Ever surprising Saskatchewan
While visiting Terra Nova National Park in Newfoundland, I met a couple who worked for Parks Canada and they told me about the wonderful wildlife to be seen at their “home” park, Prince Albert National Park, 5,600 kilometres away in northern Saskatchewan. At the time, I thought a trip there would never happen.
Winter came along and thoughts of seeing the park kept rolling around in my head. The Hawood Inn is located inside the park and is open all winter. Rooms were available and I made a booking. Flight schedules to the nearest city, Saskatoon, weren’t favourable, so I took the Via Rail Canadian which turned out to be a fantastic way to get to my destination. It’s the same route my grandmother had taken when she arrived in Canada 95 years earlier.
Leaving Saskatoon the landscape is what you would expect in Saskatchewan, endless flat prairies where the roads seem to go forever. Arriving in the city of Prince Albert, things begin to change. Rolling hills begin to appear while patches of forest dot the landscape.
The highway sign read Highway 263 ‘scenic route’ next left. My kind of sign, like they knew I was coming. For me, the scenic route was the only route into Prince Albert National Park. The icy road meandered around several frozen lakes when suddenly, a huge sign appeared welcoming me to the park. The terrain had also changed suddenly. It had become an endless aspen forest, accentuated by the rolling hills of the park. To my left, the late afternoon sky had become a symphony of violet and mauve. On my right, intense sun reflected yellow and orange off the paper white birch trees. The whole scene was quite magical.
As I drove around a corner, and there he was, a massive bull elk with a huge rack of antlers digging up the snow, foraging for his dinner. Stopping quickly and with shaking hands, a few images were captured of this incredible specimen while not exactly knowing what he might do. He wasn’t interested in me at all. It was dinner time.
The following morning was a frosty -26 degrees when I headed a place called “The Narrows” where wolves are known cross the Lake Waskesui ice and otters are often spotted where the water hadn’t frozen. Today the water was frozen. I wandered around and noticed where the otters had left tracks but there weren’t any signs of wolves. Adorable, fluffy Canada Jays were everywhere and looking for a handout. These hungry little birds are quite photogenic and particularly beautiful when bathed in the intense morning sun.
Next stop was Treebeard hiking trail. The trail leads through a forest of full of thick and woolly balsams and looks very different from the rest of the park. With the bright sun shining through the snow laden tree branches, it turned the trail into a wonderland of greens and glistening snow crystals.
Next, I drove up to the furthest point of the park that the road would take me. There were a couple of trucks parked there and sled tracks lead to a trailhead sign and map indicating where you could hike up to Grey Owl’s cabin. Being on my own and without snowshoes I decided not to take the 80km round trip on the Grey Owl Trail and retreated to the warmth of my vehicle and explored the rest of the park’s roads.
While stopping to check my map, a car pulled up beside me and the driver rolled down his window.
“Seen any wildlife?” he asked in and distinct Aussie accent.
“Not much” I replied.
It turns out he moved from Melbourne to Saskatoon where he found a woman to keep him warm during the cold Saskatchewan winters.
After a long day of exploring, I decided to try out the rooftop hot tub at my hotel. It’s was a strange dichotomy to be in a tub of bubbling hot water while the surrounding air wants to freeze everything in site. Once my hair was thoroughly crispy, I headed back to the dry comfort of my room.
It was the time of year when sun didn’t rise until 9 am but there’s a fascinating twilight that appears in the sky just an hour before the sun finally makes an appearance. There just was enough light to see my way back to the Narrows in hope of seeing the sunrise. I got there just in time to see the sun come up for just a few seconds and then quickly duck behind a bank of clouds which would remain for the day.
Boundary Bog trail was my next stop where snowshoeing was said to be be excellent. The trails were packed hard like most trails in the park so snowshoes weren’t required. The wonderfully hilly trail wondered up and down through the snowy forest littered with Snowshoe Hare tracks. None of the white wabbits appeared but they were kind enough to leave lots of tracks in the snow.
The following day was bright and sunny. The sun reflected off of the snow making everything even brighter. Deciding to get as much hiking done as possible, it was time to head to the Waskesui River Trail. The only other hiker seen all weekend also showed at the same time. He decided to go to the trouble of putting his snowshoes on. Later he wished he hadn’t as the trails were all packed hard. The trail is spectacular, winding its way along the banks of the river, showing off the winter wonderland. There are lots of ermine tracks along the river but these little fellows were tucked inside their burrows wishing spring would come sooner.
The beauty of my surroundings were almost becoming monotonous and it difficult to decide what should be photographed next. After hiking the Freight Tait Spring Trail the Spruce River Highlands Trail, Height of Land Lookout Tower and the Narrows Peninsula Trail, I found a spot to capture a famous Lake Waskesui sunset. The angle of the winter sun makes for a long sunset and one can drive to several vantage points and see the sun setting over and over again until it was finally gone.
I hadn’t seen much wildlife on this trip like the two photographers that I spoke to who were also meandering around the park. Barney the elk (he needed a name) was at his regular spot working the 4 – 6 pm shift just like the day I arrived. A female Lynx and her kittens had been spotted by a few locals but she wasn’t going to make an appearance today.
There’s a mythical herd of wild bison in the park but the park staff didn’t think they were in the area at all. It was becoming very discouraging but for a chance meeting in the hot tub with Anna from Saskatoon.
“I saw bison when I was trail riding on the west side of the park” she said.
Soon I was back into my room to begin my research.
The west side of the park is a well kept secret. There’s a parking lot, a couple of trailheads and that’s about it. It doesn’t even show up on a lot of maps. Eventually, I found a map of the bison’s range in the park and Sturgeon River Ranch, a nearby dude ranch. That got me thinking.
John the owner of the ranch said “It’s best to find the herd on horseback but I don’t think I can get you a guide and we usually don’t do a trail ride for just one person. Leave it with me.”
I received a surprising phone call while hiking the Mud Creek trail as most of the park is out of cell range. It was John from the ranch.
“How does 10 am tomorrow sound?”
The thought of being on horseback looking for wild bison kept me up most of the night. It was unbelievable.
Feeling very determined to see some bison somewhere, I also made arrangements made with Bison Ridge Farms to take some pictures of their domestic bison herd. Arriving just before sunrise, there was just enough light to snap a few photos. The bison even put on a mini stampede making me quite happy we had a fence between us.
By the time I arrived at the ranch Marie, my guide, had Shine, my massive Clydesdale, saddled up and ready to go. We rode into the frigid wilderness while Shine kept a steady, unwavering pace no matter how much she was encouraged to speed up. We plodded along and after about an hour when we arrived at the trailhead on the west side of the park. Although Shine had no intention of going any faster, she took immense pride in powering up hills and showing off her tremendous strength.
Well, there were no bison on this trek so we turned around so we headed back and my frozen toes thanked me. We got back to the warm ranch house and got some feeling back into my feet. I thanked Marie and got on my way. While leaving the ranch, speed was of the essence to make it up the steep laneway without the tires slipping.
A bull moose! He was standing on the laneway in front of me and we were equally startled. He quickly loped into the forest to to be his mates. At first my camera wouldn’t focus but it settled down like me and photos were taken of these magnificent animals. A perfect way to wrap up my Saskatchewan adventure.
While heading back to Saskatoon I noticed a sign along the road for Timber Ridge alpine ski centre. Really? Alpine skiing in Saskatchewan? But there it was, a ski hill with lifts and everything. Saskatchewan, its full of wonderful surprises.
Updated May 7, 2024