Prince Albert National Park, park in central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its main entrance is 25 miles (40 km) northwest of the city of Prince Albert. Established in 1927, the park covers an area of 1,496 square miles (3,875 square km) and is largely a woodland and lake area, interlaced with streams and nature trails. The park lies north of the great agricultural prairies between the watershed areas of the Churchill and North Saskatchewan rivers. It includes the large lakes Kingsmere, Waskesiu, and Crean and dozens of smaller lakes. Normally the park’s lakes form connected waterways and offer facilities for extended canoe and boat trips. It is a sanctuary for birds (notably cormorants and white pelicans), moose, elk, caribou, and bears and other fur-bearing animals. A museum at Waskesiu, the park headquarters, near the eastern boundary, houses a collection of wildlife species.
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Location: Saskatchewan
Date Established: 1927
Size: 957,500 acres
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Typical of its era, Prince Albert National Park was created to serve as a recreational playground—its stewardship value would only be recognized much later. The park spans a slender transition zone between the northern boreal forest and the southern aspen parkland. Its rolling hills of spruce, pine, aspen, and birch shelter pockets of fescue and sedge meadows. Year by year, forestry concerns and encroaching civilization have threatened this ecosystem elsewhere, making Prince Albert today a precious preserve.
Park Facts about Prince Albert National Park
• Bison Haven Prince Albert is notable for the bison herd that roams along its southwestern border, the only free-range herd of wild plains bison in Canada that still occupies its ancestral territory. The herd is descended from a handful of animals once fenced along the south boundary of the park. It now boasts more than 200 head.
• Threatened Species Numbering many millions before near extirpation at the hands of European settlers, Canada’s largest land mammal—a bull can weigh nearly a ton—is still very much a threatened species. The animals do sometimes stray off parklands, much to the consternation of some neighboring landowners.
• Cree Home When Prince Albert National Park was established, its land was occupied by the Cree, who had settled in the area in the mid-19th century. Most of the Cree were then obliged to move east to Montreal Lake.
• Scandal The park became home to the renowned conservationist writer Grey Owl. Though he purported to be a member of the First Nations, he was in fact an Englishman named Archibald Belaney. The revelation of his true identity after his death was an international scandal. Nonetheless, Grey Owl’s conservationist message—“Remember, you belong to Nature, not it to you”—has stood the test of time. His cabin on Ajawaan Lake is one of the country’s best known hiking destinations.
How to Get to Prince Albert National Park
Most visitors arrive by automobile via provincial Hwy. 2 and Hwy. 264, the quickest route to the Main Gate and the village of Waskesiu. Hwy. 263, a winding and scenic pavement that passes through the South Gate, is an alternate route. For access to the largely undeveloped West Side, visitors can use Hwy. 55. Saskatoon has the closest international airport and passenger rail service. The provincial bus line, STC, serves Waskesiu with daily departures from Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Service runs from early May to early September.
