Wanuskewin Heritage Park on expansion, offering opportunities for families through unique holiday season

Wanuskewin Heritage Park, located just north of Saskatoon, recently wrapped up an expansion to the park that took 15 years to complete.

That’s according to Wanuskewin’s Andrew McDonald, the park’s director of marketing and communications.

The expansion took three years to physically complete, with the park reopening to the public in early September.

“So the entire building grew about 50 per cent. We have several additions that we put onto the building. There was an expanded area for the bison, we have an incredible playground and an incredible new building,” McDonald explained Wednesday.

The expansion also included a new gift shop, art gallery, additional exhibits and a restaurant, and offers a “brand-new experience,” said McDonald.

“(It’s) centred here on the history here in the Opimahaw valley. For 6,400 years, people have gathered here in the valley. It’s really centred around bison. That’s an essential piece that drew people here,” he said.

Wanuskewin’s bison herd is celebrating an anniversary Thursday. It’s the first anniversary of the arrival of five bison from the United States, completing the park’s herd of 11.

Also being offered out at Wanuskewin Heritage Park are six kilometres of trails through the valley. Through the winter months, the park is offering free snowshoeing.

McDonald said it could be a good option for those looking for something to do, safely, this holiday season.

“When they are outside on the trails, of course, there’s lots of space there for people to distance. Certainly, over the holidays when people are looking for things to do with their family, we want to offer that,” he said.

McDonald said there’s something special about Wanuskewin, something that keeps drawing people to the area.

“(It’s) that feeling of peace and calm that people have when they’re out here. That feeling is something that people from around the globe have noted,” he said.

“When they come back, maybe they’re on the trails, that’s one of the first things they say to their guides when they’re here … There’s an intangible something that’s here. I think that’s really remarkable.

“The beauty, the culture, the history, the tradition — these number of different experiences people have out here.”

Free transit service is being offered through the holiday season from downtown Saskatoon to the park.

Wanuskewin is also going to be open seven days a week, beginning on Saturday to Jan. 3, except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.