an assortment of items actually made at the Bar U, including leatherwork and metalwork.  All proceeds go to the Friends of the Bar U Historic Ranch Association.  An annual Friends membership may be purchased at the gift shop for $10.00.

Visitors exploring the heritage buildings on site are invited to literally step back in time to trace the history of the ranch.

At some locations Bar U interpreters demonstrate real ranch skills, such as cattle handling, roping, saddle making and blacksmithing, while telling the true stories of the way it was during the early years in the west.

Visitors gazing down from the visitor centre to the creek side ranch headquarters see a winding gravel road connecting buildings comprising what used to be the largest populated community in the region.  In every sense the Bar U was a community.  Ranch owners and foremen and their families lived and worked here.  Children went to school.  Neighbouring ranchers socialized at the post office.  And cowboys, chore men, cooks, blacksmiths, saddle makers, fencers, Indians and haying crews all made their home here.

Guided tours of the Bar U are usually offered in one-hour intervals, on foot or by horse-drawn wagon, though visitors preferring to take their time and tour the site on their own are welcome to do so.  Illustrated map guides direct guests to all of the heritage buildings while describing the ranch’s historical background.

Many guests choose to end their tours at the Bar U “roundup camp”, a popular site located by Pekisko creek beneath a canopy of cottonwoods.  This is where cowboys working the last of the general roundups called “home on the range”, back in the days when riders took to the hills, often for weeks at a time, in search of tens of thousands of head of roaming cattle.

Seated around the campfire, cook tents and chuckwagon nearby, visitors may hear the songs and stories of a simpler way of life, before railroads and fencing, how at roundup the cook was king, cowboys slept under the stars, cattle were serenaded, and all seemed right with the world.

More than a National Historic Site, the Bar U through its curriculum based school programming offers K-9 students a living ranch experience featuring touchable history. 

Whether exploring the ranch by horse-drawn wagon, visiting roundup camp, touring the blacksmith shop and cookhouse, or hiking the creek side riparian zone, students not only discover a unique part of their Canadian heritage but also learn about an important rangeland environment.

Bar U interpreters guiding school students strive to ignite young imaginations and encourage young minds to think in new ways about the past, while delivering information and experiences that are as engaging and memorable as they are fun.

School Programming Learning Themes   History of Ranching Settlement of the West Canadian History World History Land & Livestock Management Sustainable Living Social & Community Life Cowboy Music, Storytelling & Poetry

Tours, which consist of four rotating programs, generally run four hours, from 10am to 2pm, including a 45:00 minute bag lunch on site.  For inquiries, see Contact information.

Galileo Educational Network
A registered non-profit group, the Galileo Educational Network creates and promotes innovative teaching and learning practices.  Go to www.galileo.org (search Bar U) to see an interactive presentation about the Bar U created by students from the Red Deer Lake School.

The Bar U Ranch hosts a variety of private and after hours functions on a case by case basis.

From weddings to meetings to corporate retreats, the Bar U accommodates a range of private and after hours functions, in and out of doors, at the visitor centre or on the ranch site.  Custom tours and historical presentations may be included on request. 

Because the ability of the Bar U to host after hours functions is subject to many variables, including time, day, weather, available staff and number of guests, customers are advised to contact the administrative office well in advance. 

You’re in good hands at the Bar U.  Whether interacting with visitors, tour or school groups, interpretive staff and volunteers are passionate about the ranch and what they do.  And it shows.  

Most Bar U staff and volunteers come from ranching backgrounds and have reputations not only for their ranching skills and knowledge of ranching history but for the passion they bring to their work.  All take pride in telling the stories of the Bar U as “one of the best kept secrets in western Canadian history.”