Prince Albert National Park

Prince Albert National Park protects a slice of the ‘boreal’ forest. It is also a meeting place or transition zone between the parkland and the northern forest. The park features many outstanding natural wonders and cultural treasures, including the only fully protected white pelican nesting colony in Canada, the isolated, lakeside cabin of conservationist Grey Owl and a free-ranging herd of plains bison. During a visit, enjoy special events and interpretive programs that help you make more connections with the patterns and processes of this ecosystem. The townsite of Waskesiu, located in the park, provides extensive services for visitors. Prince Albert National Park encompasses 3,874 square kilometres (1,496 sq mi) in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is located 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Saskatoon. Though declared a national park March 24, 1927, it had its official opening ceremonies on August 10, 1928 performed by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The park is open all year but the most visited period is from May to September. Although named for the city, the park's main entrance is actually 80 km (50 mi) north of Prince Albert via Highways 2 and 263 which enters the park at its southeast corner. Two additional secondary highways enter the park: No. 264, which branches off Hwy. 2 just east of the Waskesiu townside, and No. 240, which enters the park from the south and links with 263 just outside the entry fee-collection gates. Waskesiu is the only town within the park, located on the southern shore of Waskesiu Lake. Most facilities and services one would expect to find in a multi-use park are available, such as souvenir shops, small grocery stores, gas station, laundromat, restaurants, hotels and motels, rental cabins, a small movie theatre (which adds showings on rainy and cold days), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment, camp grounds, three marinas, many beaches, picnic areas, tennis courts and lawn bowling greens. The facilities and services combine recreational and nature experiences. Notably, the park contains the Waskesiu Golf Course designed by famed golf course architect Stanley Thompson who also designed the course in Banff National Park. The park also contains the cabin of naturalist and conservationist Grey Owl, on Ajawaan Lake.The development of the park as a recreation destination has led to the region immediately southeast of the park boundaries - locations such as Christopher Lake, Emma Lake, Sunnyside Beach, and Anglin Lake, themselves becoming popular recreation destinations.Until the establishment of Grasslands National Park in the 1980s, this was the province's only national park. The boreal forest extends northerly into the Canadian Shield area from the agricultural zones of southern Canada. Prince Albert National Park lies south of the Shield in landscapes that were shaped by Pleistocene glaciers that deposited glacial till, sand and other materials that were later colonized by trees and shrubs. The ecosystems of Prince Albert National Park are lush and productive. During the warm, humid summers there is abundant insect life and numerous fungi, sustaining a remarkable diversity of boreal birds and other wildlife. There are many lakes and rivers creating wonderful water systems for a variety of waterfowl. Some of the many animals are elk (wapiti), moose, black bear, red fox, beaver, deer, badger, otter, red squirrels, wolf. A herd of plains bison roams in the southern areas of the park where grasslands and woodlands mix. Flycatchers, Tennessee warblers, double-crested cormorants, red-necked grebes, brown creepers, nuthatches, three-toed woodpeckers, bald eagle, osprey, great blue herons, many species of ducks, and the common loon are just a few of the water fowl and birds which make their home in the park. There are 21 species of fish recorded in the park, including Iowa darter, yellow perch, brook stickleback, spottail shiner, cisco, northern pike (locally called "jack fish"), walleye (locally called "pickeral"), and lake trout.