HMCS Haida — Attraction in Hamilton

I rarely leave five-star reviews, but this place deserves it, and more. HMCS Haida is an extremely cool place to visit, even if you are not generally a history nerd. Korean War veterans regularly can be found working there, and they are very, very, very interesting, down to earth, and friendly people. They will tell you about their lives, and give million-dollar advice to you. They will also show you around the ship and explain every bit of it - extremely knowledgeable folks. Unfortunately, these brave men and women won't be around forever, and I strongly recommend having a conversation with them, while you still can. The ship itself is always extremely clean. You are allowed to access almost every room in the ship, although some areas can be hard to get to, as steep ladders are the only way of entry. Displays and guides can be found in every room, explaining the vessels immersive and deep history. Washrooms available are kind of an upgraded version of porta-potty style restrooms, with soap, paper towels, running water, and lots of space. A large gift shop with really cool items is available. No places to get food on premises. Once done exploring Haida, cool places to walk or ride bikes are available, such as along the coast, or inside the city. PRICE is extremely modest for the experience you receive, as it is only...

I took my boys today, on a cooler day in August. I felt like it would have been roasting most other days this summer so far. My 4 year old, who is way more into vehicles and war, was almost too scared to set foot on the ship! I was really surprised. The ladders to get up and down were too steep and he was really apprehensive. I got him up a few and he certainly warmed up the longer we were there. He was also a bit freaked out by the height of the ship above the water.

My 7 year old who wasn't too excited to visit initially ended up enjoying the trip more. He was in and out of different rooms and up and down ladders. Right before we left we caught a guide, Mike, who took us up to hold a shell and showed us how far it would have fired (past the Burlington bridge!). Wish we had run into him earlier, as he was very informative (as I'm sure all guides are).

Kids are given a small booklet with various activities that guide them around the ship and keep them interested. They can earn a cool little dog tag at the end and a comic book with the story of the Haida and Athabascan.

Amazing value with kids free and adults less than $4. We spent a few hours exploring, ate lunch beside it and then wandered the waterfront after. A really great day...

This is a simply amazing ship to visit not only because it is so unique, a Tribal class destroyer and the most decorated due to it's capabilities, with a high number of weapons - clearly a great asset to Hamilton: OK, is not in the best condition and I wish I did not see the rust or the spider nets I saw outside but the entrance ticket is very low priced, and there are lots of people eager to answer your questions, should you have any; we visited it late June 2024 mid week named after a first nation (Haida means 'come on' in many European/Middle Eastern languages and even can find family surnames in that part of the world, I was secretly wondering about this) yet the staff explained this to me, besides detailing the bedding situations for the WWII 200 plus sailors who were sleeping in hammocks as well as during the Korean war until the ship was decommissioned you can wonder on all levels and see how the officers slept properly in beds where recruits from the nearby barracks detailed more important info about this boat squid anti-submarine mortars, anti aircraft and surface guns, high angle guns, torpedoes etc all can be seen here if you like paying attention to...