Can you Cycle the Trans Canada Trail in Saskatchewan?

 Can you Cycle the Trans Canada Trail in Saskatchewan?

 

“When my legs hurt,

I say : ‘Shut up Legs!

Do what I tell you to do!’”

 

Jens Voigt

 

Cycling the Trans Canada Trail in Saskatchewan - What to Expect

 

If Manitoba asked us to reconsider what it meant to follow the Trans Canada Trail, Saskatchewan continued to develop that question.

 

By this point in our #Hike4Birds journey on the Trans Canada Trail, we had come to understand that there was a difference (sometimes a huge one) between a route that exists on a map and one that can be followed in a continuous, meaningful way on the ground. Saskatchewan makes that distinction clear.

While we had chosen to hike across the country, we knew that most people undertaking a journey of this scale would do so by bike. It is faster, more efficient, and allows for greater flexibility in how you move across the landscape. Because of this, one of the most common questions we are asked is whether the Trail can be cycled in each province.  In Saskatchewan, the answer becomes more complex.

 

As we noted in our review of the province, the Trans Canada Trail here is best understood as a tale of “Crown Jewels and Concessions.” Across more than 1,400 kilometres, the route rarely feels like a continuous trail. Instead, it weaves across the provincial landscape, linking together isolated sections of pathway with long stretches of rural roads.

 

Crown Jewels – Where the Trail Comes Together

 

There are moments in Saskatchewan where the Trail feels exactly as it is meant to.  Urban pathways such as the Wascana trails in Regina and the Meewasin Valley Trail in Saskatoon offer well-developed, enjoyable routes that are fully suited to cycling. These spaces are thoughtfully designed, easy to follow, and allow for a kind of movement that feels both natural and sustained.

 

Beyond the cities, smaller but equally meaningful sections appear. Douglas Provincial Park, the Piping Plover Trail, and the community of Elbow offer glimpses of what the Trail could be if these segments were more fully connected. Provincial parks such as Duck Mountain, Good Spirit Lake, and Buffalo Pound provide additional stretches where off-road travel is not only possible, but genuinely enjoyable.

 

These are the “crown jewels” - places where the experience fits with expectations.

 

Concessions – The Reality Between Them

 

Between these sections, however, the nature of the journey is very much as it was in Manitoba – on roads.  Long gravel and sandy rural roads. 

 

Indeed, the vast majority of the route across Saskatchewan follows rural roads - gravel concessions and paved highways that stretch for hundreds of kilometres. While they come with their own realities, these roadway stretches are not inherently negative.

 

In fact, some of the most memorable stretches of the province occur along them. Time spent in the Qu’Appelle Valley, and later along the roads surrounding Redberry Lake’s UNESCO Biosphere, revealed landscapes that were both striking and deeply rewarding to move through.

But they are not trails in the way many would expect.

 

Surfaces vary widely. Some gravel roads are firm and manageable, while others become sandy and loose, making cycling more difficult and energy-intensive. Traffic is often light, but the exposure is constant. Wind, sun, and distance shape the experience in ways that are difficult to fully appreciate until you are within them for long periods of time.

 

For long-distance cyclists, this becomes less a question of whether you can ride, and more a question of whether this is the type of riding you are seeking.  To follow the Trans Canada Trail directly is to follow a weaving route mostly on roadways rather than on dedicated pathways.

 

Water, Weather, and the Role of Wheels

 

As in Manitoba, water and weather define the rhythm of travel - whether on foot or on a bike.  We relied heavily on hiking carts through this province, not because the terrain demanded it, but because the conditions did. Carrying sufficient water across long, exposed stretches was essential, and without the capacity to do so, our ability to move forward would have been limited.  Cycling changes that equation but only slightly.

 

With speed comes the ability to move between water sources and communities more efficiently, reducing the need to carry as much at any one time. In this sense, a bike offers a clear advantage.

 

But that advantage is conditional.

 

In dry weather, the roads are manageable, if at times dusty and loose. In wet conditions, they transform. Prairie roads become thick, adhesive mud - deep, heavy, and difficult to move through on any kind of wheel. We experienced this only briefly, for eight to ten hours, and even that was enough to understand how quickly progress can slow to a near halt.

Others we know – Mel Vogel, for one - had the opposite experience. Where we had drought, she and Malo had rain, and wheels became a liability rather than an advantage.  Prairie mud is a tough experience for those not used to it - and we certainly got an education while in Saskatchewan.

 

A Province to Be Experienced, Not Rushed

 

Saskatchewan is often overlooked, but it should not be.  It is stunning.  

 

It is a province of open space, variation, and natural beauty. The landscapes are not dramatic in the way of mountains or coastlines, but they reveal themselves over time, through light, distance, and moments spent watching the open horizon.   However, the fact remains that the Trans Canada Trail, rarely presents these landscapes through dedicated pathways.  Instead, it explores the province along a network of roads and intermittent urban trails, asking you to accept the journey as it is rather than as it might be imagined or has been built in other provinces.

 

Conclusion - Cycling the TCT in Saskatchewan 

 

So, can you cycle the Trans Canada Trail in Saskatchewan?  Yes - but, as in Manitoba, the answer depends on how you define the journey and very much on how you define a “trail”.

 

There are exceptional sections of trail - urban pathways, provincial parks, and smaller regional routes - that are well suited to cycling and offer moments of real enjoyment. But they are not connected in a way that allows for a continuous off-road experience.  The majority of the route lies on dirt and sandy roads – factors which shape how long you want to cycle on them - especially if you are traversing both Manitoba and Saskatchewan on the TCT.

 

For some, this will be entirely acceptable, even appealing. For others, particularly those seeking long-distance trail riding, or on touring bikes, it may fall short of expectations.

 

One of the key lessons we have found on the Trans Canada Trail is that there is a difference between what is designated and what is practical. In Saskatchewan, that difference is shaped not by terrain alone, but by distance, exposure, and a meandering route around the province. 

 

To cycle across the province is entirely possible.  But it is a journey defined less by trail, and more by the spaces between.  It seems that in many ways, the further west you go, the less the Trans Canada Trail is in fact a trail, and becomes more of a route through the landscape that leads users to ask what type of journey they want.   This is a reality to any who set out by foot or by bike have to acknowledge.

 

See you on the trail!

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