Big Sky Garden Railway–Nanton

(click on pictures to see a larger image)

Location     map

Address: Nanton, AB - Highway #2 at 18th Street - 2121 – 18th St.

Gordie’s Review: What was the best part? “Playing with the trains. Riding on the trains. Looking at the trains. Looking at Percy!” (Percy is one of the trains from Thomas the Train Engine. They have one that moves on the track in the Garden Railway area).
Cost: Adults $7, Kids $6
Parking: Free in the parking lot nearby.
Age Range: All ages.
Stay Length: With young kids, you could stay a long time. Gordie could be there for hours. But you could also make it a fairly short time if you wanted to.
Also in the Area: Nanton Playground, Bomber Command Museum of Canada, Miniature Museum

Overall: Gordie had a phenomenal time at the Big Sky Garden Railway. At the front is the Ultimate Trains store front where you can buy what looks to be every piece of Thomas the Train wooden railway merchandise on the market as  well as other model train lines.
 
Once you buy your tickets at the counter, you’re can go into the Garden area at the back. There are two covered rooms with HUGE Thomas layouts with tons of buildings, track and trains. There is also quite a bit of seating for the grown-ups.

  
One of the rooms looks out onto the Garden Railway display.

  
The garden railway is really impressive. They have 22 engines running (one of them is Percy from the Thomas series). They are on timers so they don’t all run at once, giving you something different to look at as you sit and watch.

    
Amongst the layout, they plant a garden for the landscaping and I imagine that it will only get prettier.

 
There are benches in the garden area, where you can sit and watch the trains. You can even bring in a picnic lunch or food from the nearby drive through and eat it in the garden (no food is allowed in the Thomas play areas). It’s also good to note that you have in and out privileges for the day. If you want to go out for lunch or check out another local attraction, you can come back in just by showing your stamped hand.

            

With the price of admission everyone (children and adults) gets a ticket for a 5 minute train ride. My husband is 6’3 and even he was able to ride so it should be accessible for most people. You can also buy more tickets for $2. Gordie was hesitant at first but ended up wanting to go again. We didn’t have time for another ride this time but next time I expect he’ll ride again.

            

The playground, Bomber Command Museum of Canada and the Miniature Museum are also within easy walking distance. If your kids like trains, they will love the Big Sky Garden Railway.

Have you been to Big Sky Garden Railway? Have a suggestion for a review? Would you like to write a guest review? Write your thoughts in the comments.