Sidling Through Saskatchewan

If you’ve never been to Saskatchewan (like me!) it’s easy to think of this Canadian province as prairies and nothing else, however, this really isn’t the case! Yes, Saskatchewan grows a large proportion of Canada’s wheat, but even so, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting together only actually account for less than 7% of the province’s GDP, so there’s more going on here than farming! While looking into what Saskatchewan offers I’ve come up with the top 5 places I’d like to visit in the province.

1. Saskatoon – Saskatchewan’s largest city is nicknamed The City of Bridges because of the numerous bridges that cross the Saskatchewan River. Overlooking the river is the city’s most famous landmark and definitely somewhere that I would like to stay while visiting Saskatoon, the Delta Bessborough Hotel! This was one of the last great railway hotels to be built in the country, constructed in 1935.
2. The Queen City, Regina, is Saskatchewan’s capital and second largest city. Home to the RCMP Training Centre; one of Regina’s popular museums is the RCMP Heritage Centre that tells the story of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Regina also hosts several other excellent museums, and some fun annual summer events and festivals.
3. Prince Albert National Park – Named after one of Saskatchewan’s more northerly cities, Prince Albert, this national park is proof that Saskatchewan isn’t just full of prairies! Centred around Lake Waskesiu, there are beaches, picnic areas, campsites, and more, including the small town of Waskesiu itself, which is situated inside the park boundaries.
4. Grasslands National Park – Until Grasslands was added in 1981, Prince Albert was the only national park in Saskatchewan. Grasslands protects prairie grassland and is quite a desolate looking place in many respects. Still, viewing some of the Plains Bison that were brought here from Alberta would be quite a special treat!
5. Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park – You’ve heard of the Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, well here in Saskatchewan are the Athabasca Sand Dunes and this is somewhere I’d like to visit. Trouble is you can only get here by float plane or boat as it’s very far north in Saskatchewan and there are no roads. In fact, the sand dunes are the most northerly in the world.

Article copyright Claire Bolgil. Claire is a freelance travel writer based in Beautiful BC. Find out more about her at www.clairebolgil.com