Buffalo Pound Provincial Park Beach

Managed by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is located 20 minutes northeast of Moose Jaw just off Highway 2 in the Qu’appelle Valley, making it an ideal destination for day trips as well as overnight camping. The area was once an important bison hunting ground for First Nations people, and the park maintains a paddock of these animals where you can observe them grazing along the area’s scenic rolling hills.

There are several water activities available in the park. On the long and narrow Buffalo Pound Lake, visitors can enjoy canoeing, kayaking, fishing, swimming and relaxation on the park’s sandy beach. Additionally, there is a newly-built, state of the art outdoor pool with a sloped entrance for barrier-free access that also offers swimming lessons. Wheelchair accessible washroom facilities equipped with showers are also available for use.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on August 9th, 2022. North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on August 12th, 2022 at 7:42 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health monitors freshwater beaches across the province of Saskatchewan. Water samples at this beach are processed by the Roy Romanow Provincial Laboratory.

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