All Photos © Robin and Arlene Karpan
Saskatchewan abounds with breathtaking natural wonders. Some are easy to visit, some take a bit more effort to get to, and others come with significant challenges. If you’re just getting started on your Saskatchewan Bucket List, here are 9 amazing places that are surprisingly easy to visit.
What is The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List?
After several years of travelling to almost every corner of Saskatchewan, we knew there was a wealth of natural wonders out there – many more than could be put on a manageable list. So we came up with our take on the top 50. This would be the best of the best – places where you can’t help but say, “Wow. This is really cool!”
That was the origin of our book The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List – 50 Unforgettable Natural Wonders to See Before You Kick the Bucket, which has since become a Canadian Bestseller. Watch the rising sun magically transform Castle Butte into a brilliant red monolith. Marvel at the mysterious Eye Cave on “Dead Man’s River”. Hear the roar and feel the power of Saskatchewan’s largest waterfall. Get up close and personal with wildlife found nowhere else in Canada.
We not only show you these and many more awesome places, but also help you get there with directions and GPS coordinates. This short video helps to set the scene.
9 Easy to Visit Bucket List Locations
In coming up with 50 natural wonders, we wanted to include places from throughout Saskatchewan, as well as having a range of challenges in getting there. Most are rated as 1) Easy or 2) Relatively Easy. In the middle, a few are rated 3) Some Effort Required. As we get farther off the beaten path, especially in the far north, more are rated 4) Considerable Effort Required or 5) Difficult. After all, any quest worth its salt needs a few challenges.
But here, however, we’ll start at the easy end, where you simply have to hop in your car and go, and require little more effort than a short walk.
Sculpted in Stone – Fanciful Formations of Roche Percee
Head 17 km southeast of Estevan to the village of Roche Percee, site of a prominent rock formation on the edge of town. The hilltop outcrop once supported a large window-like hole, hence the French name “roche percée,” meaning pierced rock. While the upper portion of this window has long since collapsed, the large grouping of easily eroded sandstone formations is loaded with intriguing shapes, bridge-like formations, and smaller windows.
Windswept Wonderland – The Great Sand Hills
The Great Sand Hills are home to the second-largest expanse of dunes in Canada; only the remote Athabasca Sand Dunes of Saskatchewan’s far north are larger. Fortunately, these southern dunes are so easy to visit that we can drive right up to them.
Find them by heading to the village of Sceptre, about 20 kilometres east of Leader along Highway 32, and home to the excellent Great Sandhills Museum. From here, follow the signs south to this exotic world of wind-sculpted ripples, blowouts, and desiccated remnants of trees consumed by moving sand. The first big dune is only a short stroll away, plus we can see others scattered in the distance where few visitors venture.
Twisted Logic – Legends of the Crooked Bush
Trembling aspens are the dominant tree of Saskatchewan’s parklands, and for the most part, they all look fairly similar. Except here. In this small bush in the Thickwood Hills, the trees can’t decide if they should grow up, down, sideways or in spirals. Every branch, every trunk of every tree is twisted and contorted. Yet the trees in nearby bushes are perfectly normal. So what’s going on?
The story goes that many years ago, a local fellow swore that he saw a flying saucer land here. All the passengers got out, peed on the ground, climbed back aboard, then flew off. The trees were never the same after that. This neck of the woods used to be famous for its homebrew, but that’s probably just a coincidence. Scientists have more mundane explanations involving genetic mutations and such. But we have to ask what caused the mutation in the first place? Was it spaceman pee?
The easiest way to visit is to drive along Highway 40 between Hafford and Speers, then follow the Crooked Bush signs north.
Guardian of the Whitemud – Jones Peak
This is the highest peak along the Frenchman River between Eastend and Ravenscrag in the Cypress Hills. You can see the peak rising above the valley (and marked by a communications tower) when you drive the wonderfully scenic 22-km road between the two communities. The peak is named for Corky Jones, a local resident and amateur paleontologist who unearthed many fossils, which in turn led to the area’s famous dinosaur discoveries.
Since there is a communications tower on the peak, you can drive right up to it. Worth visiting anytime, we especially like coming here a bit before sunset when the low sun washes a warm glow across the valley and highlights some of the sandstone formations near the valley rim.
Morning Magic – Sunrise Over the Conglomerate Cliffs
The Conglomerate Cliffs in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park consist of small, round rocks with a reddish tinge, cemented together through a natural process over the course of eons. They face east over a forested valley slope, with Adams Lake below and a backdrop of rolling grasslands. While magnificent any time, sunrise in summer can be a grandstand event. Hills to the east are lower than the cliffs, so when the sun clears the horizon, it shines up at the cliffs, bathing them in a crimson-red glow.
You can drive right up to the Conglomerate Cliffs. Just follow the road signs in the West Block of the Park.
Seeing Red – Caste Butte Sunrise
This spot will have you seeing red. The glacial-carved Big Muddy Badlands have been scoured and sculpted for thousands of years, leaving a labyrinth of coulees and revealing multi-hued layers on eroded hills. The most impressive and easily accessible part of the valley is Castle Butte, an imposing 60-metre-high monolith that has been a prominent landmark for years.
Sunrise is the prime time to go. In summer, as the sun comes up over the lowest part of the valley floor, it immediately shines up at the monolith, turning it fiery red. We liked this so much that we used it for the cover of The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List. To get there, travel south of Bengough on Highway 34 for about 15 kilometres, then turn west at the sign for the scenic butte.
Rock Creek Badlands of Grasslands National Park
Saskatchewan has some amazing badlands, though the Rock Creek Badlands are the baddest of them all. From the valley rim, we look over a wild land of isolated buttes, weathered outcroppings, eroded gullies, steep hillsides, hoodoos and wooded coulees. Colours ranging from coppery browns to rusty reds, shades of gold, and creamy whites come alive in the golden hour just after sunrise or just before sunset. Enjoy these views from several vantage points along the park’s Badlands Parkway. Then hike into the valley for some intimate views of the wild terrain.
The Badlands Parkway (11 km one-way) starts near the entrance to the Rock Creek Campground and Day Use Area in the park’s East Block.
Otter Rapids on the Churchill River
Not only is this an impressive part of the legendary Churchill River, it’s also the easiest to get to. Hwy 102 crosses the river at Otter Rapids, about 5 km north of Missinipe or 85 km north of La Ronge. All of the water of the mighty Churchill funnels down the narrow, quarter-mile-long gorge, draining Devil Lake into expansive Otter Lake below. Depending on water levels, the massive roller-coaster waves can reach two metres high. Walk along the pedestrian side of the bridge for a closer look. You might see canoeists maneuvering through the 600-metre-long rapids, trying to reach quiet water before getting swamped.
Babbling Brooks and Vibrant Vistas – Pine Cree Regional Park
Pine Cree Regional Park is a surprising oasis, and ranks among our favourite places to camp in southern Saskatchewan. Located in the eastern part of the Cypress Hills, between Eastend and Shaunavon, the park sits in a beautiful, secluded valley next to the headwaters of Swift Current Creek.
Pine Cree claims to be Saskatchewan’s only true natural environment regional park, and that’s what we like about it. Some parks get carried away with “modernization” by adding so many amenities that they end up resembling urban enclaves rather than natural areas. Here, they’ve taken a different approach, keeping things simple with an emphasis on enjoying nature. It’s a great place for wildlife, exceptional wildflowers, and hikes in the hills with marvellous views.
Continuing Your Bucket List Quest
These are only a few of the many natural wonders throughout Saskatchewan. The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List is your key to discovering these and a wealth of other amazing places in more detail. Order a copy here or pick up the book at select bookstores and gift shops throughout Saskatchewan.
Further Reading
Here’s more detailed posts on some of the places mentioned in this article.
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