Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest provincial recreational park along the Waterhen and Cold Rivers in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park was founded on 10 March 1959, is the largest provincial park in Saskatchewan, and encompasses over 25 lakes in an area of 1600 km2. The park was named "Meadow Lake" after the city of Meadow Lake and Meadow Lake. The city and the lake are not in the park and are located about 40 km south-east of the nearest park entrance, which is about 5 km north of Dorintosh. The length of the park stretches about 113 km from Cold Lake on the Saskatchewan / Alberta border in the west to the eastern shore of Waterhen Lake in the east. In-season amenities and recreational opportunities inside the park include camping, hiking, cabin rentals, fishing, swimming, boat rentals, and outfitters. There are also baseball diamonds, tennis courts, mini-golf, and playgrounds. In the winter, there's snowmobiling, ice fishing, and cross-country skiing. Located near the park are other recreational opportunities, services, and amenities. Alberta's Cold Lake Provincial Park is located adjacent to the western border, near the Goodsoil park entrance is Goodsoil Airport and Northern Meadows Golf Club, Pagan Lake Recreation Site is on Highway 903 south-east of Waterhen Lake, and east of the park along the Waterhen River is Waterhen River Recreation Site. The Mostoos Hills are in the northern part of the park and continue north of the park.

Location and access

There are three main entrances to Meadow Lake Provincial Park spread along the southern boundary and two other entrances by the eastern boundary. The western gateway into the park is via the village of Pierceland along Highway 21. The central access is through the village of Goodsoil along Highway 26, which is located approximately 78 km west of the city of Meadow Lake. Dorintosh is 5 km south of the eastern entrance along Highway 4. Highway 55 parallels the park's southern boundary and provides access to the highways leading into the park and the nearby amenities. At the eastern end of the park, by Waterhen Lake, Highway 951 provides access to the eastern end of the park and Highway 904 comes into the park at the north-eastern corner by Flotten Lake. Both Highways 904 and 951 connect up with Highway 903, which drops south to Highway 55. The main arteries in the park include Highways 224, 904, 950, and 951. They provide access to the various campgrounds, lakes, and resorts around the park.

Resorts and campgrounds

There are over 800 campsites spread over 12 campgrounds, including a variety of sites available ranging from RV accessible sites to back county tenting only sites, including along the Boreal Trail, which features several tenting only 'Leave-No-Trace' campsites. As well as campgrounds, there are also several resorts and cabins.

Boreal Trail

The Boreal Trail, which officially opened in June 2011, is the only destination year-round backpacking trail in the Saskatchewan provincial park system. The trail winds through the boreal forest of northern Saskatchewan along the courses of the Cold and Waterhen Rivers. It stretches 135 km from end to end and has multiple entry points. The western trailhead is located along the eastern shore of Cold Lake at Cold River, about 800 m south of Cold River Campground and can be accessed from Highway 919. The trail runs almost the whole length of the park with multiple branch trails and the eastern trail head is near Greig Lake. The main trail and its branches provide access to many lakes along the way, including Pierce Lake, Lac des Îles, Peitahigan Lake, the Mustus Lakes, de Balinhard Lake, and Mistohay Lake. The trail itself is well marked with sign posts almost every kilometre and the Boreal Trail Shuttle offers transport between different points of the trail.

Flora and fauna

Meadow Lake Provincial Park is located in the boreal forest and the wildlife found in the park reflect that. Trees found in the park include aspen, birch, jack pine, and spruce. Loons, pelicans, bald eagles, black bears, beaver, coyotes, wolves, moose, elk, amongst others, are found in the forest. The lakes have fish such as walleye, northern pike, and lake trout.

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