A-09 Little Saskatchewan River (#1)
Geographic Location:
- Western Manitoba
Name of Trip:
- Little Saskatchewan River (#1)
Major Lakes/Rivers:
- Little Saskatchewan River
Source of Information:
- Topographical maps: 62 J/G.
Duration of Trip:
- 1 Day.
Total Distance:
- 30 kilometres.
River Rating:
- Class 1-2.
- In wet years, the Little Saskatchewan is a meandering fast and flowing stream. In dry years it reduces to a trickle. It is only paddle-able during spring runoff, or after heavy rains.
- There were not really any rapids, just continually fast current. The high water had washed out the rapids. In lower water the river can be quite technical on account of rocky rapids. The only haystacks we found were along the shore. In high water, sweepers are a great danger.
- The greatest danger on the river were a barbed wire fences that crossed it in places. Approaching a half submerged barbed wire barricade on a fast 10km/h current is very dangerous. It required plenty of back-ferrying.
Portages:
- One portage, around an abandoned railway bridge.
Start (Put In):
- PTH #25, just south of the park containing Lake Wahtonopah.
Finish (Take Out):
- The bridge on a section roah joining PTH 270, a few miles north of Hwy #1.
- There is a farm road that follows the river between the put-in and take-out, making the car shuttle easy.
Alternate Access:
- One could take out at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Little Saskatchewan rivers. This would be a 2 day trip.
Remoteness:
- Farmland.
Comments:
- The Little Saskatchewan River flows south through Riding Mountain National Park, and joins the Assiniboine near Rivers, Manitoba just west of Minnedosa. The highway crosses the Little Saskatchewan at the bottom of a broad, deep valley. A dam at the end of Lake Wahtonopah controls the downstream flow of the river. The river is very much like the Roseau River, fast flowing, narrow, meandering, in a beautiful way.
