I vividly remember the first time I encountered an episode of Corner Gas. It was the early 2000s, Andrew and I were newly married, and I guess living under a rock or something because despite the success of this show, we were still unaware of it at this point. I was home alone, slightly bored waiting for Andrew to get home, so I flicked on the TV. There on the screen appeared two people by the side of the road with only a flat wheat field in the background; they were having a conversation about the Saskatchewan Roughriders. This stopped me in my tracks. I was shocked by its mundane familiarity. Eyes wide, I sat down on the couch to watch the rest of the episode, and thus discovered the weirdly familiar world of Brent, Lacey, Hank, Wanda, Karen, Davis, Oscar, Emma, and Dog River.
When Andrew got home I was excited to tell him about this strange new sitcom that didn’t really feel strange at all. Unlike almost everything else, this was not set in a city, not set on the coast, not set in the United States. It was in the middle of nowhere, in our neighbouring province!
Of course it didn’t take me long to realize everyone else already knew about Corner Gas, and loved it. The show wasn’t just comfort-viewing and comedy — it somehow made smalltown prairie folk feel seen and understood. At least, that’s how I felt, anyway.
As Corner Gas rose to prominence over the next few years, I began to hear about people making a pilgrimage to the actual set in the tiny town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan. This seemed like a pretty achievable goal, but given its distance off the TransCanada Highway, it just didn’t seem like something I’d ever do. (It’s only 20 minutes south of Pense, but then after your visit you have to return to Highway #1, making it a 40-minute roundtrip that just feels inconvenient if you’re trying to get to or from Calgary, let’s say.)
Until last week!
Andrew and I were exploring all kinds of things in southern Saskatchewan and, feeling relaxed and vacation-y, impulsively took the side-trip down to Rouleau to see it for ourselves.
If you’re a fan, you probably already know that the gas station, store, and cafe set has already been taken down — simply because it was never built to last. It was just built to last a few months initially, I think, and so, given the unexpected success of the show, the set lasted much longer than ever anticipated or intended. It had to be destroyed, I guess. Also sadly of note, the grain elevator that figured prominently in the background of many of the show’s iconic shots, has also been removed.
But do not be deceived! I’d heard that there was NOTHING left to see in Rouleau… but that’s not true. Fans of Corner Gas can still see the exterior of many of the buildings, and if you plan your visit better than we did, you can actually go in and drink at the bar in the hotel. (It’s closed on Mondays, which is the day we were there.) You can even take a self-guided walking tour of Dog River!
Here’s what’s left to see!
Well, there you go. In my opinion, there’s still lots to see in Dog River, I mean, Rouleau — but check the hours of the hotel bar before you go!