Duck Mountain Provincial Park (Saskatchewan)
Encyclopedia
Duck Mountain Provincial Park is a Saskatchewan
Provincial Park, located 14 km east of the town of Kamsack
and stretches some 12 kilometres eastward to the Saskatchewan
/Manitoba
boundary. It is centered near coordinates 51° 41′N, 101° 38′W. The park covers approximately 150 square kilometres.
Road access to the park is via Highway 57
, which connects Highway 5
to Highway 83
.
Duck Mountain is a feature of the Manitoba Escarpment, and is a rise of forested (formerly glaciated) land between the Saskatchewan prairie and the Manitoba lowlands. It is some 200m higher than the floor of the Assiniboine River
valley to the west, and some 400m higher than the Manitoba
lowlands to the east. The landscape is rolling, with numerous ponds and creek channels. The soils are stony and are underlain with glacial till
.
The area represents the southern limit of the boreal forest, in its transition zone to aspen parkland
. The forest trees include white spruce
, black spruce
, tamarack larch
, quaking aspen, balsam poplar
, and paper birch
. The park also has a fair number of balsam fir
, even though it is at the extreme western limit of the natural range of that species. The flatter land areas surrounding the park have almost entirely been converted to cereal grain farmland, making the park (and the contiquous Manitoba Duck Mountain Provincial Forest) an environmental refuge for such large animals as elk
, moose
, black bear
, lynx
, bobcat
, and grey wolf. Other animals, such as white-tailed deer
and coyote
, are also found in abundance in the forest, but roam more freely into the surrounding agricultural lands and are thus less reliant on the park. Fish
species include walleye
, yellow perch
, northern pike
, burbot
, rainbow trout
, tiger trout
, brown trout
, brook trout
and white sucker
.
Madge Lake
is the largest body of water in the park and serves as its central tourist attraction. Seasonal recreational activities in and around the lake include fishing
(also trout fishing in nearby Little Jackfish Lake), hunting
, hiking
, bicycling, swimming, boating
, water skiing
, alpine skiing
, cross country skiing, snowmobile
riding, horseback riding, tobagganing
, miniature golf
, and 18-hole golf
. The area also provides abundant wildlife viewing opportunities, especially in the immensely large local breeding flock of duck
s and other waterfowl
.
Duck Mountain Lodge operates as a year-round resort hotel in the park, and a large (summer) seasonal campground and rental cabins are also in the park. Over 300 private vacation residences (cottages) can also be found around the lake. There are two public swimming beaches (Ministik Beach and Pickerel Point Beach) constructed with artificially supplied sand.
The large amount of tourism development in the park is the cause of growing environmental concern. Winter time use of the park has especially increased with the development of the year-round lodge. The park simply isn't as quiet as it used to be. The park is now regarded as having reached its development potential and there exists considerable opposition to further development. Some proposed development projects - such as the increase in the number of cottages in Benito subdivision - have been shelved, and probably abandoned.
There is also a Manitoba provincial park with the same name
. The two parks lie in different provinces and although they are geologically and environmentally similar, and near each other geographically, they are two separate entities and not physically or politically connected.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Provincial Park, located 14 km east of the town of Kamsack
Kamsack
-External links:* * in Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan*...
and stretches some 12 kilometres eastward to the Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
/Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
boundary. It is centered near coordinates 51° 41′N, 101° 38′W. The park covers approximately 150 square kilometres.
Road access to the park is via Highway 57
Saskatchewan Highway 57
Highway 57 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 5 east of Kamsack to the Manitoba border, where it transitions into PTH 57...
, which connects Highway 5
Saskatchewan Highway 5
This article focuses on the current designated Saskatchewan Highway 5, for Provincial Highway 5, Evergreen route portion, north west of Saskatoon see Saskatchewan Highway 16....
to Highway 83
Manitoba Highway 83
Provincial Trunk Highway 83 is a major north-south highway that runs in the far western region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It travels from the North Dakota border south of Melita, north through Virden, Birtle, Russell, and Roblin to its northern terminus with PTH 10 just east of Swan River...
.
Duck Mountain is a feature of the Manitoba Escarpment, and is a rise of forested (formerly glaciated) land between the Saskatchewan prairie and the Manitoba lowlands. It is some 200m higher than the floor of the Assiniboine River
Assiniboine River
The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
valley to the west, and some 400m higher than the Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
lowlands to the east. The landscape is rolling, with numerous ponds and creek channels. The soils are stony and are underlain with glacial till
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
.
The area represents the southern limit of the boreal forest, in its transition zone to aspen parkland
Aspen parkland
Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections; the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretching from central Alberta, all across central Saskatchewan to...
. The forest trees include white spruce
White Spruce
Picea glauca is a species of spruce native to boreal forests in the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the...
, black spruce
Black Spruce
Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...
, tamarack larch
Tamarack Larch
Tamarack Larch, or Tamarack, or Hackmatack, or American Larch is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, West Virginia; there is also a...
, quaking aspen, balsam poplar
Balsam poplar
The balsam poplars — also known as Populus sect. Tacamahaca — are a group of about 10 species of poplars, indigenous to North America and eastern Asia, distinguished by the balsam scent of their buds, the whitish undersides of their leaves, and the leaf petiole being round in cross-section...
, and paper birch
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera is a species of birch native to northern North America.-Description:...
. The park also has a fair number of balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
, even though it is at the extreme western limit of the natural range of that species. The flatter land areas surrounding the park have almost entirely been converted to cereal grain farmland, making the park (and the contiquous Manitoba Duck Mountain Provincial Forest) an environmental refuge for such large animals as elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
, black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, and grey wolf. Other animals, such as white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
and coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
, are also found in abundance in the forest, but roam more freely into the surrounding agricultural lands and are thus less reliant on the park. Fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
species include walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, yellow perch
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
, northern pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
, burbot
Burbot
The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...
, rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, tiger trout
Tiger trout
The tiger trout is a sterile, intergeneric hybrid of the brown trout and the brook trout . The name derives from the pronounced vermiculations, evoking the stripes of a tiger. It is a rare phenomenon in the wild, with the brook trout having 84 chromosomes and the brown trout 80...
, brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
and white sucker
White Sucker
The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...
.
Madge Lake
Madge Lake
Madge Lake is located in eastern Saskatchewan, 18 km east of the town of Kamsack and just a few kilometres west of the province's eastern boundary. It is centered near coordinates 51°40′ N, 101°38′ W...
is the largest body of water in the park and serves as its central tourist attraction. Seasonal recreational activities in and around the lake include fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
(also trout fishing in nearby Little Jackfish Lake), hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, bicycling, swimming, boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
, water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
, alpine skiing
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
, cross country skiing, snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
riding, horseback riding, tobagganing
Toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled which is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites...
, miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
, and 18-hole golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. The area also provides abundant wildlife viewing opportunities, especially in the immensely large local breeding flock of duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s and other waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
.
Duck Mountain Lodge operates as a year-round resort hotel in the park, and a large (summer) seasonal campground and rental cabins are also in the park. Over 300 private vacation residences (cottages) can also be found around the lake. There are two public swimming beaches (Ministik Beach and Pickerel Point Beach) constructed with artificially supplied sand.
The large amount of tourism development in the park is the cause of growing environmental concern. Winter time use of the park has especially increased with the development of the year-round lodge. The park simply isn't as quiet as it used to be. The park is now regarded as having reached its development potential and there exists considerable opposition to further development. Some proposed development projects - such as the increase in the number of cottages in Benito subdivision - have been shelved, and probably abandoned.
There is also a Manitoba provincial park with the same name
Duck Mountain Provincial Park (Manitoba)
Duck Mountain Provincial Park is a 600 square kilometre forest in western Manitoba. It is not to be confused with Saskatchewan's Duck Mountain Provincial Park, located just across the Manitoba/Saskatchewan boundary....
. The two parks lie in different provinces and although they are geologically and environmentally similar, and near each other geographically, they are two separate entities and not physically or politically connected.