Northern Saskatchewan

Northern Saskatchewan is a sparsely populated region covering the northern half of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is mostly covered in lakes and boreal forest.

Cities

57°0′0″N 106°0′0″W

Map of Northern Saskatchewan

53.2-105.751 Prince Albert — largest city and gateway to the region
54.768056-101.8641672 Flin Flon — mostly in Manitoba, but a small portion is in Saskatchewan
55.117778-105.2905563 La Ronge — located along Lac La Ronge, a base for exploring Saskatchewan's far north
54.124167-108.4358334 Meadow Lake — a base for exploring nearby Meadow Lake Provincial Park
53.357222-104.0191675 Nipawin — a resort community for fishing, camping, boating, golfing, hunting and outdoor recreation
53.2167-106.46 Shellbrook — convergence of three major highways west of Prince Albert
53.3667-107.5177 Spiritwood — small farming community
59.5658-108.6148 Uranium City — a former mining town that is now almost a ghost town

Other destinations

53.9633-106.371 Prince Albert National Park — this park that is the size of Cornwall offers a wide range of recreational and wildness activities
59.999436-102.0075492 Four Corners (Canada) — the remote meeting point of two provinces and two territories
55.358056-104.7936113 Lac La Ronge Provincial Park
54.4839-108.9494 Meadow Lake Provincial Park
59.0631-108.9625 Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park

Understand

Much of Northern Saskatchewan is part of the circumpolar boreal forest (or "taiga"), which is dominated by conifers or aspen and poplar stands. Throughout this area are lakes, bogs, forest and rock outcroppings. Black spruce, jack pine once again are the main trees of the area.

The Athabasca Basin provides a separate ecosystem. The Athabasca Sand Hills protected by the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park are unique feature of the Canadian Shield. The hills are located in northern Saskatchewan and border Lake Athabasca, which straddles the Alberta and Saskatchewan border. There is sparse plant life in the sand hills area.

The Athabasca Basin is a region in the Canadian Shield of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. It is the world's leading source of high-grade uranium, and supplies about 20% of the world's uranium.

The basin is just to the south of Lake Athabasca, west of Wollaston Lake and encloses almost all of Cree Lake. It covers about 100,000 km² in Saskatchewan and a small portion of Alberta. The surface of the basin consists of main sandstone sediment varying from 100 to 1000 m in depth. The uranium ore is mostly found at the base of this sandstone, at the point where it meets the basement.

Much of the Athabasca Basin is within the migratory range of the Beverly caribou herd, a major source of sustenance for the Denesuline communities. Within the basin are the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park on the south shore of Lake Athabasca and the Carswell crater.

Get in

By plane

Prince Albert (Glass Field) Airport YPA^IATA has service from Regina, Fond-du-lac, Fort McMurray, La Ronge, Points North, Saskatoon, Stony Rapids, Uranium City, and Wollaston.

Uranium City Airport YBE^IATA has service from Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Flin Flon Airport YFO^IATA has service from Winnipeg.

By bus

Rider Express, toll-free: +1-833-583-3636. Offers interprovincial bus routes in western Canada. (updated Feb 2021) Operates a route between Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

By car

Highway 2 bisects the region and connects Prince Albert to East Central Saskatchewan and Regina further south. Highway 11 connects Prince Albert to Saskatoon in West Central Saskatchewan as well as Regina.

Road access to the Athabasca Basin is provided by Saskatchewan Highway 955 from the village of La Loche on the west side and Saskatchewan Highway 914 and Saskatchewan Highway 905 north of the town of La Ronge on the east side.

Get around

North of Prince Albert, you won't find bus service: you'll have to drive or fly.

See

Uranium City makes for a decidedly off-the-beaten-path destination. It's accessible only by air, unless you're already in Fond-du-Lac, which is also accessible only by air, and can wait for the winter road between them to open. This community used to be home to 5,000, and is now a near ghost town, with only 73 people left (as of 2016). While there, you can visit the Athabasca Sand Dunes, 100 km of them, set in boreal forest. And then you can visit the general store to complete your tour of the town.

The Doukhobor Dugout House National Historic Site near Shellbrook demonstrates the lives of the radical Russian pacifists who settled in the area in 1899.

Do

You're probably coming to Northern Saskatchewan for the fishing or the hunting. Prince Albert is the central hub for hunters and fishermen looking to go the various lakes, and vast wilderness of Northern Saskatchewan. It is close to several lakes and Prince Albert National Park, which offer camping and fishing on some of Saskatchewan's largest pristine lakes. Further north are there are more lakes and rivers scattered through the boreal forest.

Nipawin also makes a good base for fishing, camping, houseboating on Tobin Lake, and other outdoor recreation.

Stay safe

Go next

Head back south to Saskatoon or Regina.

This region travel guide to Northern Saskatchewan is a usable article. It gives a good overview of the region, its sights, and how to get in, as well as links to the main destinations, whose articles are similarly well developed. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.