Exploring Saskatchewan in a 2022 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road

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In the first summer in three years where we could plan to leave our home provinces with confidence, the number one destination on my bucket list was Saskatchewan.

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For a lot of people, this won’t make much sense. Most Canadians treat Saskatchewan as a flyover or a drive-through province. So, why did I intentionally seek it out?

Well, for one thing, my daughter and I needed to get to Saskatchewan at some point. We’ve spent the past few summers visiting national parks and historic sites across the country so that my daughter can collect medals from the Parks Canada Xplorers kids’ activity program. Since we’ll need to visit all 10 provinces and two of the three territories to complete our collection, we were bound to get to Saskatchewan eventually.

More importantly, Saskatchewan was the only province I’d never visited in my adult life. I can’t say whether it’s seeing the immense pride of people from the Prairies, hearing my grandfather talk about the province where he was raised, or gaining a romanticized viewpoint from years of watching the Saskatchewan-based sitcom Corner Gas. Whatever the reason, I’ve long been convinced that there’s much more to Canada’s flattest, most right-angled, and hardest-to-spell province than meets the eye. And after a week spent driving from north to south and into its far corners, all while avoiding the Trans-Canada Highway as much as possible, I can attest to the fact that life here runs much deeper than grain elevators and farmers’ fields.

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To quote the Corner Gas closing theme: You think there’s not a lot going on in Saskatchewan? Look closer, baby. You’re so wrong.

2022 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road

For this week of prairie driving, our ride was a 2022 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road.

In most urban and suburban applications, I’m a big fan of hybrid compact SUVs. But this drive through primarily flat rural highways showed that it’s possible to get great fuel efficiency even from a gas-only vehicle, depending on your location and driving habits.

And if there’s any non-hybrid version of the Toyota RAV4 to choose, it’s this one. It starts at $43,390 before the $1,890 destination charge and includes embedded navigation, heated and ventilated front seats, and a skid plate in addition to other trim-exclusive features, accents and badging. The upgraded torque-vectoring all-wheel drive and rock/sand drive mode came in handy on Saskatchewan’s many gravel-lined roads, and the 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine and its 203 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque routed through an eight-speed automatic transmission, while not particularly exciting, proved steady and reliable with nary a misstep.

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Plus, with some mindful driving, we averaged just 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres across roughly 2,500 kilometres, which is well below the 8.5 L/100 km combined estimate NRCan provides for the TRD Off-Road and even beats the 7.4 L/100 km estimate for highway driving. All this required was gentle acceleration, coasting to stops, setting the cruise control to a reasonable speed, and taking advantage of Saskatchewan’s relatively straight and flat rural highways.

The only downside is interior space is tight. Out of fear of checked baggage not meeting us in Saskatoon, we packed eight days worth of belongings into two pieces each of carry-on luggage. By the time we added sleeping bags, pillows, a cooler, and groceries, the RAV4’s cargo space was snugly packed. A family of four would either need to pack very efficiently for a similar trip or would need to invest in a rooftop cargo box. However, this isn’t unusual for the compact SUV class, and the RAV4’s 1,059-litre space behind the second row is within the same ballpark as its competitors.

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On all fronts, the RAV4 TRD Off-road proved itself a steady and capable week-long companion, and it would make a great choice for rural families looking for smaller and more fuel-efficient options.

A taste of prairie life

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Apart from fulfilling our Xplorers mission, I landed in Saskatchewan with exactly two items on my bucket list.

One was to experience a Saskatchewan Roughriders game in person. I’ve long been a fan of Canadian football, and I’ve had a soft spot for the Riders for just as long. The team is owned 100% by its extremely passionate fans, and I planned our entire itinerary around being in Regina for a home game so that we could witness that passion for ourselves. From the pre-game party with cheerleaders and a pep band to the sea of green that fully lined the inside of Mosaic Stadium, the experience was everything I hoped it would be and converted my kid into a lifelong Riders fan.

My other can’t-miss experience was to visit Rouleau, Sask., the filming location for Corner Gas. Sadly, not much of the show remains in the village, which is roughly half an hour southwest of Regina. The grain elevator burned down last winter, the police station collapsed last summer, the gas station and the Ruby were demolished in late 2016, and the Foo Mart burned down in 2014. The only two major sets left are the Dog River Hotel and the office for the Howler newspaper, which are right across from one another on the main street. Nonetheless, this visit brought back precious memories of watching the show with my father, who used to talk about how the characters reminded him so much of his Saskatchewan relatives. It was a deeply meaningful way to reconnect with a significant part of my family’s past.

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We also made an unplanned side trip, at the suggestion of a colleague, to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw. Legend has it that a network of tunnels was dug under the city by the Chinese immigrants who built the railway through the Canadian west, and who went underground to escape severe discrimination. The tunnels are said to have been used later by bootleggers during U.S. Prohibition — including, so the story goes, Al Capone himself, who escaped to Moose Jaw by rail when things got a little too hot in Chicago. Whether these stories are true is the subject of debate, but if you choose to visit regardless, the tours of the tunnels are great fun.

A tale of two national parks

Saskatchewan is home to two national parks, and they couldn’t possibly be more different.

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At the south end of the province, skirting along the U.S. border, is Grasslands National Park. This remote wilderness park holds the distinction of being Canada’s only national park dedicated to preserving and protecting the mixed grass prairie, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Mixed grass prairie may sound boring, but it’s truly beautiful in its subtlety. The air smells sweetly of wild sage, and there are so many varieties of grasses, wildflowers, birds, and wildlife, each playing a critical role in keeping this delicate ecosystem in balance.

The park has two distinct sections, which are separated by a roughly two-hour drive. The highlight of the East Block is the Badlands Parkway, an 11-kilometre paved road with lookouts over the southern Saskatchewan badlands. The first recorded find of dinosaur remains in western Canada was made here in 1874, and it’s one of the few places on the planet where the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary is visible, evidence of the end of the dinosaur age. In the West Block, the bison that have been reintroduced to the park may make an appearance, and the EcoTour scenic drive guides visitors through two different colonies of prairie dogs, among the northernmost left in Canada. And although we’ve travelled from east to west and into the far north in this country, it was at Grasslands where my daughter finally laid eyes on an aurora for the first time. We can thank Saskatchewan’s flat and unobstructed landscapes for that!

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On both sides of the park we stayed overnight in oTENTiks, ready-to-camp structures that come with beds and mattresses, indoor and outdoor tables, lighting, barbecues, and fire pits. They make it easy to camp without lugging along lots of gear, a convenience that was priceless for this fly-in trip. That said, with no showers on site and potential to meet less-friendly creatures like rattlesnakes and Black Widow spiders, Grasslands is very much a wilderness park and will appeal most to those with plenty of outdoor experience.

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In Saskatchewan’s other national park, it’s an entirely different story. North of the city of Prince Albert, the scenery shifts from grasses and canola fields to the signature stands of birch and pine that make up the boreal forest. This is the setting for Prince Albert National Park, one of the most northerly national parks in Canada accessible by road. Established in 1927, Prince Albert recalls an era when national parks were designed to be resort destinations. That legacy remains evident today in the townsite of Waskesiu, which is home to hotels, cabins, campgrounds, restaurants, ice cream parlours, a shopping district, and a beautiful family-friendly beach with a huge playground on the shores of Waskesiu Lake.

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In the park’s wilderness, the main attraction is the trail to the cabin that was once home to Grey Owl, a British-born conservationist — his Indigenous background was falsified — who worked with the federal government’s parks authority in the 1930s. Legacy notwithstanding, the hike to Grey Owl’s cabin — for which two full days and an overnight camp in the backcountry are recommended — remains a major draw. We decided to stick closer to home base and thoroughly enjoyed a swim at the beach, sweet treats from the ice cream shop and candy store, multiple wildlife sightings —including a black bear, a grizzly cub, and a young deer bull that trotted right past our campsite — and several drives to enjoy the views over Waskesiu Lake.

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Late in our trip, we took a longer drive to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park in the southwest corner of Saskatchewan to visit Fort Walsh and the Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Sites. The Cypress Hills Massacre occurred on June 1, 1873, when a group of American wolf hunters attacked a Nakoda camp believing they had stolen some of their horses. The government’s count says a couple dozen Nakoda people died, but descendants of the Nakoda band say the number was closer to 300. This incident prompted the Canadian government to speed up deployment of the North-West Mounted Police to bring order to the west, and Fort Walsh became headquarters for the force from 1878 to 1882. Both the fort and the location of the massacre are protected on this 650-hectare site and accessible through multiple walking trails in the Cypress Hills.

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This is another part of Saskatchewan that defies presumptions that the entire province is flat: these hills mark the highest point in Canada between the Rocky Mountains and the Labrador Peninsula, and there are numerous winding roads amid towering pines and several small lakes. The townsite near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan has campgrounds, a park pool, restaurants, and the Resort at Cypress Hills, where we enjoyed our stay in a two-bedroom cabin.

Each of these parks is distinct in its landscapes, and together they demonstrate that Saskatchewan is far more naturally diverse than most of us believe.

A History from two views

Saskatchewan’s abundant farming potential made it especially important when the Canadian government expanded the country westward. As a result, there are several sites here that tell the story of that progress and —sometimes unintentionally — outline the resulting cost to Indigenous peoples.

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Batoche National Historic Site, roughly an hour northeast of Saskatoon, preserves the location of the Métis settlement where Louis Riel declared a Métis government and where the Métis resistance was violently ended by a Canadian battalion in 1885. The church where Riel declared the provisional government still stands today, and bullet holes from the battle remain visible on the outside of the rectory, details that make this incredibly important moment in Canadian history feel very real.

Continuing forward, we especially enjoyed the Journey Through Time tour, where interpreters in character demonstrate daily life in 1885. My daughter was called on to do some chores — including emptying the chamber pots!

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An hour and a half to the northwest of Saskatoon is Fort Battleford National Historic Site, a small but important fort that was once part of the capitol of the Northwest Territories. As a result, a lot of lawmaking was done here, especially in the aftermath of the Indigenous resistance. Eight First Nations men were executed here for treason late in 1885, and Cree peacekeeper Chief Poundmaker was arrested here and died of illness shortly after his release. Fort Battleford has also seen the beginnings of reconciliation: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exonerated Poundmaker in 2019, the Fort returned Poundmaker’s staff — which had long been on display at the site — just last year to the hands of his descendants.

Motherwell Homestead National Historic Site is set just over an hour east of Regina near the picturesque Qu’Appelle Valley. The site is the historic homestead of William R. Motherwell, one of the many settlers from Ontario who took up the government’s offer of free land to make a new life on the prairie in the late 1800s. From the colonial viewpoint, his story seems heroic: he applied Ontario farming techniques at his new home to great success, and he built his house by hand from rocks that he collected from his fields over 15 years. He co-founded the Territorial Grain Growers’ Association and sat in both the provincial and federal governments. On the other hand, Saskatchewan’s history with residential schools is a sordid one, which is hammered home here: Motherwell’s second wife was the principal of the local residential school on File Hills Reserve, and several graduates were sent to work on the Motherwell farm and others nearby to further distance them from the Indigenous way of life.

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These descriptions make these sites sound like sad places to visit. On the contrary, they each combine beautiful settings with engaging programming that’s increasingly balanced in its representation of Canada’s past. There can be no reconciliation without truth, and knowing the truth requires a willingness to learn. I’m therefore incredibly grateful to have visited every one.

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What to know before you go

Some people see Saskatchewan’s hundreds of kilometres of fields as uninteresting, but as a driver, I appreciate how relaxing it is. The roads are straight and flat with plenty of visibility. (The joke, after all, is that you can watch your dog run away for three days out here.) The hardest part about driving through most of the province is just making sure you don’t get too complacent: you do come across livestock or the occasional deer in the middle of the road, and although there’s usually plenty of time to react, you can get caught by surprise.

The exception to this is farther north past Prince Albert, when you enter the boreal forest and visibility is reduced considerably. This part of the province requires more preparedness, but it’s not unusual anywhere in Saskatchewan to put directions into Google Maps and find yourself on remote gravel roads for an hour or more at a time with no mobile phone service. And outside of the major cities, fuel and other services can be surprisingly far apart.

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Prepare for longer drives by topping up your fuel when you have the opportunity, having plenty of water and snacks on board, and packing at least one spare tire and a first aid kit. If you know you’ll be well outside of cellular service for a longer period, consider renting a satellite phone or buying a personal locator beacon at an outdoor outfitter.

Is a visit to Saskatchewan worth all this preparation? In my view, absolutely. We visited to achieve a goal, and we left with an entirely new perspective on the people, the historic significance, and the subtle beauty of the province at the heart of the Prairies.