Side Trips

In addition to the national historic parks listed below, visitors looking for a little healthful rejuvenation may want to consider a trip to the resort town of Manitou Beach near Watrous, about an hour's drive southeast of Saskatoon on the transcontinental Yellowhead Highway 16 and Saskatchewan Highway 2. On the shores of Little Manitou Lake, the Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa, Box 610, Watrous, SK S0K 4T0 (tel. 800/667-7672 or 306/946-2233; www.manitousprings.ca), offers guests an opportunity to soak in heated pools of the lake's mineral-rich waters, a composition found only here, in eastern Europe, and in Israel's Dead Sea. The water contains magnesium, carbonate, sulphate, potassium, mineral salts, sodium, calcium, iron, silica, and sulfur, all combining to give it a high specific gravity. This property offers increased buoyancy to bathers so that they float in it effortlessly. In addition to its mineral spring pools, the resort complex offers guests a variety of therapeutic services, including massages, reflexology, and body wraps, as well as an exercise facility. Guests can visit for the day or stay in a 60-room lodge with an upscale dining room.

fort Battleford National Historic Site

About 138km (86 miles), a 1 1/2-hour drive, northwest of Saskatoon on Highway 16, Fort Battleford (tel. 306/937-2621; www.pc.gc.ca) served as the headquarters for the Northwest Mounted Police from 1876 to 1924. Outside the interpretative gallery, a display relates the role of the mounted police from the fur-trading era to the events that led to the rebellion of 1885. You'll see a Red River cart, the type used to transport police supplies into the West; excerpts from the local Saskatchewan Herald; a typical settler's log-cabin home, which is amazingly tiny; articles of the fur trade; and an 1876 Gatling gun.

Inside the palisade, the Visitor Reception Centre shows two videos about the 1885 Uprising and the Cree People. From there, proceed to the guardhouse (1887), containing a cell block and the sick-horse stable (1898), and the Officers Quarters (1886), with police documents, maps, and telegraph equipment.

Perhaps the most interesting building is the Commanding Officer's Residence (1877), which, even though it looks terribly comfortable today, was certainly not so in 1885 when nearly 100 women took shelter in it during the siege of Battleford. Admission is C$6.50 (US$5.20) for adults, C$5.50 (US$4.40) for seniors, C$3.25 (US$2.60) for students, and C$16 (US$13) for families. It's open daily Victoria Day to Labour Day, 9am to 5pm.

Batoche National Historic Site

In spring 1885, the Northwest Territories exploded in an armed uprising led by the Métis Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. Trouble had been brewing along the frontier for several years. The Métis were demanding food, equipment, and farming assistance that had been promised to them in treaties. The settlers were angry about railway development and protective tariffs that meant higher prices for the equipment and services they needed.

The Métis were the offspring of the original French fur traders, who had intermarried with the Cree and Saulteaux women. Initially, they'd worked for the Hudson's Bay and North West companies, but when the two companies merged, many were left without work and returned to buffalo hunting or became independent traders with the Indians in the west. When Riel was unable to obtain guarantees for the Métis in Manitoba from 1869 to 1870, even when he established a provisional government, it became clear the Métis would have to adopt the agricultural ways of the whites to survive. In 1872, they moved westward and established the settlement at Batoche along the South Saskatchewan River; but they had a hard time acquiring legal titles and securing scrip, a certificate that could be exchanged for a land grant or money from the British authorities. The French-speaking Métis complained to the British government but received no satisfactory response. So they called on Riel to lead them in what became known as the Northwest Rebellion.

Of the rebellion's five significant engagements, the Battle of Batoche was the only one the British government forces decisively won. From May 9 to May 12, 1885, fewer than 300 Métis and Indians led by Riel and Dumont defended the village against the Northwest Field Force commanded by Gen. Frederick Middleton and numbering 800. On the third day, Middleton succeeded in breaking through the Métis lines and occupying the village. Dumont fled to the United States but returned and is buried at the site; Riel surrendered, stood trial, and was executed.

At the park, you can view four battlefield areas. It'll take 4 to 6 hours to walk to all four areas, 2 1/2 hours to complete areas 1 and 2. For more information, contact Batoche National Historic Site, P.O. Box 999, Rosthern, SK S0K 3R0 (tel. 306/423-6227; www.pc.gc.ca). Admission is C$6.50 (US$5.20) for adults, C$5.50 (US$4.40) for seniors, C$3.25 (US$2.60) for students, and C$16 (US$13) for families; special events and presentations may cost extra. Early May through September, Batoche is open daily 9am to 5pm. The site is about an hour from Saskatoon via Highway 11 to 312 to 225.