“Why are you here?”
After the sixth or seventh time, the existential-sounding question made us feel as though we should have a better answer for why, indeed, we were visiting Saskatchewan, Canada. Because when we replied that we’d chosen this prairie province of west-central Canada simply to check it out, almost invariably the response was a rather surprised and somewhat challenging, “Really?”
It wasn’t as aggressive as it sounds — after all, this is Canada, arguably the friendliest country in the world — and the queries usually served as a follow-up to “Where are you from?” There were a few variations — “What made you decide to visit us?” or “What made you choose this place?” — that hinted we might have been dragged across the border against our wills.
Saskatchewan seems to be experiencing a bit of an identity crisis, and after a week of meandering around the province, it’s not hard to see why: This is one of those destinations that defies an easy explanation.
For one thing, it’s rather spread out. Situated on the same longitude as Colorado and sandwiched between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Manitoba — with the Northwest Territories to the north and the border states of Montana and North Dakota to the south — the narrow, vertical rectangle that is Saskatchewan requires a commitment to driving for hours at a time to check out anything beyond Saskatoon, SK’s largest city.
Not to mention that this part of Canada blessedly keeps the sign pollution down — which is absolutely lovely for unobscured views of flora and fauna, but not so great if you’re unfamiliar with the area and trying to get somewhere.
We did have a GPS in the rental car, but it failed repeatedly to track our location, which — combined with the lack of signage and a dearth of commercial businesses where we could ask for directions — meant that we spent quite some time going back and forth along roads featuring miles and miles of indistinguishable terrain. It was prairie grasses, boreal forest and small and large lakes as far as the eye could see.
About those lakes, though: Saskatchewan boasts more than 100,000 of them, covering about 12 percent of the province. That’s not a typo. As Chad Reynolds, a media liaison for Tourism Saskatoon, put it, “We come down there to your Minnesota, so proud of its 10,000 lakes, and we have to laugh.”
In fact, anyone I’ve known to visit Saskatchewan (and that’s a very small number) went there specifically to fish or hunt, not surprising for a destination that not only has enviable water access, but also so many elk wandering around that we saw one hanging out under a local’s front porch in town, watching the comings and goings like the family dog.
Saskatchewan also has Little Manitou Lake in the resort town of Manitou Beach, a body of water about half as dense with salt as the Dead Sea and nearly as floatable, as well as the fishing and boating mecca of Prince Albert National Park, and Waskesui (was-keh-sue), a small resort town frozen in time.
Saskatoon, pronounced with the emphasis on “toon” and the largest city in SK, actually resembles Portland, Ore., in all the best ways: The South Saskatchewan River runs through the heart of the city, providing a landmark in the middle of a well-laid-out grid ideal for walking to urban hotspots. The restaurant scene is, as everywhere, booming and improving, with chefs such as Dale MacKay – the 2011 winner of “Top Chef Canada” – opening their own spots. There’s also a thriving music scene, the annual pinnacle of which is the Saskatoon Jazz Festival, which during our visit celebrated its 30th year and featured the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Lauryn Hill as headliners.
The appeal of the burgeoning cultural attractions here is that, unlike in better-known or more popular destinations, there is very little competition to enjoy it all. There are no lines, you rarely need reservations and the overall vibe is definitely no hurries, no worries.
Ultimately, then, Saskatchewan feels like one of the last holdouts for commercialization and development in the Western world, and that makes it one of those places that you’ll wish you visited back when — which is now. Here are a few more reasons to head north of the border:
Saskatoon
Like so many cities anchored by a major university — in this case, the University of Saskatchewan — Saskatoon comes off as young and hip, with thriving nightlife and excellent restaurants, particularly in the slightly sketchy but rapidly gentrifying Riversdale neighborhood.
The shopping district known simply as “Broadway” sits along Broadway Avenue and comprises the five blocks running south from the Broadway Bridge to Eighth Street East; this compact area is packed with bakeries, restaurants, gourmet food shops, clothing stores, bookstores, live music venues and theaters, and it hosts many of the regularly scheduled street festivals. It’s an easy wander, and its old-timey feel — cobblestone medians, antique lampposts — adds to the appeal.
Meanwhile, the paved Meewasin Valley Trail runs alongside the river and is popular with joggers and cyclists, and provides a way to get quickly from one side of town to the other without having to deal with traffic.
In addition, the obvious combination of metropolitan pride and a sense of disconnection with the rest of the world results in residents who could not be more eager to share their lives with their North American neighbors.
“This is one of the most welcoming and comfortable places to live,” said Aman Saleh, co-owner and manager of the Grazing Goat, a restaurant and club in Riversdale. Originally from Harare, Zimbabwe, Saleh moved to Saskatoon as a kid with his family in 1989 and has been instrumental in Riversdale’s revitalization. “It feels isolated sometimes, but that also means that you can do things at whatever pace you want. We don’t have to compete as much.”
Manitou Beach
Who knew Saskatchewan had its own Dead Sea? The relatively untouched resort town of Manitou Beach on Little Manitou Lake feels a little like Wildwood, N.J., circa 1975 — minus the boardwalk, and with few amenities. But also few people.
There’s a drive-in movie theater and a place called Danceland, which sits in a 1928 building and bills itself as a dance hall with a rare “floating floor” set atop horse hair, so dancers’ feet are cushioned. Sadly, our visit didn’t coincide with one of their band nights. The rest of the town contains a handful of resort hotels and motels that looked as though they’d been lifted off old postcards from the Catskills in 1950, and a couple of art galleries.
And even in late June, we were never in any place with more than one other party.
“We’re a little busier in the middle of summer, but not much,” said Laurie Bzdel, co-owner of the Village Perk in Manitou Beach. “People come here because they want to relax and get away, not because it has fast internet.”
Prince Albert National Park and Waskesiu
Situated about two hours north of Saskatoon, the heavily forested Prince Albert National Park (not to be confused with the sizeable town of the same name nearby) comprises 1,500 square miles and offers three large lakes and dozens of smaller ones, which means fishing and boating are major activities. You could run into caribou, deer, moose and elk – we saw a lot of the latter — as well as pelicans, loons and bald eagles in abundance, and the lakes are teeming with walleye, Northern pike, lake whitefish and otters.
Waskesiu is a sleepy little resort town located inside the national park; it’s very walkable and sits right on its namesake lake. Like so many towns in SK, Waskesiu had a 1950s vibe as well as, based on our impressions of safety — kids were out running around on their own all over the place — the seclusion and the serenity that came partly from the vacation town setting and partly from a lack of crowds.
Overall, our time spent in the friendly town turned out to be our favorite part of the trip. The small shops — including a photography gallery showcasing local wildlife beautifully captured by Jason Leo Bantle and several clothing spots — were inviting and unique, and our meals in the surprisingly diverse smattering of restaurants were exceptionally well prepared.
Saskatchewan Insider’s Guide
Get there: Most major airlines fly with one stop from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Saskatoon’s John G. Diefenbaker International Airport (YXE), usually through Minnesota, starting at about $450 round-trip.
Get around: Unless you plan to stay in pedestrian-friendly Saskatoon the whole time, a rental car is a must. The airport is quite small; the rental car company desks sit just a few feet away from where you’ll exit customs into the main terminal. There is a province-wide bus system (stcbus.com), but it doesn’t drop off at places such as the national park, only the cities. Bring a good map of the province.
Where to stay: In Saskatoon, the Delta Bessborough (601 Spadina Crescent East, Saskatoon, 306-244-5521, marriott.com) is a Marriott-run property in a historic castle-like building once owned by the Canadian railway and known locally as “the Bess” (pronounced “bez”). The Bess sits right on the river – it’s worth it to snag a room overlooking it — and is within easy walking distance of Broadway Avenue and the rest of downtown. The on-site restaurants are unusually good for a hotel; don’t miss the smoked salmon topped with fried capers for breakfast, or a cocktail and cheese plate at the Garden Court Café, its tables looking out over the river. Rates start at $128.
In Manitou Beach, the Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa (302 Maclachlan Ave., 306-946-2233, manitousprings.ca) looks like it hasn’t been updated in decades, but that’s part of its appeal. When the lake is too cold for swimming, the kid-friendly, spring-fed pool inside the hotel is a nice alternative (you can soak even if you aren’t staying, but there’s a $14 fee per adult per day). The spa does a decent massage, and the on-site restaurant Water’s Edge is one of the best bets for food in town; the fish and chips is made from the fresh local catch. Rates start at $89.
In Waskesiu, the pretty and comfortable Suites at Waskesiu (904 Waskesiu Dr., 306-663-4620, thesuitesatwaskesiu.com) have small kitchens with a dining area and big bedrooms, all done in mountain lodge décor. Centrally located, the Suites are just a block or two from everything, including the lake and the shopping. Rates start at $189.
Near Prince Albert National Park, Elk Ridge Resort (Highway 264, 800-510-1824, elkridgeresort.com) is a haven for golfers and the plushest place we stayed in; the upscale-rustic rooms have granite-lined bathrooms and open up to the boreal forest. You’re a bit of a captive audience here in terms of food, but fortunately the restaurants are excellent. The complex offers several top-notch dining options; Walleye’s serves as the 19th hole for the golf course and features a menu of snacks and burgers, while Copper is fancier but still casual and serves three meals daily (the eggs Benedict for breakfast and the local elk for dinner are winners). There are zipline and rock climbing courses on the premises, and the resort offers bikes for guests, as well as a trail map to the hiking paths through the forest that surrounds the property. Don’t forget the bug spray. Rates start at $206.
Where to eat:
In Saskatoon:
Ayden Kitchen & Bar (265 Third Ave., 306-954-2590, aydenkitchenandbar.com) is helmed by a “Top Chef Canada” winner and, not surprisingly, serves globally inspired and groovy takes on comfort foods in a cool space filled with dark woods and vintage tchotchkes (check out the cleavers embedded in the wall). Meats are cured on-premises — that makes the charcuterie plate a must-have — and intriguing combinations abound, such as the seared, cornmeal-crusted scallops with peaches, cilantro and kale. The head mixologist is kind of a genius, so the drink featuring Saskatoon berries is delicious.
The Grazing Goat (210 20th Street West, 306-952-1136, thegrazinggoatgoodeats.com) has multiple personalities, all of them delightful. It’s a funky little eatery that serves East and North African foods with a hint of Japanese, as well as creative cocktails, and a significant part of the menu is devoted to small plates so you can try as much as possible. By day, it’s a laidback lunch spot, and at night, it’s a raucous hipster joint with live music, much of it local.
The chef/owners of The Hollows (334 Avenue C South, 306-652-1505, thehollows.ca) took an old Chinese restaurant and left pretty much everything intact, so you’ll be eating things like pickled anchovies with crème fraîche and housemade potato chips or roasted bone marrow with squid ink salsa verde under lanterns and surrounded by Asian accents. The eatery also does whole-animal butchery and features foraged and locally sourced ingredients, and the smart thing to do at the end is order the dessert sampler.
If you eat only one thing at Sushiro Sushi Bar (737 Broadway Ave., 306-665-5557, sushiro.ca), make it the fried takoyaki (octopus) snacks, puffy little balls of goodness topped with bonito flakes and housemade mayo. But, really, everything we tried at this simply decorated spot known for its sushi and sashimi was outstanding.
In Waskesiu:
The garlic-heavy tableside Caesar and a rich, creamy spaghettini dish absolutely crammed with chunks of lobster are two sure things at Restaurant Pietro (955 Waskesiu Dr., 306-663-9534), a charming eatery that focuses mainly on Italian fare, but also offers steaks butchered in-house and one of the more welcoming staffs around.
Evergreen (955 Waskesiu Dr., 306-663-4155) is a sweet little coffee spot that makes killer cappuccinos and also serves enormous and tasty scones made fresh daily. If you sit outside on the front porch, be prepared to chat with the locals who gather here daily.
In Manitou Beach:
Time seems to stand still at the Village Perk (305 Machlachlan Ave., 306-946-3166), not just because the kitschy café is decorated with old china plates and the music is all-‘50s, all the time, but also because everything takes a very long time to be prepared, even when you’re the only customers. But if you need a good cup of coffee (hard to come by in SK) and a killer piece of pie, this is your best bet.
What to do:
Not surprisingly for a place with more than 100,000 lakes, fishing is a big deal in SK, especially at Prince Albert National Park, where huge (15 pounds or more) fish taunted us by coming within inches of our lures, following them when we jigged, and then lazily swimming away, baffling even our professional guide. But tales of catching the big one abound here, and the forest-rimmed lakes are so beautiful that it’s fun just to get out there. Entrance to the park costs $7.80, and you also have to get a $9.80 fishing license, available at the marinas.
Ditto for boating: You can rent a boat at marinas throughout the province and explore on your own, or hire a guide to help navigate through the channels between some of the lakes that are connected (such as the Hanging Heart Lakes in the national park).
Two golf courses enjoy reputations for their world-class amenities. The 75-year-old Waskesiu Golf Course (waskesiugolf.com) carved out of the forest in the national park was designed by Stanley Thompson, famous for creating the one in Banff National Park in Calgary, Alberta. And the course at Elk Ridge Resort (elkridgeresort.com) features three nine-hole options, each winding around and through the boreal forest.
When to go: The warm-weather season in SK is short – if you hope to be outdoors, shoot for somewhere between mid-June and the end of August. There can be snow anytime before and after that.
More info: downtownsaskatoon.com, tourismsaskatchewan.com
