Saskatchewan has Canada’s most wide open skies, and is the world’s breadbasket. Much of the province’s south is endless fields of wheat and other crops. Most of the province’s north is rugged and forested Canadian Shield. The province has many historical sites relating to the First Nations and to western settlement. Saskatchewan also has some unusual geographical features, including sand dunes, an interprovincial park, and southeast of Regina the land is so flat… there are jokes about that!
Saskatchewan Trans-Canad Highway Main Route (#1)
Here is the route of the Trans-Canada Highway (#1) from east to west:
The route through eastern Saskatchewan passes through some of the flattest land you’ll ever see, scoured flat by the glaciers of the last ice age (expecially around the towns of Weyburn, Estevan).
For variety, take the time to explore the roads south or north of the highway. Moose Mountain Provincial Park, a recreatonal oasis 80 km south of the highway from Whitewood. You can also take Route 9 (or 201 if you missed it) north from Whitewood past Crooked Lake, Katepwa, and Echo Valley provincial parks in the beautiful Qu’Appelle valley.
Regina is a surprisingly modern-looking prairie city of 200,000 people. It was built around the artificial Wascana Lake, with many government and recreational buildings close to the water.
To the north of the Trans-Canada Highway #1, on the Yellowhead Route #16 is the city of Saskatoon. Saskatoon is readily accessible from Regina taking a diagonal route Highway #11, accessed on the west side of the city, and if approaching from the east, take the Regina Bypass, which takes you quickly to the Highway 11 exit.
The route west from Regina takes you past Moose Jaw, which during the 1920s prohibition era gained the reputation of “Chicago North” because of its underground tunnels to help smugglers evade police capture.
West of Moose Jaw, you drive through 175 km of grassland prairie before passing Landing Provincial Park is on the river, north of town via Route 4. Then you pass the communities of Swift Current and Maple Creek.
Yellowhead Route in Saskatchewan Trans-Canada Highway (#16)
The Yellowhead Highway which follows #16 is the northern route of the Trans-Canada and connects Winnipegand Portage La Prairie in Manitoba with key prairie cities like Saskatoon and Edmontonwith important communities in north east British Columbia, and the Pacific port of Prince Rupert.
Here is the northern route of the Trans-Canada, the Yellowhead Highway (#16) from east to west:
You’ll drive through the city of Yorktonin the east, and pass by Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park, just north of Yorkton (via Route 47).
After another 330 kilometres, you arrive at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan’s biggest city (its a bit bigger than Regina) and is very pretty with it riverside location, and has lots of restaurants and nightlife given the sizeable university population. West of Saskatoon, the highway leads you across the South Saskatchewan and then the North Saskatchewan rivers to North Battleford, and the nearby Battlefords Provincial Park, 20 miles to the north (via Route 4).
The highway exits the province at the city of Lloydminster, which is the centre for heavy oil production in the area, and literally straddles the provincial border.in Sasaktchewan Trans-Canada