The MILEPOST: Alaska Travel Guide and Trip Planner

Population: 3,072

Fort Macleod is located at the junction of Highways 3 and 2, 103 miles south of Calgary.

Visitor Information: There is a Visitor Information Centre just off of Highway 3.

The original fort, named for Colonel J.F. Macleod, was built in 1874 and was the first outpost of the North West Mounted Police (later the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in western Canada. The town’s Main Street is Alberta’s only provincially designated historic area. The historic Empress Theatre on Main Street is the oldest continuously operating theatre west of Winnipeg.

Visitor services in Fort Macleod include dining, lodging, gas stations and camping. The Sunset Motel offers reasonably priced rooms (email).

Fort Macleod Map

Attractions:

Fort Macleod Golf & Country Club, western Canada’s oldest golf course (established 1890).
The Fort–Museum of the North West Mounted Police, a replica of Fort Macleod, features the history of the North West Mounted Police.
North West Mounted Police 1884 Barracks Provincial Historic Site.
Local re-creation of the official RCMP Musical Ride.
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved buffalo jumps in the word, is located about 3 miles north of Fort Macleod via Highway 2 and 10 miles; guided walks available in July and August.