09/04/2026
🌿 Walking on One of Saskatchewan's Rarest Landscapes
Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes Suffern Lake so special?
It's more than the sparkling lake...
More than the trout...
More than the peaceful trails...
Beneath your feet lies one of Saskatchewan's greatest natural treasures.
🌾 The Manitou Sand Hills stretch across 105,000 acres of Crown grazing land along the Alberta border south of Lloydminster, making them one of the largest remaining sandhill ecosystems in Saskatchewan.
For thousands of years, wind, water, wildlife, and prairie grasses have shaped this extraordinary landscape into a place unlike almost anywhere else in the province.
Suffern Lake lies within the Northern Fescue Natural Subregion, a unique transition between Saskatchewan's parkland and the southern mixed-grass prairie. Sandy grasslands, shallow lakes, hot summer sun, drying prairie winds, shrubs, sedges, rushes, cacti, and native Plains Rough Fescue all work together to create an incredibly diverse ecosystem.
At first glance, it may look like "just grass."
But look a little closer...
You'll discover one of Western Canada's richest natural landscapes.
🌼 FUN FACT!
The Manitou Sand Hills are home to many rare native plants, including:
🌿 Sand Nutgrass
🌾 Richardson Needlegrass
🌾 Sand Dune Wheatgrass
💜 Marsh Felwort
🌸 Smooth Monkey Flower..and many more!
In 2025, Nature Saskatchewan's Rare Plant Rescue Program surveyed Suffern Lake Regional Park and confirmed several rare and threatened species growing right here, including Smooth Goosefoot (Threatened), Beaked Annual Skeleton-weed, and Schweinitz's Flatsedge. The discovery of Smooth Goosefoot at Suffern Lake even expanded its known Canadian range!
🐦 The park is also home to species at risk such as the Barn Swallow and Common Nighthawk, making every shoreline, grassland, and sand dune an important part of Saskatchewan's natural heritage.
🌱 Ever wonder why some areas of the park aren't mowed?
You may notice patches where the grass has been left a little longer.
No... we didn't forget to mow! 😄
We're giving our native grasses the chance to recover.
Growing and maintaining healthy grass in the sandy soils of the Manitou Sand Hills isn't easy. By disturbing the ground as little as possible, we're helping protect the fragile ecosystem while keeping our beautiful park healthy and green for generations to come.
************************************************************************************
🌾 Before You Explore the Manitou Sand Hills...
The beautiful landscapes surrounding Suffern Lake are more than a Regional Park—they are also Agricultural Crown Land, active grazing pastures, and important wildlife habitat.
Please help us protect this remarkable ecosystem by respecting both the land and those who care for it.
🚶 Before visiting, ask Permission:
🌿 Leave no trace.
🚗 Keep vehicles on designated roads and trails.
🚫 Fires are not permitted.
🚪 Leave gates exactly as you found them—if you open one, please close it.
🗑️ Pack out all litter.
🌱 Help prevent the spread of invasive species by ensuring your footwear, bicycles, vehicles, and equipment are clean before entering the area.
***********************************************************************************
💚 A Heartfelt Thank You
This project is about much more than sharing history—it's about inspiring all of us to become better stewards of the incredible place we call Suffern Lake.
A sincere thank you to Ashley Vass, M.Sc., Rare Plant Rescue Program Coordinator with Nature Saskatchewan AND all the staff involved, for sharing their expertise and the valuable 2025 Rare Plant Rescue findings. Their work has helped us better understand the rare and threatened plants that make the Manitou Sand Hills such an extraordinary ecosystem.
We would also like to thank Mackenzie Laurin of Ladybird Company for her passion and dedication to prairie ecology. Through our 2026 Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association Grant, Makenzie is creating a series of educational plant signs that will soon be installed throughout Suffern Lake Regional Park.
These signs will help visitors of all ages discover and appreciate the remarkable native plants that thrive here, understand why this ecosystem is so unique, and learn how each of us can help protect it for future generations.
Together, through education, conservation, and community partnerships, we're helping ensure that the story of Suffern Lake—and the remarkable Manitou Sand Hills—continues to inspire generations to come.
🌿 Thank you for helping us discover, appreciate, and protect one of Saskatchewan's most remarkable natural treasures. 💚
✨ History • Nature • Stories • Adventure
Thanks to the generous support of the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association (SPRA), we're excited to introduce Discover Suffern Lake – History Beneath Our Feet.
Anthony Henday, Indigenous Roots & the Fur Trade
The First People
Artifacts of the Land
Manitou Sandhills
Suffern Lake
Suffern - the Lake
Jack Suffern - Headquarters
The Railway & Its People
Artland's Past
The Royal Visit
Every visit tells a story, Every trail holds a memory, Every sunrise paints a different sky.
Come discover where history and nature meet and create memories that will last a lifetime.
