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Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park
Swift Current - Wednesday, October 9, 2013
by:Timothy W. Shire

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There is a growing demand in Saskatchewan for recreational properties. The province’s population is increasing dramatically and a good number of folks want to have a summer vacation place. This puts a lot of pressure on the various parks in the province and though the forty-five regional parks handle a good part of that demand, the choice locations are at our provincial parks. People want to have a cabin, and as a second option, they go for an all summer long parking spot for their RV. This means that if you want to take your RV to one of Saskatchewan’s provincial, or regional parks for a weekend, you have to expect to park in overflow an unimproved parking spot, because all of the campgrounds are taken up by seasonal residents. Now the provincial parks have been trying to sort this issue out, by keeping some sites as limited length of time they can be used by a single party, but for the most part, you are simply out of luck to find a campsite in any park without a reservation.

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The reason I have explained this problem is because by now, I most surely should have done a story about one the most impressive Saskatchewan Provincial Parks and that is just north of Swift Current at the widening of the Saskatchewan River caused by the Gardener Dam, which holds back the water in the massive Diefenbaker Lake. Saskatchewan Landing is really a remarkable place, because it is in the dry prairie portion of Saskatchewan, while at the same time has the river with its fishing, water sports and to add icing to the park cake, it has a full grass green golf course, laid out in short grass prairie landscape.

Above right is a long distant shot of the village that has been developed in the park, of houses and cabins, that form the core of the park and its permanent year round community.

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We are seeing the park in the fall, these pictures were taken last Friday, October 4 and the grass and scrubs have changed colour, but the beauty of the place is truly remarkable. Bird watchers and hikers will find memorable treasures in these hills.

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The park has three huge campgrounds with washrooms and electricity. Fully serviced electrical, water and sewer sites are not available in this park. The picture below gives you a feel for what these spacious well treed campsites are like and we would really like to spend some time camping here come summer, but as mentioned, it would be unusually lucky for us to get a site for our RV for a few days stay. In addition, the park has a large barren overflow area for folks like us.

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Now if you have a boat, Saskatchewan Landing is a really exciting place to visit. It is 75 miles from the marina to Elbow’s harbour on the East side of Diefenbaker Lake, or you could opt for a more leisurely cruise up to the park at Riverhurst. During the summer, no matter what the wind is doing, the protected valley of the River is smooth sailing, with miles and miles of amazing sandy beaches. I have taken a boat from Elbow to Saskatchewan Landing and back, it was a great trip even though the massive waves on Diefenbaker, on the return trip broke over our bow, fortunately we had a closed hull speedboat, otherwise we would have been swamped.

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On the right you can see the bridge over the river, as seen from the park and below the picture was taken looking west while crossing the bridge.

There was a time this part of Saskatchewan was a very quiet place, but traffic on that bridge and highway is pretty steady now with the huge amount of activity in the oil fields north toward Eston and Rosetown.

The one thing that really impressed me with Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park is the clear evidence of development. Saskatchewan has cut back a lot in recent years in maintaining its provincial park system, but this one is in first class shape, with outstanding paved roadways and the general look of a well looked after and maintained park.

We have high hopes that we can arrange for a stay there this coming summer.

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