Canada Guide
Manitoba and Saskatchewan
Trans-Canada Highway
Slicing east– west across both Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1), rushes past brilliant yellow canola (rapeseed) fields, for around 1000km before hitting the Alberta border. Dotted with campsites and fast-food joints, it follows the route of the original transcontinental railroad, pushing past a series of charmless towns that are at the heart of the province's most fertile farming region. Driving across, the novelty of the big skies and vast spaces quickly wears off and the journey can easily become dull. But this needn't be so if you're prepared to leave the hwy for breaks along the way. Several Provincial Parks offer the chance to stretch your legs and put the monotonous asphalt out of mind and a few attractions such as Cannington Manor and the Tunnels of Moose Jaw are genuinely entertaining. Surrounding the latter, Moose Jaw is a pleasant small town for an overnight break, as is Regina – the largest town en route. However, the only sight for which it's genuinely worth travelling in from afar is the pristine and wonderfully empty Grasslands National Park.