Are you looking for some interesting and unique places to visit in Saskatchewan?

If you like your travels a bit on the odd or unusual side, Saskatchewan has plenty to offer. From saltwater lakes and snake pits to Canadian wars and mysterious bushes, here are seven unique places to visit in Saskatchewan that range from historic to imaginative to downright spooky. One is even a bit creepy.

The Mysterious and Spooky Crooked Bush
Not surprisingly, trembling aspens are the most common trees in the aspen parklands of the Prairie Provinces. For the most part, the trees look quite similar – except here. In one small bush, every branch and every trunk of every tree is twisted and contorted as if they couldn’t make up their minds about whether to grow up, down, or sideways. A former landowner said that cattle wouldn’t go into the bush, and some folks say that dogs don’t like it here either.
Even more perplexing, neighbouring bushes are perfectly normal. So what gives? The local joke is that they must have buried a lawyer here. The “official story”, posted at the site, is that years ago someone claimed to see a flying saucer land. The passengers got out, peed on the ground, then flew off again. The trees were never the same after that. This area used to be a hotbed for making home brews, but perhaps that’s just a coincidence.
Scientists have more mundane explanations involving genetic mutations. But we have to ask what caused the mutation in the first place. Was it spaceman pee? It’s the perfect place to gaze over the spooky scene, let your imagination run wild, and come up with your own conclusions. But just to be on the safe side, we don’t recommend going at midnight during a full moon.
How to get there: The Crooked Bush is about 70 kilometres east of North Battleford. Near the community of Speers along Highway 40, watch for signs directing you north to the bush.

North America’s Oldest Bird Sanctuary
In 1887, the Canadian government set aside the north end of long, narrow Last Mountain Lake as a bird sanctuary – the first on the continent. Now known as Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area, it preserves an ideal wildlife habitat with shallow bays, and islands for nesting pelicans, and is surrounded by other wetlands, creeks, and native prairie grasslands, making it one of the most unique places to visit in Saskatchewan.
The more than 300 bird species using the area include huge numbers of ducks, grebes, herons, terns, songbirds, and raptors. Some rare or endangered species you might see are peregrine falcons, loggerhead shrikes, and piping plovers. It’s the best place we know of anywhere to get close to Pelicans.

It’s among the most user-friendly wildlife areas, with picnic sites and a visitor pavilion that serves as an interpretive centre with information on the area’s importance and the wildlife that call it home. Hiking trails take you through grasslands, along wetlands, and beside the lake to a viewing tower for a bird’s eye view. The highlight is a 14-kilometre driving route near lakeshores, wetlands, and over dikes used for water level control.
What we might see varies according to the season. Spring is the prime time to see birds in their most colourful plumage and sometimes engaging in flamboyant mating rituals. Summer is when we can see a lot of resident birds up close, often with their young. Fall can be especially spectacular since this is a major staging area for the waterfowl migration. Counts have been as high as 50,000 sandhill cranes and 450,000 geese.
How to get there: The National Wildlife Area is roughly halfway between Saskatoon and Regina. The easiest access is from the town of Simpson along Highway 2. Drive straight east of town then follow the signs.

Bienfait Cemetery
It’s one of the most unusual cemetery headstones we’ll find anywhere. It indicates that the three men buried here were “Murdered in Estevan by RCMP”.
The tragic event dates back to 1931 when coal miners in Estevan and the nearby community of Bienfait in southeastern Saskatchewan went on strike for better wages and working conditions.
The strikers were marching in Estevan and the RCMP tried to stop them, ostensibly because they didn’t have the necessary permits. A riot broke out and the police opened fire, leaving three miners dead and several miners and police injured. The strikers claimed that the RCMP were acting on behalf of the mining companies.

The three miners were buried together, with a lot of controversy over the inscription on the headstone. It was mysteriously painted over and rewritten several times. A few years ago, the gravesite was refurbished with landscaping and a new coat of paint. It now identifies the men as heroes of the labour movement and is one of the most unique places to visit in Saskatchewan.
How to get there: Head east of Estevan along Highway 18 to Bienfait. Turn north on Weldon Road to get to the cemetery. The gravestone is in the northwest corner of the cemetery. While in Bienfait, also check out the Bienfait Coalfields Historic Society Museum for a more comprehensive look at coal mining history. Estevan also commemorates Coal Miners’ Corner, where the 1931 incident took place next to the city’s ornate courthouse.

Snakes of Fort Livingstone
Fort Livingstone was once the most important institution in western and northern Canada. It was here that the North West Mounted Police established their first headquarters after the historic March West in 1874. The post also served as the temporary capital of the North-West Territories in 1876-1877 while a permanent capital was being built in Battleford.
They chose this pleasant spot on the banks of the Swan River in what is now eastern Saskatchewan. The only glitch was that the site was already occupied by countless red-sided garter snakes. Journals from the fort talk about the snakes getting into everything and causing quite a fuss.

The reptiles keep a low profile for most of the year, but come spring they emerge from their burrows by the thousands and start mating in earnest. They form massive mating balls that keep moving as others join in, or sometimes they break off into smaller groups. Several mating clusters could be going at the same time. There are so many snakes that you have to be careful where you walk. They will even slither over your shoes if you’re in their way.
Fort Livingstone is long gone, with only a monument and a few information panels to attest to its former significance. The snakes have prevailed to continue their age-old rituals. The window to see the phenomenon is only for two to three weeks in early May. Around Mother’s Day is usually a good bet to see them. If this isn’t one of the most unique places to visit in Saskatchewan, then I don’t know what is.
How to get there: Head to the town of Pelly, which is about 100 kilometres northeast of Yorkton. Drive straight north of Pelly for about five kilometres and follow the signs to Fort Livingstone National Historic Site. Once you arrive at the historic marker, keep going on the same road for another 200 metres to a clearing with the best access to the riverbank.

The Cochin Lighthouse
No, we haven’t taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on the East Coast. The small resort village of Cochin in Northwest Saskatchewan has a fully functioning lighthouse. It sits high atop Pirot’s Hill overlooking Cochin with Jackfish Lake on one side and Murray Lake on the other.
So why does a prairie lake have a lighthouse? The answer is why not? Like many communities, Cochin wanted to build a large roadside attraction to interest visitors and catch the attention of people passing the community along the highway. With a prominent hill next to the lakeshore, a lighthouse seemed an obvious choice. While visible from miles around, you get up close to the 11.5-metre-high lighthouse by climbing 153 steps to the top of the hill. It’s a popular spot for admiring the sunrise over Murray Lake, and sunset over Jackfish Lake. For a prairie province, this is one of the most unique places to visit in Saskatchewan
How to get there: Cochin is 35 kilometres straight north of North Battleford along Highway 4. While in the area, head a couple of kilometres farther north to visit The Battlefords Provincial Park, a popular spot for fishing, watersports, the beach, golf, and hikes into the hills.

The Magical Waters of Little Manitou Lake
This peculiar lake is unique in the Western Hemisphere. Due to its unusually high mineral content and salt concentration several times greater than the ocean, the buoyant water makes it easy to float and bob without effort. It’s almost impossible to sink, even if you sit or lie motionless in the water. You can even read a newspaper while floating in the lake.
For ages, people have been coming to Little Manitou’s legendary waters seeking relief for various ailments. The lake was once dubbed the Carlsbad of Canada, and Canada’s Dead Sea, where people came to soak in the soothing waters and “take the cure”.
Manitou Beach is a resort village on the shore of the lake, with a beach where you can go swimming. To experience the magical waters in more comfort in a heated pool, check out Manitou Springs Resort & Mineral Spa, the largest indoor mineral spa in Canada, open year-round.
How to get there: Manitou Beach is about 120 kilometres Southeast of Saskatoon. Take Highway 16 east, then Highway 2 to Watrous. Manitou Beach is just north of Watrous.

Site of the Last Military Battle on Canadian Soil
Steele Narrows Provincial Park commemorates the final encounter of the 1885 conflict, which became known as the Northwest Rebellion but is also referred to as the Northwest Resistance.
During the mid-1880s, Cree Chief Big Bear and his band were experiencing difficult times. On April 2, 1885, acting contrary to Big Bear’s advice, his War Chief Wandering Spirit and followers killed nine settlers and took others prisoner in Frog Lake, just across the border in what is now Alberta. They then moved on Fort Pitt on the North Saskatchewan River where they forced the Mounted Police to withdraw, then burned the fort and took more prisoners.
The Canadian militia was sent in pursuit of the Cree. On May 28 they fought an indecisive battle at Frenchman Butte. The Cree were well entrenched in rifle pits on the hilltop so the militia could not advance. Later the Cree moved farther into the forest. On June 3, militia scouts led by the famous Mountie, Sam Steele, surprised a small band of Wandering Spirit’s followers at a narrows on Makwa Lake. Four Cree died in the skirmish. There was to be no more fighting after that. It was the last battle of 1885 and it is considered the last military engagement to take place on Canadian soil.
This historic spot is preserved as Steele Narrows Provincial Park, amid the beautiful forested Lakelands of Northwest Saskatchewan. You can climb to a hilltop viewpoint where interpretive panels provide a synopsis of the battle and background history and one of the most unique places to visit in Saskatchewan.
How to get there: Steele Narrows is 10 kilometres straight west of the town of Loon Lake. Along the way, we pass the entrance to Makwa Lake Provincial Park, a popular recreation area for fishing, watersports, golf, and hiking. Makwa is the Cree word for loon.

Want more Saskatchewan?
From north to south, there are so many unique places to visit in Saskatchewan. For more things to do, check out our Saskatchewan travel guides below:
There is a little known Historic Site at Pine Island lookout. Its noth and east of Maidstone Saskatchewan, and its history goes back to the late 1700’s.
Wow, looks like we need to add more!
Nice list but how could you not have the great Sandhills or even the Cypre
ss Hills (fort Walsh)
That’s a good point. We’ll add that. We actually do have articles about them. https://www.mustdocanada.com/saskatchewan-sand-dunes/ and https://www.mustdocanada.com/cypress-hills-alberta/
Have you.seen the Petroglyphs near St. Victor? I believe that they are only 1 of 3 or 4 sites in the world like that. The local community has done a lot to preserve them. I even got engaged there in 1998!
Wow, I will check it out!
I would love to see La Roche Percee historic site added. If you’re in Estevan and Beinfait, you shouldn’t miss the beautiful sandstone rock formations with caves and carvings. I love it in the spring when the crocus are in bloom.