Feeling Zen in Saskatchewan

Tourism Saskatchewan’s Matt Duguid walks the Path of Meditation and Relaxation at The Crossing at Grasslands, a boutique property on the border of the Canadian province’s Grassland National Park

We sit under a large tree in a pair of Adirondack chairs, the dappled morning sunlight filtering through the branches and the rich smell of fresh coffee filling my nose.

Susan Howard, co-owner of The Crossing at Grasslands, and I look out across the pond on the edge of her property. A furry nose pokes out where the vegetation meets the water. It’s a muskrat. Susan mentions they’ve got four or five living in the pond now. We watch it paddle around for a few moments.

It’s easy to let the stress of life’s busy schedule wash away at The Crossing at Grasslands. Located just five minutes south of the village of Val Marie, the relaxation retreat borders the West Block of Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan.

As you cruise up the driveway and crest a hill, you’re greeted with a bucolic view of several barn-shaped buildings with red roofs overlooking a pond.

There are three self-contained suites, each asking for a three-night minimum stay, on 80 acres of rolling grasslands.

“What we’re hoping that our guests feel and experience when they’re here is that sense of homecoming...to slow down and leave their busy lives behind,” Susan says. A few moments later and, as if on cue, the family cat, Drifty, hops up onto Susan’s lap, lays down and starts purring.

Susan and her husband Neil Ward first visited Grasslands National Park in 2007 but it wasn’t until 2014 when the opportunity to return presented itself. “It was just like I was being called home,” Susan remembers. “We were living in downtown Toronto and looking for a little acreage to park a trailer. A business, and 80 acres was not in our plans. But we fell in love with this place,” she says.

While the tranquil setting and abundance of wildlife supply ample opportunity for relaxation, the pair have added Mary’s Labyrinth, a maze used for walking meditation. Its twists and turns form a single path, with no wrong turns or choices to make.

At sunset, Susan and I wind our way through the labyrinth. Before I conclude my day, Susan invites me to enjoy a few moments of relaxation in the cenre. We both lay on the large boulder, staring up at the sky, the first stars appearing in the evening twilight. I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes. I realise that Mary’s Labyrinth is working. I am thoroughly relaxed now and could easily get used to this.•