Alberta's iconic Gopher Hole Museum may not open this year
A quirky roadside attraction in Alberta could be at risk of not opening for the 2026 season, as the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum scrambles to find a safe place to call home.
Located in the small hamlet of Torrington, the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum has become a beloved stop for road trippers, drawing in visitors from all over Alberta and beyond for its displays of taxidermied gophers posed in miniature, often hilarious scenes.
The uncertainty comes as the museum’s current buildings have reached the end of their lifespan, leaving organizers without a reliable space to operate for the 2026 season.
“The buildings are shot. They’re really not good for our purposes anymore,” Laural Kurta, director of the museum, said when speaking with Daily Hive.
World Famous Gopher Hole Museum/Facebook
“The museum’s more popular than ever, but the buildings have had it, and unfortunately, the board never bothered to go ahead and plan for the future, so it left us in a really tight timeline.”
Originally intended to last just five years, the buildings have now been in use for roughly three decades. To continue operating, the museum needs a new space, and while a few options have emerged, none are confirmed.
Despite receiving some interest from other spots in the province, Kurta says they want to keep it in Torrington, where it has become a defining attraction. “They 100 per cent represent rural Alberta, but they are definitively the stories of Torrington, and you can’t really move them anywhere else.”
One potential temporary solution is relocating the museum to the local arena, which is currently exploring the logistics of hosting the attraction for the 2026 season.
Another option is fundraising on its website to help bring in a new structure, but Kurta says efforts have only brought in limited funds so far.
Despite the unclear future, the World Famous Gopher Museum remains an unusual favourite, even though Kurta is unsure why.
World Famous Gopher Hole Museum/Facebook
“I have no freaking idea, I really don’t understand it,” she said. “There are lots of little clips and one-liners in there, some really horrible puns… I think there’s an innocence about it.”
If you were hoping to see the gophers this year, you might still be in luck. Kurta told Daily Hive that the museum is bringing some quirky displays to the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, where it will showcase new, never-before-seen scenes inspired by attendees.