The Battlefords Provincial Park

A rare camping trip where we are camping with friends! (that aren’t family) – all thanks to someone holding me accountable!

The Battlefords was a great halfway point for us and Tasha (@chasingkennedys). We each had never been to this park, although I did live at the lake for a short work term many years ago.

I was able to secure a lake view site (no access) and Tasha’s site was a short walk away – this was in the event our friendship failed and things got awkward 😂. Our site had a great view for sunsets, calm waters and was perfect for peaceful morning coffees. There were tons of Saskatoon bushes along the trail from our campsite, and I was very into foraging fresh berries daily.

The first few hours were ROUGH. The four year old was having a black out tantrum, I managed a second degree burn from the fire pit and it was 39583 degrees outside. We were sweating just breathing.

Things. Were. Not. Good.

Once our friends arrived and we had a chance to get together, things improved greatly.

Our first full day started at 3 am with a huge thunder and lightning storm. Ty and I were the only ones to wake for the storm. We all had a great sleep and slept in later than usual. The day consisted of on and off again rain.

We made due with making a big breakfast and going for a drive around the park. After lunch the rain stopped and we were able to squeeze in a hike and trip to the beach.

Hike – Cacti and Cranberries Trail (fun fact we saw neither). This trail was marked easy, but it started out with giant hills. We had the stroller and I don’t think I would consider the trail stroller friendly. The second half of the trail was treed and with some descents. Highlight of the trail the – the tunnel from the campground to the trail head.

After the hike we got ready to hit the beach. We biked to the “unsupervised beach” which was closer to the campground. This beach was great and wasn’t overly crowded- a pleasant surprise. There were no amenities at the beach (washrooms, showers, etc)

Uno, campfire supper, and campfire / movie night at our friends. Day 1 was in the books!

We couldn’t be at The Battlefords Provincial Park and not go to the Cochin lighthouse – it’s the law. Also my little maritime soul was obviously obsessed with the lighthouse. We planned to go first thing – to beat the sun and to get it over with (for the kids).

After climbing the 385728 steps we made it. At the top there were great views of the lake, lots of cacti on the hillside and warmth of the ocean air. Just kidding, I wish.

Tasha had brought her drone and took some awesome pics and video. Very into the drone.

After lunch we planned to go to the main beach to relax and rent a pedal boat.

[To note – I much preferred the unsupervised beach.]

We hit up Beachside Boat Rentals and there was only one pedal boat available, so we decided to share between families. Also there was no way our crew would survive an hour on a pedal boat – also I forgot how much work pedal boats are. I’m fairly certain we didn’t make an hour, we had a kayak out for a short time as well. After our boating experience we all deserved ice cream, so we went to the store.

It was starting to rain again over supper and into the evening. In the evening we enjoyed a sheltered fire and s’mores with friends.

And that’s it! Day 3 we packed up and hit the road. We had the best time camping with friends, and the kids got along wonderfully.

Lessons learned – our trailer we needed a first aid kit.

This is the trip I also made the funniest video ever. I had told Tasha about my idea weeks prior. In the moment I was ready to chicken out, but my faithful friend was committed. Tasha was the director, producer, videographer, drone operator, and co-writer. It’s the most embarrassing thing, but a cinematic masterpiece at the same time.

Watch the masterpiece here.

If you have any questions about the park let me know! The Battlefords was definitely a pleasant surprise!