Wascana Centre

Wascana Centre is the large urban park at the centre of Regina, Saskatchewan, built around Wascana Lake and shared by the provincial legislature, museums, galleries and gardens. It is one of the largest urban parks in North America, and it forms the green core of the city. The name Wascana comes from a Cree word, commonly taken to mean pile of bones, and the city itself was first known by a related name before it became Regina. The park’s present form took shape in the early 1960s, when the Wascana Centre Authority was established to plan and manage the area as a single whole.

The lake is man-made. It was created in the 1880s by damming a prairie creek, which turned a dry, treeless flat into a water feature that gave the young city a focal point. The landscape was later shaped by the plans of the English town planner Thomas Mawson, who drew up designs for the legislative grounds in the early twentieth century. Today the Saskatchewan Legislative Building stands on the south shore, a domed stone structure with formal gardens, while trees, lawns and paths ring the lake.

The park holds a number of cultural institutions. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum, the province’s natural history museum, explores the landscapes, fossils and Indigenous history of the region, and the MacKenzie Art Gallery shows Canadian and international art. The Saskatchewan Science Centre, a hands-on museum near the lake, is popular with families, and the Conexus Arts Centre hosts concerts, theatre and dance. The University of Regina campus also borders the park.

Outdoors, Wascana offers miles of trails for walking, running and cycling, and the lakeshore is lined with benches, bridges and picnic spots. The Queen Elizabeth II Gardens are a formal flower garden with seasonal plantings, and Willow Island, reached by a small ferry in summer, is a popular place for picnics. Visitors can paddle or take a boat out on the water, and waterfowl, geese and ducks are a constant presence on the lake. In winter the lake freezes and the paths are used for skating, skiing and winter walks, and the legislature and trees can look striking in snow.

Entry to the park is free, and parking lots are scattered around its edges, with public transit running to the surrounding streets. It suits families, walkers, cyclists and anyone interested in museums and gardens. Allow a half day or more, and bring layers, since the prairie wind can be strong. The park is at its best on a warm afternoon, with the water full of boats and the gardens in bloom.