About Meadow Lake

Welcome to the City of Meadow Lake, a vibrant and growing community nestled in the heart of northwest Saskatchewan. Known as the gateway to the north, we offer the perfect blend of small-town charm, modern economic opportunity, and unparalleled outdoor adventure.

Tourism

Visitor Services

ML & District Museum

Phone: 306-234-2454

Visitor Information Centre

The Visitor Information Centre is open seasonally from June through August and is located just off Highway 4 at the south entrance to the City. The Visitor Centre shares a building with the Museum. Call at 306-234-2454 or stop by and our friendly staff will be pleased to assist you.

The Meadow Lake Museum features items of interest from our pioneers' lives, and a look at the development of forestry in our area. In 2016, a new outdoor expansion was added to house the growing collection.

Local Events & Activities

Check out our Community Calendar for information on upcoming events.

Regional Attractions

Meadow Lake is the gateway to the north, just a short drive away from the beautiful Meadow Lake Provincial Park and other outdoor recreation areas. The northwest region of Saskatchewan offers a spectacular variety of recreational attractions. The local parkland, with its many small lakes, is ideal for cottage vacations and camping, while the northern forest areas feature great fishing and hunting, and some of the most beautiful scenery in Canada. Year round, there is always somewhere to explore.

Meadow Lake Provincial Park

The Meadow Lake Provincial Park is one of Saskatchewan's most popular destinations. It covers 1,600 square kilometres and features two dozen lakes that are linked together by the Waterhen River. The lakes are fished for northern pike, walleye, and lake trout.

Wildlife: The clear lakes, and the forests of aspen, birch, jackpine and spruce, create a diverse natural habitat for 130 bird species (such as pelicans, bald eagles, golden eagles, and blue herons) and a range of animals from beaver, coyotes and wolves, to moose, elk, whitetail dear and black bear.

All-Season: Although it's the place to be in summer, Meadow Lake Provincial Park also offers fine winter activities such as cross country skiing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling and ice fishing.

Beaches: There are seven that are designated as swimming beaches. Red Cross swimming courses are offered.

Venues: Miniature golf. Tennis courts. Baseball diamonds. Playgrounds. Riding stables. Special park programs. Check the park bulletin boards to find out about all the good things going on.

Boating: Many lakes have boat launches. More remote lakes require a short portage. Canoe trips vary from a few hours to several days. Sail board, boat and canoe rentals are available.

Hiking: There are many nature trails throughout the park. Venture off on your own, or join the park staff on a guided tour.

Camping: Electrified sites, group camping, service centres with showers, and picnic areas.

Northwest Saskatchewan Parks

Sask Tourism
The Provincial Government's tourism information website.

Sask Parks
Saskatchewan Parks website.

Makwa Lake Provincial Park
The Makwa Lake Provincial Park has land that adjoins five lakes. The park offers choice camping, ranging from sites with electricity, showers, flush toilets, and service centres, to sites that allow you to "rough it". As well, group camping can be arranged.

Canoes and power boats are available for rent, and the nearby village of Loon Lake provides ample services. There is also a nine-hole grass green golf course, and horseback riding or wagon riding for entertainment.

Steel Narrows and Fort Pitt
Located in the area are the historically significant locations of Steele Narrows and Fort Pitt. Steele Narrows was the site of the last battle in the North West Rebellion of 1885. Fort Pitt is the site of an early Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post. There are Provincial Historic Parks at both locations offering picnic areas and fishing.

Where We Are

Location

Latitude: 54 degrees North
Longitude: 108 degrees West
Elevation: 1,580 feet
Road Map

General Information

The City of Meadow Lake is in the center of what was once a vast glacial lake. The present much smaller lake, also named Meadow Lake, measures about 6 miles (east to west) by 3 miles (north to south), with its deepest spot only about seven feet deep. The City of Meadow Lake is located on the lake's western shore.

While the immediate area is gently rolling meadow land suitable for grain and cattle production, the surrounding areas are up to 800 feet higher (elevation: 2,400 feet) and feature mixed-wood forests that supply our varied forestry industries.

Once past the forest and the height of land to our immediate south, the terrain turns to the flat, almost treeless terrain commonly associated with the Prairies. Incidentally, Saskatchewan, although considered a prairie province, is actually half covered in forests. Meadow Lake enjoys the benefit of both forests and grasslands.

The Meadow Lake area, dotted with many fine lakes, attracts tourists looking for attractive natural settings in winter as well as summer. Hunters come here for the bear, deer and moose. Commercial fishing and trapping are also part of our connection to the natural wealth of the area.

We are at the start of a road system that extends far into northwest Saskatchewan to the many Native communities and to the uranium mining industry. As such, Meadow Lake serves as an economic focal point for a large trading area. The city itself has 5,000 inhabitants, while the trading area includes another 15,000 people.

Being located so far inland from any of the moderating oceans, Meadow Lake has weather patterns that can vary dramatically. While not suffering from the tornadoes and drought sometimes experienced further south in the province, we do have to deal with dramatic temperature fluctuations.

Summer months are usually warm and dry, with the average mean July temperature being 17 degrees Celsius. Winters can be long and cold, with the average mean January temperature being minus 22 degrees Celsius, and temperatures often dropping to minus 40 or more. The average number of frost free days is 100.

Meadow Lake has enjoyed a moderate rate of growth over many years. However, we experienced a significant boost when Millar Western's Meadow Lake Pulp Mill was built in 1992. During the five-year period from 1991 to 1996, Statistics Canada measured an eleven percent increase in our population. This provided a major boost to house sales and construction, and to our business sector.

Forest-based industries play a key part in our regional economy, as does agriculture and tourism. With this varied underpinning of our economy, Meadow Lake should continue to prosper well into the future.

Aerial View

Aerial view looking northeast towards the lake.

First Nations Roots

Countless Centuries

The Prairies have been home to the people of the First Nations for countless centuries, with the appearance of Europeans being very recent indeed.

The Fur Trade Begins

1775

Trader Peter Pond arrives at Fort Dauphin, Manitoba, in the autumn of 1775. After hearing from Indians about a great river in northern Saskatchewan rich with fur and game, his group travels up the Churchill River to Lac Ile-a-la-Crosse (100 miles north of Meadow Lake) to trade with the local Chipewyan Indians.

First Post: Bolsover House

1799

Peter Fidler, the Hudson's Bay Company's sole surveyor, travels along the Beaver River and turns into the Meadow River, tracing it south to "Lac des Prairies" (the original name for Meadow Lake). His group builds a 12-foot by 12-foot log company post named Bolsover House. Though it only stays open for one season, a monument to Fidler's extensive western surveys is later erected in Elk's Park in 1955.

First Permanent Settlers

1873

Cyprien Morin, a Hudson's Bay Company trader, moves his family to Meadow Lake, establishing a home where the Meadow Lake Golf Course sits today. He opens a trading post, raises cattle and horses, and the first Roman Catholic church is later built on his land. More Metis families follow to settle on the west end of the lake in 1889.

Mapping the Area

1877 - 1888

The first base-line surveys of northern Saskatchewan are made in 1877, noting the area's agricultural potential. In 1881, a sixteen-section area to the immediate north is surveyed as a future Reserve, and in 1888 the future town site is mapped out to the west.

Treaty 6 Signed

1889

A group of Cree Indians in the area sign into Treaty #6, assuming title to the northern Reserve and becoming known as the Meadow Lake Indian Band (now known as the Flying Dust First Nation).

Saskatchewan Formed

1905

The province of Saskatchewan officially emerges politically from the vast expanse of the Northwest Territories, paving the way for new towns and villages to appear on the landscape.

The Great Forest Fire

1919

A massive forest fire sweeping from eastern Alberta decimates the local fur trade. However, the fires clear the dense forests and open up the entire region for agricultural homesteads, accelerating settlement after World War I.

Incorporation as a Village

August 29, 1931

Meadow Lake is officially incorporated as a village. That same year, the railroad is extended to the town, sparking an immediate economic boom.

The First Village Council Business

September 1931

The first village council—led by Overseer J.B. Clark—sets up a bank line of credit, commissions 50 dog tags, and establishes a 25 mph town speed limit. Amid the Great Depression, council manages strict relief funds and decrees that anyone owning "luxuries" like a car or a radio cannot receive welfare assistance.

Transition to a Town

February 1, 1936

Following its rapid growth, Meadow Lake is officially elevated to town status. At the first official town council meeting on March 3, 1936, Mayor William Evans and council hire a Chief of Police for $60/month to maintain order and manage the fire equipment.

The Golden Jubilee

1955

Saskatchewan celebrates its 50th anniversary. Meadow Lake, now booming as Canada's largest single exporter of grain across seven local elevators, expands its industries to include lumber mills, a box factory, a fish filleting plant, and a local airport connecting flights to northern Uranium City mining camps.

Saskatchewan's 14th City

August 31, 2009

Provincial and municipal leaders formally introduce Meadow Lake as Saskatchewan's newest city. Spurred by deep regional growth in agriculture, forestry, and energy exploration, the community successfully pushes past the required 5,000-population threshold, becoming the province's first new city in nine years.

City Status Takes Effect

November 9, 2009

Following the fall civic elections, the first official city council meeting is held, legally sealing Meadow Lake's official transition to a city.

The 75th Birthday

2011

The community celebrates its 75th birthday milestone since its original 1936 transition into a town, looking back on a century of achievements while continuing to build for the future.