There are countless breathtaking lakes and rivers to explore in Saskatoon and across Saskatchewan. There is a place to enjoy paddling a paddleboard, kayak, or canoe close to the city.
Canoeing Pike Lake
Valley Road takes you just 20 minutes south of Saskatoon to Pike Lake. Although the park is home to one of Saskatchewan’s smallest lakes, it is nevertheless very popular with day trippers from the city. It’s the ideal location for a canoe trip that lasts just a day, or for a weekend getaway for campers. The South Saskatchewan River formed the lake, which is actually an oxbow, a u-shaped lake formed when part of a river is cut off.
Paddleboarding – Poplar Bluffs into Saskatoon on the South Saskatchewan River
Distance: 12 kilometres, 2-3 hours
Situated approximately ten minutes south of Saskatoon on Valley Road is the Poplar Bluffs Conservation Area. It requires some work to get to the river from the parking lot. There’s a path that leads to the river, but it ends with a sandy drop off the side into the water below.Depending on the season and the level of the water, one must frequently hop across sandbars to access the river’s main flow. There’s a split in the river directly across Wilson Island. It takes approximately two hours to paddle back into Saskatoon’s downtown.
Kayaking the Chief Whitecap Waterway
Distance: 50km from Whitecap Dakota First Nation, 100km from Gardiner Dam, 1-3 days
The Chief Whitecap Waterway, which is a section of the Trans Canada Trail, offers canoeists more than 100 km of navigable trail with numerous pullouts along the way. You are welcome to design your own canoe adventure on the best water trail in southern Saskatchewan, regardless of your level of experience.
