Maple Creek

Maple Creek is a small town of 2,100 (2016) in Southwestern Saskatchewan. It serves as the main service centre and gateway to the Saskatchewan portions of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.

Understand
After the North-West Mounted Police had been established at Fort Walsh, settlers began to explore the Cypress Hills area, living along the creeks and doing small-scale ranching. The Department of the Interior was operating a First Nations farm on the Maple Creek, a few miles south from the present town site. In 1882-1883 the First Nations (mainly Cree, Saulteaux, and Assiniboine) were moved to Qu'Appelle, and the farm was then operated by Major Shircliff, an ex-Mounted Policeman. In the winter of 1882, a Canadian Pacific Railway construction crew of 12 decided to winter where the town of Maple Creek now stands. This marked the establishment of Maple Creek.

Get in
Maple Creek is 8 km south Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway), near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It is southeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta,  north of the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, and  west of Regina.

Go next

 * Fort Walsh in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
 * The Great Sandhills in Leader