Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park is in the southwestern region of Saskatchewan. The park consists of two widely separated regions, the West Block and the East Block. The park is 477 km².

Grasslands is Canada's least visited national park among parks with permanent road access. Nature enthusiasts may enjoy the generally self-guided nature of Grasslands after the high-season chaos of Banff and Lake Louise. Do not expect a busy calendar of family-friendly attractions and experiences.

Grasslands National Park covers an area of 907 km² (350 sq mi) near the village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan. This national park is north from the American state of Montana and lies adjacent to the international boundary.

In 1874, Sir George Mercer Dawson (namesake of Dawson City) discovered western Canada's first dinosaur remains in the Killdeer Badlands during the International Boundary Survey. Later, in 1877, Sitting Bull took refuge in the area with around 5000 Sioux after the defeat of General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

The park was established in 1981. In 2006, 71 bison were introduced to the park. By 2022, the herd had grown to 400-500 bison in the park, despite herd reduction measures.

Grasslands National Park is situated on the northern tip of North America's mixed grass prairie.

Grasslands National Park represents the Prairie Grasslands natural region, protecting one of the nation's few remaining areas of undisturbed dry mixed-grass/shortgrass prairie grassland. The park is in the World Wildlife Fund-defined Northern short grasslands ecoregion, which spans much of southern Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, and the northern Great Plains states in the USA.

Erosion by glacial meltwater formed many of the park's characteristic features. Highlights of the park's geological landscape include the Frenchman River Valley, the Seventy Mile Butte, and the badlands of Rock Creek.

The unique landscape and harsh, semi-arid climate provide niches for several adapted plants and animals.

The park and surrounding area house the country's only black-tailed prairie dog colonies. Rare and endangered fauna found in the park include bison, pronghorns, greater sage-grouses, burrowing owls, brown bears, coyotes, ferruginous hawks, swift foxes, elk, wolverines, prairie rattlesnakes, black-footed ferrets and greater short-horned lizards.

In 2006, Plains bison from Elk Island National Park in Alberta were reintroduced to Grasslands. By 2015 the herd had grown from the original 71 animals to over 300. The herd is maintained on a 181-km² section in the park's West Block.

In 2009, a small population of black-footed ferrets was reintroduced into the prairie dog towns after a 70-year absence. Improved night-lighting practices under the dark-sky agreement ensure that the park remains dark at night, preserving a natural environment for all nocturnal wildlife.

Flora includes blue grama grass, needlegrass, plains cottonwood and silver sagebrush.

It has a semi-arid climate. It can be a harsh climate, cold and windswept in the winter and often very dry for prolonged periods, broken sometimes by extremely intense rainfalls during the summer. Nearby Val Marie is sometimes the national hotspot in Canada on a given summer day. Val Marie gets more days of sunlight per year than anywhere else in Canada.

• Park website
• 49.2458-107.73211 Grasslands National Park Visitor Centre (West Block), 101 Centre St, Val Marie, ☏ +1-877-345-2257, grasslands.info@pc.gc.ca.  
• 49.071466-106.5296332 McGowan's Visitor Centre (Grasslands National Park Visitor Centre - East Block), ☏ +1-306-476-2018, toll-free: +1-888-773-8888, grasslands.info@pc.gc.ca.  

The West Block is about 350 km from Regina, and has access points off Highways #4 and #18 near Val Marie. The West Block of the park is located one hour south of Swift Current, and the main visitor reception centre is in the town of Val Marie. It is less than 30 km from the Morgan-Monchy Border Crossing from Montana, USA, which is about 90 km north of Malta, which has a train station on the Empire Builder Amtrak train.

The East Block is about 280 km from Regina, and has access points off Highway #18 – one south of Wood Mountain and the other east of Glentworth. Watch for signage. The East Block of the park is about an hour's drive south of Assiniboia near Wood Mountain Regional Park. The interpretive centre is in the McGowan House at the new Rock Creek Campground. The East Block is less than 20 km from the Opheim–West Poplar River Border Crossing from Montana, which is about 100 km north of Glasgow, which has a train station on the Empire Builder Amtrak train.

The East Block is more of a wilderness area but has views of the badlands of Rock Creek, the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary and prairie skies.

Fees to enter the park (2024):

• Adult $6.50
• Senior $5.50
• Youth free
• Family/group $13.50

Seasonal passes are available for less than the cost of 5-day passes.

Parks Canada Passes

The Discovery Pass provides unlimited admission for a full year at over 80 Parks Canada places that charge a daily entrance fee. It provides faster entry and is valid for 12 months from date of purchase. Prices for 2024 (taxes included):

• Family/group (up to 7 people in a vehicle): $151.25
• Children and youth (0-17): free
• Adult (18-64): $75.25
• Senior (65+): $64.50

The Cultural Access Pass: people who have received their Canadian citizenship in the past year can qualify for free entry to some sites.

You will probably be driving. No operators provide regular tour service to Grasslands from any of Saskatchewan's larger cities. Even residents of nearby Swift Current are unlikely to have ever visited their National Park.

The West Block is fully driveable, and is completely bisected by a decent gravel road. Many short trails and interpretive panels can be found next to convenient parking areas. A dirt "Backcountry Loop" makes a scenic afternoon for those not wanting to leave their vehicles.

The East Block is more remote, with the access road merely leading up to the edge of the property. A paved, one-lane "Badlands Parkway" provides an entertainingly un-Canadian driving experience. The Badlands Parkway is well interpreted and makes a good bike or scooter trip from the East Block campground.

It's in the name: Grasslands offers few natural obstacles to get in the way of walking wherever you'd like. The most significant would be the West Block's meandering Frenchman River, which is shallow but not negligible. Equestrian tourists may inquire at the Visitor Centre about ideal fording locations.

Kayaking the Frenchman from Val Marie is certainly possible, and various outfitters have offered guided services in the past. As of 2026, none of them are operating. If you bring your own watercraft, the local B&B operators will likely entertain your request to be dropped off or picked up by car. (This courtesy also applies to the Park's strenuous one-way hikes.)

The park contains relatively little flat land and the open badlands landscape is quite beautiful everywhere.

You can enjoy the rare and endangered shortgrass prairie. Grasslands is an example of the primordial landscape that once covered most of the Canadian Prairies, before it was transformed into the patchwork of industrial farms you see today. Most white Prairie residents have some ancestral connection to a first-generation homesteader.

This is the hottest and driest part of the entire country. Many iconic desert-dwelling organisms, if they exist in Canada at all, are only found here! Confuse your friends by sending them photos of a local cactus patch.

The West Block is the only location in Canada to see black-tailed prairie dogs - funny, charismatic rodents who live in permanent "towns" and are extremely social. (In fact, most Saskatchewan residents have never heard of prairie dogs, and your local friends will probably make fun of you for being excited about "gophers". They are thinking of the much more common Richardson's ground squirrel.)

The West Block is also home to a few hundred bison, globally recognized symbol of the North American wilderness. Be warned, these herd animals are free-roaming, and seem to enjoy keeping their distance from the Park's main road. If you don't manage to get a photo, swing by Edmonton's Elk Island National Park, where bison population density is much higher.

Much effort has been put into removing invasive plant species from the park. Botany buffs can spot blue grama grass, needlegrass, plains cottonwood and silver sagebrush.

Parks Canada staff provide a regular schedule of weekly programs during the summer. Your campsite probably had to be booked in advance anyway, giving you plenty of opportunity to research the season's weekly event calendar online. If you are sticking around for two or three days, your stay will probably overlap with at least one guided Parks Canada hike.

Grasslands is full of hiking trails, and this is probably the most entertaining activity available in the Park. The bright lights at Parks Canada have created a variety of experiences for all skill levels, ranging from 15-minute wheelchair-friendly loops to day-long backpacking excursions.

The short (but steep) 70 Mile Butte trail is usually recommended as the West Block's single most scenic lookout point. It's certainly one of the most accessible. The trailhead is 5 minutes from Val Marie.

As you may expect from Grasslands National Park, the badlands landscape is wide open, and visitors are permitted to wander anywhere they wish. Backcountry random camping is generally allowed, but ask the Visitor Information Centre staff about it first.

If you feel like socializing in the campground, you will probably meet many well-to-do people who are on their own coast-to-coast Canada road trip. This is a useful opportunity to plan the next part of your own travels.

There are no private businesses within the Park. The East Block hosts a modest Parks Canada gift shop at the campground office. West Block visitors must purchase their souvenirs at the Visitor Information Centre in urban Val Marie.

The park is a tinderbox in July and August, so open campfires are usually banned. Bring a self-contained camp stove and/or plenty of foods that don't require heating.

Watch for dehydration - this is the hottest and sunniest place in Canada. Don't embarrass yourself by getting heatstroke in a cold country.

There are water fountains and a single vending machine at the West Block campground.

Lodging is located outside the park in Val Marie.

There are campsites, Tipis and furnished tents on platforms available in the park.

In the West Block, the Frenchman Valley Campground offers visitors serviced camping sites, teepee camping and a cook shelter. Camping fees for overnight and can be paid at the Visitors Centre in Val Marie. Per night fees for 2024 are:

• Front country, serviced with electricity: $33
• Equestrian camping: $24.50
• Overflow camping: $17.50

Other accommodation fees (2024):

• oTENTik glamping, per night: $111.00 (a spacious blend of a tent and an A-frame cabin equipped with beds and furniture on a raised floor)

Backcountry camping is permitted. Enquire at the Visitors' Centre.

• Backcountry use and camping, per person: $7.50 (2024)

Grasslands National Park is not as huge and remote as Banff or Jasper and in fact can be crossed in one (long) day on foot, so dying of exposure in the Park is a relatively difficult task. However, it is still possible. Although the lack of scenery means that you can usually see straight outside the park boundary, the privately owned lands around the Park are extremely sparsely populated. Do not expect to be able to find an inhabited farmhouse if you are in trouble.

Many of the roads in and around the park are crudely surfaced - dirt, no gravel. These are impassable in the event of heavy rains. The Visitor Centre staff will be the best judge of this.

Google Maps is designed for highway navigation and is extremely unreliable in deepest rural Saskatchewan. Never attempt a Google Maps route that seems to conflict with your printed materials. There are no secret shortcuts in the area that the Parks staff are hiding from you.

Relations between the Park and local landowners are not always harmonious. In the event of a roadside breakdown, the local farmers will probably help, but may also consider you to be yet another dumb tourist. Remain open-minded and grateful.

Register with the Visitor Centre staff if you intend on doing any intensive backcountry exploration. Knowing your approximate sector will help their search and rescue efforts.

The local climate is semi-arid and is very hot by Canadian standards, especially in the high summer (July and August) when most tourists seem to want to visit. Pack a lot of water (more is available at the campgrounds). Temperatures routinely break 35 degrees and there is, of course, no shade anywhere. If you get a dull, rainy day, you are lucky.

Fire bans are nearly guaranteed in the high summer and can easily interfere with your campfire cooking plans. Be very mindful of cigarette butts, lenses, and the hot undercarriage of your vehicle.

In July 2017, tests revealed that prairie dogs in the area have the sylvatic plague. Please exercise caution when near prairie dog colonies, there are potential health risks. Since 2010, all prairie dog colonies in the park have been closed to domestic animals to prevent the possibility of pets carrying infected fleas back to their owners.

Much of the park's remote landmass receives American cell service from Montana. Watch out! You are almost certain to get a U.S. roaming alert.

If you need to get to the nearest city as soon as possible, that would be Swift Current from the West Block and Moose Jaw from the East Block.

Want more semi-arid rolling landscapes? Try Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a forested plateau rising out of the middle of Saskatchewan's cowboy country. Outfitters, development, and family attractions are considerably thicker on the ground here.

Looking for Canada's actual least-visited national park? Try fly-in Tuktut Nogait, which recorded 1 visitor in the 2023/24 season. (If money is no object, also ask your private bush pilot to look into Quttinirpaaq, Aulavik, Sirmilik, Ivvavik, and Auyuittuq. Nahanni National Park Reserve may be a little too busy for your taste as it usually receives around 700 visitors a year.)

Contrast the relatively austere Grasslands experience with a slice of mainstream "lake life". Saskatchewan's Prince Albert National Park and Manitoba's Riding Mountain National Park are both much more popular with local residents of the Prairie Provinces.

ENDS at ← Val Marie ←

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