Alberta's gopher museum closed until further notice as owners find new facility

A quirky Alberta roadside attraction that has delighted travellers for decades with its stuffed rodents in tiny costumes is closed until further notice.

The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, a hamlet about 120 kilometres north of Calgary, made the announcement online earlier this week.

Laural Kurta, museum director, said she was forced to close the doors because the two historical buildings that house the exhibits need to be replaced.

“We have done every patch repair, staple, spackle, everything we could possibly do, and it is just at its end,” Kurta said in an interview Tuesday.

She added that the collection needs to be heat and humidity controlled because of the taxidermy, and the buildings can no longer sustain it.

“Nobody thought this place would last more than five years,” she said. “The museum has now been open for 30, and it’s busier than ever.”

The museum closed its doors last Tuesday. It was in a former century-old schoolhouse joined by a small hallway to a grain elevator office.

It opened in 1996 and features stuffed Richardson’s ground squirrels, commonly called gophers in Western Canada, in dioramas dressed in costumes.

There’s a rodent in an Edmonton Oilers jersey playing hockey, a rodent blacksmith hammering on an anvil, a Mountie gopher, a bank robber gopher, a three-gopher musical and medal-winning rodents on the Olympic dais.

Kurta’s parents helped set up the museum and her mother ran it for 24 years until she fell ill. A group of retired seniors volunteered their time to run the museum until the COVID-19 pandemic when Kurta then took over.

The museum was launched with a provincial startup grant but has been self-sufficient since, relying on admission fees by donation.

The community has started an online fundraiser to build a new museum and hopefully keep it in Torrington.

Stuffed Richardson’s ground squirrels are displayed at the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington, Alta., in this undated handout photo.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout – World Famous Gopher Hole Museum (Mandatory Credit)

It has a long way to go. As of Tuesday afternoon, about $13,500 has been raised. About $300,000 is needed.

Until then the gophers will hit the road.

Kurta has been lending out the dioramas to some small museums and they even provided some displays for the Calgary Comic Expo earlier this year.

“We’re not completely gone,” she said.

“We’re just going to focus more on how we’re going represent in the community until we’re able to rebuild.”

Gopher museum shut down until further notice
Stuffed Richardson’s ground squirrels are displayed at the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington, Alta., in this undated handout photo.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout – World Famous Gopher Hole Museum (Mandatory Credit)

Kurtas said she never wanted to run the gopher museum, but felt compelled to keep it open for her family and for everyone else who loves it.

“Yes, it’s silly and the gophers are wearing funny clothes, and that’s part of why people come, but it also does tell the history of the community,” she said.

“It’s not just Torrington — it’s also the stories of small town Alberta.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2026.