SASKATOON NORTHEAST SWALE

 

Natural Saskatchewan prairie unfortunatley is a hard thing to find in the province however you can find it within the Saskatoon city limits in the area designated as the Northeast Swale. This extremely fragile and rare ecological zone is a great place to spend an afternoon exploring what Saskatoon and the area looked like before it was settled. 

 

This area is extremely fragile so stay on the trail and leave your dog at home as they are prohibited. 

 

This area not only is an ecological preserve it also has ties to hundreds of years of Saskatchewan history. Most notably it was visited by General Middleton and his troops on the way to Batoche. 

 

I enjoy this area as you are likely to encounter wildlife within the Saskatoon city limits. There are many deer, birds, amphibians and other wildlife in the area. The Northeast Swale is not that well known and you rarley see many people while exploring. 

 

The area is not overly large so plan to spend an afternoon or morning out here. In the winter you might want to grab snowshoes if you have them but not mandatory to head out.

 

The hiking trails throughout are not marked but instead made from previous visitors packing down the earth. 

 

While this is a great place to visit nature inside the city, you will not be leaving the city. The Evergreen suburb borders it so you will still see the city in the distance and some trails actually almost go through people's backyards where it meets Erindale. The Northeast Swale is a great place to visit if you have a itch to scratch before a weekend trip. 

 

SaskHIker Recommendation

 

The best way to explore this location is to remain as quiet as possible. Leave your loud friends at home, the amount of wildlife in this area is staggering for it being within the Saskatoon city limits. It is used as a cooridor for deer and coyotes moving throughout the area. 

 

If you want the opportunity to photograph wildlife without driving far this is the place to go.

 

Getting There

 

The area is broken up into two sections by two grid roads and there are many different access points into the area. You will see signs that desginate the Northeast Swale. 

 

There are two ways to get to the Northeast Swale and from there find a place to park on the side of the road where there is a fence opening. 

 

1) Get onto Central Ave and head north, the road will turn into a gravel road. You will see the entrance to the swale and a small parking lot on the left hand side. 

 

2) Head north on McOrmand Road it eventually turns into a gravel road RR 3045.