Prince Albert National Park Main Beach at Waskesiu Lake

Managed by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

Waskesiu Lake is large and located within one of Canada’s National Parks, making it both popular with tourists but also keeping it fairly natural. It $7.80 for an individual to enter the park for the day, or $19.60 for a group of up to 7 people. The park features an extensive trail system that surrounds Waskesiu Lake for those interested in hiking, and there are over 240 types of birds living in the park for you to observe. The Main Beach is the focal point of the Waskesiu Town Cite and as such it features several recreational amenities in addition to the beach itself. There are several large paved parking lots that open directly onto the beach area.

The beach is made of fine golden sand mixed with a few pebbles. There are some large trees on the shoreline for shade and scenery, and not many weeds are present on the beach. The water is very clear with some darker sediment suspended a few meters out. The designated swimming area is extremely large, evidence of the popularity of this lake. The swimming area is marked by buoys, but all swimming is unsupervised. Some beaches on Waskesiu are dog-friendly, but the main beach is not one of them.

The beach opens onto a wooden boardwalk as well as sandy and grassy parks. The wooden boardwalk has large shower houses and bathroom amenities as well as some seating and trash facilities. The sandy park next to the boardwalk has playgrounds for children as well as picnic tables and benches for all beach-goers. There are beach volleyball nets and ample trash and recycling in the area. The beach is bordered on one side with a breakwater and a pier, but there is no public boat launch or dock in the immediate vicinity. Waskesiu Town Center is in close proximity to the beach and offers many other amenities such as restaurants, cafes, and accommodations.

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WATER QUALITY

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Current Status

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CURRENT WEATHER

8°C

Mostly clear

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MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

Beaches are monitored at varying frequencies for E. Coli and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) from the end of June to the end of August. There are weekly reports on the beaches’ recreational water quality results posted on the Healthy Beach Program website from July to early September.

Water quality is monitored in accordance with the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality under Saskatchewan’s Healthy Beach Program.

The levels of E. coli are measured using the most probable number methodology. High levels of E. coli can indicate faecal contamination, which poses human health risks for gastrointestinal illnesses, as well as ear, nose, and throat infections. In accordance with the guidelines, a beach is marked green when a single sample result is less than 400 E. coli organisms in 100 milliliters of water or the geometric mean of five samples is less than or equal to 200 E. coli per 100 milliliters of water. A beach is marked red when a single sample results has greater than 400 E. coli per 100 ml of water.

The Government of Saskatchewan advises to avoid swimming and in-water activities during water quality advisories. There will be warning signs at the beaches with poor water quality results until the risk to public health is resolved.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH