"Environmentally Sensitive Area". Please be careful where you walk and try not to disturb the natural environment. For additional information please contact Tourism Saskatchewan.
Qu'Appelle Valley Legend
You are approaching one of the most charming of Saskatchewan's beautiful river valleys.
An ancient Indian legend tells of how the valley got its name; an Indian brave travelling to his wedding one evening heard his name called out. It was the voice of his sweetheart, but she, he knew, was many suns away in camp. Puzzled, the brave answered, 'who calls?', but only a spirit voice mimicked, 'who calls?'. Troubled, the brave sped home-ward, only to learn that his loved one had died. With her last breath she had called his name. Ever since, so the legend goes, the valley has been known as the Qu'Appelle or Calling River Valley. Skeptics claim the name comes simply from the marvelous echo which rebounds from the valley's walls. Who knows?
The Qu'Appelle Valley is a wonderful sunken garden, first carved centuries ago by torrents of glacier-born water. Stretching across two-thirds of southern Saskatchewan, the Qu'Appelle harbours a string of eight lakes from the Buffalo Pounds in the west to the Round and Crooked Lakes in the east.