The province of Saskatchewan is part of Western Canada, geographically about mid-continent on the northern edge of North America’s Great Plains. The plains, or prairies as they are known by Canadians, cover the southern third of the province; the rest is mainly forest and water, part of the Precambrian shield that supports boreal forest dotted with 100,000 lakes and what seems like endless rivers and streams, equating to 59,000 square kilometres of both still and moving water.
The major prairie waterways in southern Saskatchewan – the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers with headwaters in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains and their outlet in Northern Manitoba’s Hudson’s Bay, offer short and long packrafting trips. Although they both flow through an agricultural landscape, the valleys are broad and deep; a few kilometres beyond the cities, it feels wild. Saskatchewan rivers have been traveled for thousands of years and there are many stories of Aboriginal travel routes and the adventures of fur traders and voyageurs in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The Sasakatchewan River is named from a Cree word meaning “swift-flowing current.”
On the edge of the transition zone between southern prairie and northern boreal forest lies Saskatchewan’s largest city, Saskatoon, in the South Saskatchewan River valley. 150 kilometres north of Saskatoon is an area known as Lakeland, characterized by small rivers, streams and lakes with endless paddling opportunities.
Moving north onto the Canadian Shield region, rivers and lakes are even more numerous. The Churchill River flows 1000 km. across the province. Other rivers like the Fond du Lac, Foster, Paull and Clearwater are all worthy of exploration.
The semi-arid continental climate in Saskatchewan produces low rainfall, lots of sunshine and warm to hot weather in summer – perfect for river sports. Because Saskatchewan has a small population (just over one million) occupying a massive geographic area (651,903 sq. km), there’s little competition for space on the water.
Saskatchewan has one designated Canadian Heritage River, the Coppermine.
Contact us @ packraftcanada@gmail.com if you have any trip reports to add; we’d love to add them to our list!
Detailed information on northern Saskatchewan rivers can be found at:
Paddling Northern Saskatchewan: A Guide to 80 Canoe Routes
Canoeing the Churchill: A Practical Guide to the Historic Voyageur Highway
Northern Saskatchewan Canoe Trips: A Guide to 15 Wilderness Rivers
Send us your trip reports; let’s do some packrafting in Saskatchewan!