If the new Fallout series on Amazon Prime has you hunting for your next dose of retro-futurism, Canada has some spots to make your Pip-Boy light up. As a key player in the Manhattan Project and a major source of uranium during the atomic era, the country has its fair share of destinations ripe for exploring historical what-ifs.
Much like the Fallout show and video games, these sites immerse you in a version of the past that feels both familiar and entirely imaginary. You can wander the remains of a ghost town, explore the depths of a cavernous Cold War vault, or even scout an official, government-sanctioned UFO Landing Pad.
Here are some places to go in Canada for a (nuke-free) nostalgia trip:
- Scale the World’s Largest Dinosaur
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The toothy green dino, Dinky, in Fallout: New Vegas. Right: A roadside t-rex statue named Tyra.
(Fallout Fandom, World’s Largest Dinosaur | Facebook)Where: 60 Riverside Dr. West, Drumheller, AB
When: Sunday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | Friday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Cost: $5/person
Reason to go: Around 135 kilometres northeast of Calgary, Drumheller’s giant roadside T-Rex channels Dinky the Dino from Fallout: New Vegas. While the video game behemoth drew inspiration from Tex the T-Rex in Nevada and Mr. Rex in California, their Canadian counterpart ups the ante on size and scale. The kitsch behemoth is 86 feet tall and 65,000 lbs of steel inviting visitors to climb over 100 steps to a mouth-viewing platform. Up to 12 people at a time can gaze out over the Badlands from a toothy platform.
The surrounding area is decorated with dinosaur models and anchored by the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. The venue is loaded with over 160,000 cataloged fossils and 800 on display making it a dream dig site for any Fallout scavenger worth their salt.
- Hunker down at the Diefenbunker
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A Fallout robot in a retro kitchen. Right: The Diefenbunker “Nuclear Family Kitchen.”
(@fallout | Instagram, @diefenbunker | Instagram)Where: 3929 Carp Rd, Ottawa, ON
When: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Saturday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cost: $18.50/adult
Reason to go: This four-story underground bunker, designed during the height of the Cold War, is Canada’s equivalent to the vaults in Fallout. Built when the fear of nuclear annihilation was a daily reality for Canadians, the space now offers a fascinating peek into the survival strategies of the 1960s. Exhibits on Canada’s peacekeeping roles along with the Cold War’s impact on society, all marked by the relentless ticking of the Doomsday Clock, are housed within the bunker’s original military quarters.
A “Nuclear Family Kitchen” brings space age aesthetics to life with a level of detail that Fallout fans will find strikingly familiar. Complete with artifacts from the era, it mirrors the game’s retro-future design giving a detailed look at what bunker life would have been like.
- Radiate curiosity at the Canadian Nuclear Heritage Museum
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A radiation suit in Fallout: New Vegas. Right: A pink inflatable suit for radioactive environments to minimize the risk of inhaling or contacting contaminated air.
(Nukapedia, @nuclearheritage | Instagram)Where: 51 Poplar Street, Deep River, ON
When: Tours must be booked in advance with info@nuclearheritage.com.
Cost: Free
Reason to go: You’ll find intriguing artifacts like red underwear worn by workers in radioactive zones — a practical but bizarre safety reminder to change before going home. The museum also holds detailed reactor models, vintage radiation detectors, and even the earliest computers used in nuclear science. With over 600 physical artifacts, 1,000 books, and thousands of documents and photographs, the collection will immerse you in the full spectrum of Canada’s nuclear history.
Beyond exhibits, the museum is located in Deep River, a community established in 1945 to house employees from the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. The building itself was originally used for the labs’ administrative and maintenance work, adding a layer of historical authenticity to your visit.
- Turn back the dial at the MZTV Museum of Television
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A vintage television in Fallout 76 with the message “Overseer direction: Proceed to exit.” Right: A retro television with a sharp angled wooden façade on a mid-century modern TV stand.
(@fallout | Instagram, @mztv | Instagram)Where: 64 Jefferson Avenue, Toronto, ON
When: Tuesday to Friday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: $10/adults
Reason to go: The MZTV Museum of Television in Toronto has one of the world’s largest collections of television sets and related memorabilia. It provides a historical overview of the television industry, featuring everything from the earliest mechanical TVs to the advent of color broadcasting. Key attractions include iconic models like the Philco Predicta, known for its futuristic design, and the extremely rare RCA Phantom Teleceiver. The collection also holds personal TVs owned by Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Special exhibits honor pioneers like John Logie Baird and Philo T. Farnsworth, whose contributions were crucial to the development of television technology.
The museum offers a link to the atomic age and mid-century modern design, themes that are prevalent throughout the Fallout series. The museum’s collection captures the essence of the era when optimism about technology and the future shaped popular culture.
- Explore Val-Jalbert ghost town
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The Ghoul surveys an abandoned town. Right: Decrepit buildings in Val-Jalbert.
(@falloutonprime | Instagram, @villagevaljalbert | Instagram)Where: 95, rue St-Georges, Chambord, QC
When: Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $42/day pass
Reason to go: Val-Jalbert lets Fallout fans walk through a genuine ghost town. The once-thriving village, established in 1901 and abandoned by 1927, now stands frozen in time. It’s a life-sized diorama of early 20th-century living complete with period machinery, tactile models and theatrical re-enactments that explain the process of converting wood into paper pulp.
Visitors can explore the historic buildings, like the general store that now doubles as a café and souvenir shop. Or there’s the pulp mill, where you can catch a cable car up the mountain for a spectacular view of the iconic Ouiatchouan Falls (20 metres higher than Niagara Falls). For the more daring, there’s a glass-bottomed platform over the cascading waters.
You can stay in renovated houses or mini-cabins on-site, which make a perfect base camp for those who love the spirit of adventure and repurposed ruins in Fallout.
- Pour over the World’s Largest Coffee Pot
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The Giant Teapot in Fallout 4, surrounded by power lines and pink flamingoes. Right: The Giant Coffee Pot looms over a massive coffee mug.
@fallout | Instagram, Creative CommonsWhere: SK-44, Davidson, SK
When: Open year-round
Cost: Free
Reason to go: Davidson’s giant coffee pot, standing 24 feet tall and modeled to look like it’s forever mid-pour, is a quirky slice of roadside Canadiana that Fallout fans will appreciate. It’s a nod to the franchise’s affection for the grand and the bizarre, similar to the in-game Giant Teapot — both are fantastical takes on everyday items enlarged to epic proportions. With its enormous capacity, the monument could theoretically fuel 150,000 cups of coffee.
Located at the start of a well-frequented walking trail, the coffee pot is a practical landmark for visitors wanting to check out the surrounding scenery and learn about the area’s history. Statues of The Fiddler, Red River Cart, and road construction cart pay tribute to local Métis heritage, giving the type of background lore you’d discover at a Red Rocket stop in Fallout.
- Tour the forgotton Lower Bay Station
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An abandoned metro line in Fallout 3. Right: A Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) train decorated for Halloween in Lower Bay station.
(Nukapedia, @takethettc | Instagram)Where: 240 Bay St., Toronto, ON
When: Varies
Cost: Free
Reason to go: Opened in 1966 and closed just six months later due to operational inefficiencies, this abandoned Toronto train station now serves primarily as a film set and occasionally hosts public events. The station’s layout didn’t support effective cross-platform interchange, leading to delays that affected the entire transit system. Despite its brief operational period, the station remains almost unchanged from the 1960s, with original signage and mid-century seating. It has featured in iconic movies like Suicide Squad and Total Recall, as well as television shows, music videos, and commercials.
The station looks like some of abandoned locations in Fallout, especially the ghoul-filled train tunnels in Fallout 3. If you visit Lower Bay Station for the TTC Halloween Fest fundraiser, expect a spooky tour on an empty train with tons of animatronic installations on the platform. Or, catch Doors Open Toronto in the spring for a free look at this hidden piece of transit history.
- Glow up at the Neon Lights Museum
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Neon signs in Fallout: New Vegas. Right: The Neon Sign Museum.
(Fallout Wiki, @travelalberta | Instagram)Where: 104 St NW, Edmonton, AB
When: Open daily
Cost: Free
Reason to go: The outdoor museum showcases an impressive collection of historical neon signs that once defined Edmonton’s nighttime skyline. From gleaming diners to old-school movie theaters, each sign tells a story of a bygone era, similar to the backdrops in Fallout where neon cuts through the game’s often bleak settings.
- Beam up to the UFO Landing Pad
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A crashed UFO by two alien bodies and a person in a Fallout vault suit. Right: A walkway to a windowed lookout with a UFO-shaped roof.
(Nukapedia, UFO Landing Pad | Facebook)Where: 4844-5012 53 St, St. Paul, AB
When: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: Free
Reason to go: In 1967, St. Paul launched an ambitious project to celebrate Canada’s Centennial: the world’s first UFO Landing Pad. Supported by the federal government, the project established the city as a welcoming site for out-of-towners and extraterrestrial visitors. It now includes a boutique showcasing works from over 50 local artisans and a café that offers panoramic views of the town.
Decked out with a 30-tonne platform featuring a mosaic of stones from every Canadian province, the monument symbolizes open arms to the universe. For fans of the Fallout series, visiting the UFO Landing Pad is a chance to connect with themes of exploration and the unknown.
Note: Prices are accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
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