Wanuskewin

Wanuskewin is not the kind of place you simply stumble into; it's a site one would usually have to make quite a journey for. Most definitely, it once drew Native Americans in far greater numbers than it does today's tourists. However, I was lucky enough to visit Western Canada in July 2024 and figured it was the perfect time to make the journey all the way out here. A journey it was! Unless you live in or frequent Saskatchewan, it's a 6-hour drive from the big cities of Alberta over endless fields of grass, corn, and canola. At least Prince Albert National Park is just about a 2-hour drive away, to make the journey more worthwhile.

Located just outside Saskatoon, Wanuskewin feels a lot more rural and isolated than it really is. Many visitors probably just end up at their visitor center, which has a good exhibition on the site and the associated First Nation cultural heritage, as well as a great restaurant serving Native American cuisine. Others may be drawn by the opportunity to see their bison herd (personally, I'd suggest Elk Island National Park near Edmonton for that). The main draw for World Heritage Travellers, however, is the hiking circuit that takes you around the site to various scenic, historic, and spiritual points of interest. A quick overview of the historic points at a fairly fast pace took me an hour; a thorough and relaxed experience of the whole area could take 2-4 hours. 

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