Archaeological Bus Tours - Saskatchewan Archaeological Society

We present this one to three-day archaeological bus tour to sites of archaeological, historical, and natural heritage interest over the Thanksgiving weekend. Operating since 1981, past trips have involved touring many fascinating sites throughout Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, North Dakota, and Montana.

Previous Archaeological Bus Tours

The 2019 Archaeological Bus Tour hit the road to La Ronge and Stanley Mission. This 3-day tour included stops at Anglin Lake, the Woodland & Waterways Visitor Centre, La Ronge, Mistasinihk Place, Stanley Mission, the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Nistowiak Falls, Robertson’s Trading Post, Nipekamew Sand Cliffs, the Gem Lakes, and Meath Park!

In 2016, we embarked on a day tour of south central Saskatchewan. Along with the Regina Archaeological Society and other interested members we looked for fossils near Castle Butte in the Big Muddy Valley with Dr. Ryan McKellar of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, we travelled to Coronach and took part in a SaskPower coal mine tour with Val, checked out Aust’s General Store in Big Beaver and stopped by the Farr Site near Ogema.

The 33rd Annual Fall Bus Tour travelled the Cowboy Trail of Alberta on October 11-13, 2014. Yeehaw! The tour departed Saskatoon and journeyed to visit the Flaxcombe erratic, the Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site and a tour by Dr. Dale Walde of archaeological sites in Fish Creek Provincial Park on day one. Day two involved a hike to visit the famous “Kokopelli” figurine in the Rocky Mountains, a visit to the Cochrane Ranche National Historic Site, the Sundre Museum and a stop in Rocky Mountain House for the night. Our final day involved a guided tour of Boss Hill and the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement with Maurice Doll and a stop in the Neutral Hills before we arrived back in Saskatoon. Our keynote speaker in 2014 was Dr. Heinz Pyszczyk of the Royal Alberta Museum.

The 32nd Annual Fall Bus Tour headed north – the furthest north we have ever gone! We left from Saskatoon and travelled north to Buffalo Narrows and La Loche and finally back through Meadow Lake and North Battleford. Our tour host this year was Dr. David Meyer, who shared his knowledge about the archaeological and historical significance of north west Saskatchewan.

Our 2011 bus tour was held during the Thanksgiving weekend (October 8th to 10th). We traveled to the archaeological, historical and palaeontological sites of the Big Muddy, Grasslands and Wood Mountain regions of Saskatchewan. Our on-board guides were Dr. Ernie Walker and Dr. Margaret Kennedy from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan along with Frank McDougall, a retired geologist/palaeontologist from Saskatoon.

Our 2012 bus tour was held on Saturday, September 22 to Sunday, September 23. This was a two-day bus tour traveling to the Herschel, Kindersley and Cabri Lake areas with an overnight stay in Kindersley.