The Great Sandhills

BY JOAN JANZEN
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

If you’re looking for something fun to do this summer, you don’t have to go very far. In just over an hour, you can drive from Kindersley to have an awesome adventure at the Great Sandhills. There’s no need to get lost because you go simply to Sceptre, find the Great Sandhills Museum, where directions are posted on the door.

Once you reach your destination, you’ll spot an archway made of worn-out cowboy boots; the sand dunes are in the background rising high above the landscape. The dunes are 26 meters high and cover 1,900 square kilometres. Because of strong winds, the dunes are constantly moving eastward at a rate of four kilometres per year. The shifting of the sand is capable of burying full-grown trees and bushes.

Kids will spend hours sliding down the dunes, and anyone passionate about photography will come away with some fantastic shots. The Great Sandhills is one of the largest set of active sand dunes in Canada. Throughout the area, you’ll see rose bushes, sagebrush, chokecherry bushes, as well as aspen, birch and willow trees.

Tourists can bring a picnic and plenty of water because you’re sure to get thirsty after all that exercise. Though there aren’t any souvenir shops, you and your family will bring home lots of sand (in your hair and underwear) to remind you of all the fun you had at the Great Sandhills.

SUBMITTED PHOTO
Jen and Miguel Malana and their young son from Kindersley recently enjoyed their first visit to the Great Sandhills. They loved every minute of it and plan to go back again!