Saskatchewan, one of Canada’s only two landlocked provinces, is commonly known for its flat prairie landscapes, but it also houses chiselled badlands, dense boreal forests, sand dunes, and tens of thousands of lakes. Visitors travelling across the province can see almost endless fields, but the northern part is also a treat for anyone who loves canoeing, angling, and swimming, all of which can be enjoyed on the numerous lakes, particularly because the province is the sunniest in Canada. Be sure to check out our list of Saskatchewan’s top attractions to learn more about the many famous points of interest and fun things to do in the province.
What is the Best time to visit in Saskatchewan?
In the middle of summer or winter, visitors who don’t like harsh weather conditions should avoid visiting. Summer, however, is also the busiest tourism season in Saskatchewan, and the largest number of attractions are open at this time. Many tourists tend to come from April to May or September through November during Saskatchewan’s shoulder seasons. Usually, the cold and long winters in Saskatchewan start sometime in November and last well into March, with low months followed by cheaper airfare and lodging prices. Overall, for ideal weather, the best time to visit Saskatchewan is June to September, but it all depends on you and your mood at the end.
How to Reach Saskatchewan?
By Road: Per capita, Saskatchewan has more highways than anywhere else in Canada. Getting around, once you know the road, is easy. The main bus line and several smaller ones serve Saskatchewan. Buses run along major highway routes in Saskatchewan. It also has buses that stop in many major cities, with routes from Saskatchewan to Alberta and British Columbia. No matter you are driving or leaving it to someone to drive, you will definitely enjoy it.
By Air: Saskatchewan is well connected through Air. Whether you’re flying in from within the country or from another one, you can easily reach in this Province as there are domestics and International Airport. Direct and connecting flights to destinations around the world are operated by international airports in Saskatoon and Regina. There is excellent and timely information on planes, airlines, air services, customs, car rentals, parking and more on the airport websites.
By Rail: Long route trains are available to travel in through Canada. Riding the rail provides the best sightseeing in Canada at its finest. VIA Rail serves a number of central Saskatchewan communities. VIA serves Saskatoon, Melville, Biggar, Unity and Watrous stations in Saskatchewan.
Here are the best places to visit in Saskatchewan
1. Saskatoon
Located in a green valley, Saskatoon is a picturesque area. The cultural heritage of the city is rich and there are plenty of attractions to learn about. For about 6,000 years, the people of the First Nations have lived here and still have a special link with the land. Go back in time and visit, with its prairie trails, archaeological digs and cultural centre, the Wanuskewin Heritage Site. Study how people survived at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in the prairie in the late 19th century or wander the recreated streets of the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon to see the results of the 1910 agricultural boom.
Thanks to its numerous restaurants and pubs, Saskatoon is also vibrant at night. On your Saskatoon itinerary, make sure to include the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo, famous not only for its selection of creatures but also for its breathtaking grounds. Be sure to pay a visit to the new Remai Modern Gallery, already famed for Picasso’s collection of works.
Check Out – Top 10 Best Places to Visit in Saskatoon
2. Fort Walsh National Historic Site
Canada’s National Historic Site of Fort Walsh is the site of an early North West Mounted Police post situated in southern Saskatchewan between the rolling Cypress Hills. For its remounted ranch, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police built 10 log buildings on the site in the mid-twentieth century. The original nineteenth-century fort was designed to evoke the location and style of these structures. The designation of the national historic site applies to the site and the archaeological ruins of the original Fort Walsh.
As seen by the environment and geological evidence of the presence and actions of the North West Mounted Police during the 1875-1883 period, the heritage significance of Fort Walsh National Historic Site lies in the historical connections. The RCMP constructed a remote station on the site in the mid-twentieth century to breed and grow horses and symbolise the connection of the force to its heritage. The post is still run by Parks Canada as a heritage site open to the public.
3. Prince Albert National Park
One breathtaking and exclusive tourist destination is Prince Albert National Park. Explore the Grey Owl cabin or take part in numerous outdoor activities during the year and season in the forest, such as canoeing, hiking, cycling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, golfing, and more. For all ability levels, the park provides several multi-use trails and offers guests a variety of facilities and lodging throughout the year in the Waskesiu townsite. Around 195 bird species have been seen in the park, which is home to the second largest flock of endangered white pelicans in Canada. On an island in the forest, a colony of double-crested cormorants nest, and loons can be heard nightly.
In northern Saskatchewan, Prince Albert National Park occupies a large area and is the province’s busiest park. In advance, campsites and cabins are booked well, so don’t imagine you should just turn up and find a place to camp. Before arrival, ensure that you prepare in advance. The Prince Albert National Park provides numerous options for day trips, backcountry excursions, and climbing. Perhaps the most popular hike in Saskatchewan, the Grey Owl Cabin Hike, is also offered by the park.
4. Regina
Regina has developed into a stately, artistic city known for its parks, galleries and stunning lake made for man. Start your day in Wascana Centre, the city’s natural heart. Join the healthy locals before breakfast by taking a jog or walk through the picturesque marshes and grasslands surrounding Wascana Lake. Take your pick of the park’s many attractions when circling the cove. At the Saskatchewan Legislature Building and Government House, history buffs can enjoy the insightful and immersive tours available.
In honour of the buffalo skeletons that welcomed the early settlers, it was first named “Pile O ‘Bones.” To see works by Canada’s best artists and artisans, visit the MacKenzie Art Gallery or the Conexus Arts Centre. Live music venues, billiard bars and nightclubs also occupy the core of Regina. The small size and multi-use lakeside paths of Regina make it a perfect town to visit by foot or by bicycle. To visit the prairies and woods outside the town limits, use the powerful bus system. Soak your cares away at the mineral spas in the town of Moose Jaw for a perfect day trip.
5. Fort Carlton Provincial Park
For the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1810 – 1885, Fort Carlton was a significant centre. This location was an excellent place for warehousing merchandise and gathering supplies for other posts, situated on the North Saskatchewan River and conveniently accessible by land. During a hasty evacuation which took place during the Northwest Resistance of 1885, Fort Carlton was mistakenly burned down. Objects such as buffalo skins, beaver pelts, war clubs, mats, weapons, twisting tobacco, birch bark baskets and so many more can be seen, touched and smelled.
Today, Fort Carlton Provincial Park features a restored palisade, store of fur and provisions, shop of commerce, quarters of clerks and tepee camp. Hiking trails, a picnic area and a remote, rustic campground are also available in the park. You will take a short walk to the North Saskatchewan River beyond the walls of the fort. You can hike along the original Carlton Trail, where the ruts left by the Red River carts can still be seen. Hang in the maple grove for a picnic or spend the night in the campground, where you can hear coyotes howl and see the same stars that your ancestors were looking at.
6. Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw is a town on the Moose Jaw River in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 77km west of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway. Moose Jaw natives are known as Moose Javians. A casino and a geothermal spa are also accessible in Moose Jaw. The people of HistoryCree and Assiniboine used the Moose Jaw field as a winter camp. The valley was shielded by the Missouri Coteau which provided warm breezes for it. The narrow river crossing and water and game abundance made it a good settlement spot. At a site named “the turn” at present-day Kingways Park, traditional aboriginal fur traders and Métis buffalo hunters established the first permanent settlement.
Head to the city’s main street as soon as you arrive in Moose Jaw. With heritage houses and bright signs, the main street is lively. Moose Jaw’s downtown is highly pedestrian-friendly. Walking and adoring the many old houses and tree-lined streets would fill the downtown area. Much of the attractions in Moose Jaw are situated here, including the office of Moose Jaw Tourism. There are SO many lovely murals, including the main street, spread throughout the area.
7. RCMP Heritage Centre
The RCMP Heritage Centre is committed to telling the Royal Canadian Mounted Police‘s storey and its role in Canada’s history. Visitors can feel the Power of yesterday and today through immersive exhibitions, historical artefacts and educational programmes, as well as seasonal driving tours through Depot. Opened in 2007, the Heritage Center tells the storey of the mounted police force of Canada from its conception in the early 1870s. The main display gallery, beginning with the history of the formation of the mounted police force, offers six displays on the preservation of law and order from the early days to the present.
You can also read about the famous Northwest movement from numerous points of view here. See the handcuffs of the legendary Louis Riel and read about famous police officers and what it takes to be a Mountie on patrol. Visitors will take home a sense of what the Mounties have given and continue to give the Canadians, whether it be the ‘March of the Mounties’ or the role of horses in the Mounted Police, or the iconic musical journey.
8. The Battlefords
The Battlefords have all under the sun and are the northwest’s centre of adventure and industry. Visitors will find themselves submerged in recreational infrastructure nestled in more than 6,000 years of Tribal and settler culture over four seasons. Visitors are encouraged to experience the Battlefords’ friendly and hospitable setting while soaking in some of the history and adventure of the town. It is situated just across the River North Saskatchewan from the town of Battleford.
Battleford was an important Mounted Police post during the early settling days and the first government seat in the Northwest Territories. With displays in refurbished buildings, Fort Battleford National Historic Site discusses the history of the Mounties. With a farm and a village, the city’s Western Development Museum brings agricultural heritage into reality.
9. Qu’Appelle Valley
A breathtaking, steep-sided gorge, cut out of the softly undulating prairie by glacial streams, extends along the Qu’Appelle River. It is a rich garden-style ecosystem of eight lakes strung out along the river, from the west of Buffalo Pound to the provincial park of Echo Valley near Fort Qu’Appelle and further east of Round and Crooked Bay. In this lovely stretch, there are also many scenic parks and small townships that are worth exploring. While this being one of the most beautiful landscapes of the Canadian Prairie, visitors appear to see only bits and pieces.
Legend speaks of a courageous young Indian canoeing home one evening from a hunting trip when he thought he had heard someone call his name. “Who calls?” he asked sharply. No reply arrived. “Qu’appelle?” he tried again, in French this time. Then, from the hills on the other side of the placid, moonlit bay, came a reply: “Qu’appelle?” That was his echo. The next night, on his return home, he learned that the young maiden he was going to marry had died unexpectedly the night before. She cried out his name with her dying breath. The lovely Valley of Qu’Appelle earned its name, hence.
10. Little Manitou Lake
Little Manitou Lake, known as the “Dead Sea of Canada,” has a salinity level five times higher than the ocean, or around half that of Israel and Jordan’s Dead Sea. The lake waters are rich in sodium, magnesium, and potassium salts supplied by deep wells, enabling swimmers to float easily. Within its boundaries, the province of Saskatchewan boasts over 1,000 lakes, but only one is unique. The mineral-rich material gives the water a shiny bronze look, and it has long been said that the water has curative powers. Locals and travelers have stated that skin disorders, asthma, and knee pain have been healed.
Although mineral spas are rare, Little Manitou Lake has a higher mineral concentration than any other spa in Canada, and because of similarity to the popular Czech spa, it is often named “Carlsbad of Canada.” In the 1930s, with a beach, pool, restaurants, pub, tennis, and dance hall, the lake was transformed to a tourist resort. Even before that, though, the local people learned of the lake’s impressive properties.
