Road map Eston and Rosetown city surrounding area (Saskatchewan, Canada)

The Gardiner Dam

The mighty Gardiner Dam, and the high, impounded waters of  Lake Diefenbaker, are two of Saskatchewan's must-see sights. The damming  of the swift-flowing South Saskatchewan River provides a bounty of  power and irrigation of the province's economy, as well as a  recreational bonus for its citizens. Within easy reach of the Gardiner  Dam, quieter destinations-a prairie village such as Eston, for  example-also beckon to the curious traveler.

Danielson Provincial Park [D7] A popular spot for water-sports  enthusiasts and campers, this park occupies Lake Diefenbaker's west and  east shores beside the Gardiner Dam. The visitor center, on the west  side, has displays about the lake and its benefits. It also contains  exhibits about the animal and bird life seen on the park's hiking trails  or along the lakeshore.

Eston [D2] The restored 1910 Evans House and Lovedale school  are highlights of Eston's Prairie West Historical Centre. Among 3,000  items on display are furnishings and photographs from frontier times.  This village of 1,000 inhabitants is a center for a productive  grain-growing region.

Gardiner Dam [D7]      

Canada's largest earth-filled dam boasts impressive  dimensions: 5 km long, 64 m high, and 1.6 km wide at the base. Completed  in 1967, the dam created 225-km-long Lake Diefenbaker, a water source  for more than a third of the province. It is named for Saskatchewan  premier and federal agriculture minister James C. Gardiner (1883-1962),  one of the chief political figures who pressed for its development.  DCoteau Creek Hydroelectric Station, below the dam, produces a million  megawatts of electricity a year. A tour from the Danielson visitors  center tells how the plant works. A drive across the dam reveals  dramatic differences in water levels-up to 60 m-between the very high  Lake Diefenbaker behind the dam and the South Saskatchewan River below  it.      

Herschel [b3] Because the area around Herschel was farmed,  prehistoric bones and evidence of early Native habitation remained  undisturbed until the early 1990s. Herschel's Ancient Echoes  Interpretive Centre, housed in the old school, displays recently  discovered skeletal bits and pieces of plesiosaurs and other denizens of  a sea that covered this area millions of years ago. SJThe center also  describes the mysterious petroglyphs—lines, circles, and dots carved on  huge boulders in this area-inscribed by early Native peoples. Beside the  carved boulders, archaeologists have dug up layers of objects from ages  past. Upper-layer finds include glass beads and pieces of china from  early traders or settlers. Lower layers have yielded 600-year-old stone  shards and a buffalo bone over 1,000 years old. Visitors can arrange  tours to the fossil and petroglyph sites at the interpretive center.      

Lucky Lake Heritage Marsh [E7] This spot attracts 200  migrating bird species in spring and fall. Tundra swans visit in May and  June; Hudsonian godwits, in late summer. A nature trail, located just  off Hwy 646, leads to the marsh.      

Ruthilda [A2] The Stopping Place, a pioneer-style farmstead,  offers warm welcome here. Visitors can sup in an antique-filled dining  hall, and inspect the petting zoo and old-time farm gear on the grounds.  OOpuntia Lake Bird Sanctuary, just south of Ruthilda, is a haven for  tens of thousands of migrating ducks and geese during the spring and  fall. Some 2,000 sandhill cranes and 500 tundra swans congregate here in  the fall; spotted sandpipers, American avocet, Wilson's phalarope, and  Baird's sparrow are some species that breed here.      

ATTRACTIONS      

ESTON      

Prairie West Historical Centre      

HERSCHEL      

Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre      

LUCKY LAKE      

Lucky Lake Heritage Marsh      

RUTHILDA      

Opuntia Lake Bird      

Sanctuary The Stopping Place