The Cypress Hills take you by surprise, revealing one of Canada’s most pleasant landscapes with its unique blend of grasslands, forests, and highlands. Unlike the surrounding plains, the upper reaches of the hills remained untouched by glaciers during the last Ice Age, leaving some of the highest land in Canada between the Rockies and Labrador.
While in the prairies, the Cypress Hills also have a lot in common with the northern forest and foothills of the Rockies, with a cooler climate and thick stands of white spruce and lodgepole pine. This combination of habitats makes for outstanding wildflower displays with species more common to the foothills growing next to grassland flowers. Of special note is the high number of wild orchids, with showy blooms such as the Calypso Orchid or the delicate Round-leaved Orchid.
The Cypress Hills stretch across the Alberta/Saskatchewan border and are home to Canada’s first interprovincial park. You can see a detailed description of the Alberta side of Cypress Hills here while this time we will take a closer look at the Saskatchewan side.
The Centre Block
The Saskatchewan portion of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is divided into two blocks. The Centre Block, accessed by travelling straight south of Maple Creek on Highway 21, has the most visitor services such as a visitor information centre, store, swimming pool, golf course, and accommodation in cabins and the Cypress Hills Resort. The park is a Dark Sky Preserve, and in addition to the huge campground complex, there is a dedicated Dark Sky Campground that hosts astronomy events every August.
A drive of about 25 kilometres takes you on a loop route to many Centre Block highlights. From the visitor centre head north along the west side of Loch Leven, a small lake that is a centre for water sports. Then head west along Valley Trail Road, a roller-coaster ride up and down a series of hills known locally as the Mickey Mouse Hills through tall stands of pine.
This leads to Bald Butte Road where we soon come to two of the top scenic vantage points. One has the rather straightforward name of Lookout Point where you look over the edge of the escarpment to the plains far below. On a clear day, you can see Maple Creek about 25 kilometres away.
Just over a kilometre farther down the road, we come to Bald Butte, the highest point in the Centre Block at 1,281 metres, with more fabulous views. This is often our go-to spot for sunset since it is a short drive from the core area of the park. The paved road ends at Bald Butte but a good gravel road continues on the loop route back to the core area through the wilder country where there is a chance of seeing moose, deer, pronghorn, and a variety of birds. The park has a sizeable cougar population, although these big cats tend to be quite secretive.
Hiking trails are a major draw, everything from a portion of the Trans Canada Trail, or Great Trail, which spans the entire park, to several shorter nature trails. We always enjoy the Highland Rotary Trail, an easy loop walk along Lone Pine Creek. The beautiful forested valley is a great area for birdwatching and finding wildflowers in bloom.
For a closer look at a mature lodgepole pine forest, we like the 2.6-kilometre Whispering Pines Nature Trail. Another must in spring and summer is the Native Prairie Trail through mixed grass and fescue prairie, which combines wildflower displays with impressive views over the escarpment.
The Park’s Wilder West Block
As the name suggests, the West Block of the park lies farther west next to the Alberta border. This is our favourite area, a lot wilder with fewer visitors and spectacular vistas at every turn. The entrance to the West Block is well-signed off Highway 271 south of Maple Creek. The narrow paved road immediately starts climbing Six Mile Coulee Road along switchbacks that wind up the escarpment.
The only services are basic but nicely situated campsites next to Battle Creek. The West Block has no other accommodation options besides camping. Many visitors come here for a day trip while staying at the Centre Block but we highly recommend camping overnight. There are no shops so be sure to bring everything with you if you intend to camp.
If we had to pick the top must-see spot anywhere in the park, it would undoubtedly be the Conglomerate Cliffs. The fragile cliffs are composed of smooth, water-worn cobblestones that have been naturally cemented together over the centuries. The road ends at the plateau at the top of the cliffs with a gorgeous view over Adams Lake below, the wooded valley, and green rolling hills beyond. While nice at any time, sunrise here is magical as the east-facing cliffs take on a warm red glow with the sun’s first rays.
While you can easily drive to these Conglomerate Cliffs along a well-marked road, getting to the Hidden Conglomerate Cliffs requires a short hike. They are called hidden because they are behind trees and you can’t see them from the road through the park. You can hike to them along a section of the Trans Canada Trail, from trailheads along Battle Creek Road which runs through the West Block. Once you arrive, the cliffs seem to magically appear as they jut out from the valley rim, offering sweeping views over the forest and Battle Creek Valley.
A beautiful route, Battle Creek Road winds through the valley next to Battle Creek, flanked by hillsides that are often ablaze with wildflowers. Farther along, the road winds west to the Alberta side of the interprovincial park.
Reliving History at Fort Walsh
The most visited part of the West Block is Fort Walsh National Historic Site, which played a pivotal role in the history of the West. This was the site of the Cypress Hills Massacre in 1873 when American wolf hunters killed a group of Nakoda whom they accused of stealing horses. Concerned about this incident and increasing lawlessness, the Canadian government established the North West Mounted Police, forerunners of today’s RCMP.
Named after Superintendent James Walsh, Fort Walsh served as Mountie headquarters in the early days of settlement. Later the fort was used by the RCMP to raise horses for their famed Musical Ride. Today it is preserved as a historic site where guides in period dress bring alive stories from the past as they take you through several buildings and relate how the recruits lived and worked. Equally compelling is the attractive valley setting with walks into the nearby hills and along meandering Battle Creek.
Driving the Gap Road
Half the fun of visiting the West Block is just getting there. From the Centre Block, most traffic goes back to Maple Creek on Highway 21, then along Highway 271 to the West Block. But the shorter, more interesting route is along the Gap Road, named for the gap between the two blocks. The 20-kilometre road crosses ranch land with wide open spaces where you believe that it is possible to see forever.
The road can be rough but most types of vehicles can drive it in dry conditions. Don’t even think about taking it after a rain. If in doubt, check on conditions at the park visitor centre.
When to go to the Cypress Hills
Each season brings special attractions. In summer we see the most amazing wildflower displays, especially if there is sufficient rainfall. This is also when Fort Walsh has more special programming, astronomy events take place at the Dark Sky Observatory, and the Summer Star Party in association with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is held in August.
Spring has a lot of advantages, usually with pleasant weather and a lot fewer visitors. If you’re interested in the Cypress Hills’ famous wild orchids, spring and early summer are the times to come, since some bloom quite early in the season.
The mix of habitats in the Cypress Hills makes it ideal for the fall colour season, with greens and golds from the intermingling of pine, spruce, and deciduous trees, and hilly vistas everywhere. The colours here tend to last longer than in northern forests. While every year is different, one of the best displays we experienced was during a Thanksgiving weekend in early October.
Partly because of the higher altitude, the Cypress Hills tend to get heavy snow earlier in the season than the surrounding prairies. Winter brings great opportunities for snowshoeing, hitting the cross-country ski trails, and enjoying the wintery landscapes.
For more things to do in Saskatchewan, check out our other travel guides below:
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