West Central Saskatchewan - West Central Saskatchewan

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Map of West Central Saskatchewan

West Central Saskatchewan is a region of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Communities

Saskatoon
  • 1 Saskatoon — the province's largest city, and its economic and cultural hub
  • 2 The Battlefords — twin communities of North Battleford and Battleford at the confluence to the Battle and North Saskatchewan Rivers
  • 3 Biggar — New York is big, but this is Biggar
  • 4 Davidson — a good stopping point midway between Saskatoon and Regina
  • 5 Eston — known for its rodeo and gopher races
  • 6 Kindersley — a service centre to the oil and gas industry and agriculture production
  • 7 Lloydminster — a city that straddles the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta
  • 8 Rosetown — service centre located at the junction of Hwys 4 & 7
  • 9 Rosthern — a base for visiting the site of the historic Battle of Batoche during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885

Other destinations

Understand

Prairies near Bresaylor

West Central Saskatchewan is most made up of flat Prairie land, but also serves as a transition between the dry grasslands to the south and boreal forests of the north. The region is bisected by both the South Saskatchewan and North Saskatchewan Rivers.

Its economy is primarily associated with agriculture. Saskatchewan grows a large portion of Canada's grain and canola (for cooking oil). Other grains such as flax, rye, oats, peas, lentils, canary seed, and barley are also produced in the province. Beef cattle, and oil and natural gas production are also very important industries.

Saskatoon, the main city, is home to a university, and agriculture, information technology, and environmental, life sciences and agricultural biotechnology industries.

Climate

West Central Saskatchewan typically has warm summers and long, cold winters, and gets more sunlight per year than is typical for Canada.

Time zones

Most of the region observes Central Standard Time (CST) (GMT−06:00) year-round, similar to the rest of the province; except for Lloydminster and the surround area which observes Mountain Time year-round and changes its clocks forward to Mountain Daylight Time each summer. Because of this, the time is the same during the summer months (matching neighbouring Alberta) but different during the winter months.

Get in

By air

Fly into Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker Airport with Air Canada, Air Canada Express or WestJet.

By car

The Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), part of the Trans-Canada Highway, is the major east-west highway; it enters the region from the west side at the Alberta border from Edmonton and exits the region into East Central Saskatchewan on-route to Winnipeg; alternatively, Highway 7 enters the region from the west side at the Alberta border from Calgary. Highway 11 (Louis Riel Trail) is the main north-south route that enters the region from Regina and continues to Northern Saskatchewan. There are many other highways that travel throughout the region.

By bus

Rider Express connects Saskatoon and Prince Albert to Regina, and on to Edmonton and Vancouver.

By train

Via Rail provides trains to Saskatoon from Edmonton and points further west, and from Winnipeg and eastern Canada.

Get around

See

Batoche National Historic Site
  • Saskatoon is the region's urban centre, with museums, an art gallery, and beautiful riverside trails.
  • Batoche National Historic Site near Rosthern was the site of the Battle of Batoche, an important event in Canadian history.
  • Fort Battleford National Historic Site in Battleford features five original North-West Mounted Police buildings.
  • The World's Largest Coffee Pot in Davidson is one of many large roadside attractions throughout Canada.

Do

Saskatoon draws visitors in with many festivals in the summer: Jazz, Folk music, fringe theatre, food, Shakespeare, and children's fun.

Pike Lake Provincial Park and The Battlefords Provincial Park provide a wide range of recreational opportunities.

Eat

The region is known for its saskatoon berries, after which the city is named. Also called serviceberries, or western juneberries, they are used in saskatoon berry pie, jam, wines, cider, and beers, or are sweetened and dried and used like dried cranberries.

Stay safe

Go next

This region travel guide to West Central Saskatchewan is a usable article. It gives a good overview of the region, its sights, and how to get in, as well as links to the main destinations, whose articles are similarly well developed. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page .