Things to see and do in Saskatchewan

Attractions in Saskatchewan

Birdwatching

The south of the province is particularly good for birdwatching. The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network sites of Chaplin Lake and Quill Lakes (www.quill-lakes.com) are home to more than 300 species including rare ferruginous hawks, peregrine falcons and Hudsonian godwits.

Fishing

The season runs from May to March, and ice fishing is popular in winter. There are more than 68 species found in Saskatchewan's 100,000 lakes, rivers and streams. Standout fishing opportunities are available on Lac La Ronge and on the Churchill River.

High point

Surprisingly, Saskatchewan is home to the highest point of land between Labrador and the Rocky Mountains, where you can look upon the forested oasis of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.

Lovely lakes

Fort Qu'Appelle overlooks two shimmering and serene lakeside provincial parks, Katepwa Point and Echo Valley. Further east, Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park is also very pretty.

Mounties

The provincial capital of Regina, named after Queen Victoria, is the home of Canada's world-famous Mounties, with the country's only training academy for Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the RCMP Heritage Centre(www.rcmpheritagecentre.com).

Parades and rodeos

Buffalo Days (www.evrazplace.com) in the capital, Regina, is a festival lasting several days in late July and early August. On the west side of the province, Swift Current also hosts an annual Frontier Days Festival.

Prince Albert National Park

This park (www.pc.gc.ca) is a hilly, forested area with hundreds of lakes, ponds and rivers. Wildlife includes bison, white pelicans (Lavallée Lake), lynx, timber wolf, elk, moose and black bear. Waskesiu Lake has accommodation and camping.

Prohibition rum-runners

The quiet town of Moose Jaw achieved notoriety in the 1920s for hosting gangsters, including Al 'Scarface' Capone, and playing a pivotal role in the distilling, bootlegging and rum-running business. Follow the story on a tour of the Tunnels of Moose Jaw.

Scenic drive

The Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) cuts through the cavernous Qu'Appelle Valley, a sunken garden studded with lakes that runs across much of the province.

Spas

Manitou Beach has the Manitou Springs Mineral Spa (www.manitousprings.ca), where you can relax and float effortlessly in the salty, warm, mineral-rich waters, which are pumped from Little Manitou Lake into pools in the spa and are believed to provide relief from a variety of ailments.

Temple Gardens

Stressed-out urbanities take the waters in the hot indoor and outdoor mineral pools at Moose Jaw's Temple Gardens Mineral Spa and Resort (www.templegardens.sk.ca), drawn from porous rock formations more than 1,350m (4,500ft) below ground.

Ukrainian heritage

Ukrainian settlers played a prominent role in Saskatchewan. Following the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), running eastwards from Saskatoon to Yorkton, near the border with Manitoba, is a good way to tour the grain belt and see the area's many silver-domed Orthodox churches, such as that at Veregin.

Wascana Centre

Regina's centrepiece, the Wascana Centre (www.wascana.sk.ca), is a huge urban park containing the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Conexus Arts Centre, and providing an impressive setting for the Legislative Building, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and the Kramer IMAX Theatre at the Saskatchewan Science Centre.

Wintersports

Skiing, skating and ice hockey are all available. There are at least 13 downhill and more than 25 cross-country skiing areas. Curling is also so popular it has been named the official sport of Saskatchewan.

Tourist offices

Tourism Saskatchewan