People in Saskatchewan have been out enjoying the warmer-than-average weather, especially at Echo Valley Provincial Park.
Shelley MacLean, manager for Echo Valley and Katepwa Point Provincial Park, says many have been enjoying the ski trails over the last week.
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“I know (Wednesday), I was out inspecting our cross-country ski trails, and many visitors wrote they’re still enjoying them. (Thursday) certainly is the warmest forecast of the week, so we are temporarily going to close our skating loop just to try to protect it,” MacLean said.
“Of course, when the ice gets soft, those skates cut a little deeper. Makes it a little bit harder for our staff to get the ice back because we’re assuming that the weather isn’t going to stay this warm for very long. It’s quite early for us in Saskatchewan to have spring-like weather.”
MacLean said Echo Valley’s skating loop is the largest in the province. She said staff hope to reopen the loop this weekend if the weather allows it.
“Anything that is below 0 C is ideal for us. From our guests’ perspective, I think folks do like it anywhere from -5 C to -20 C, she said.
“We’re from Saskatchewan, so I think our population is quite resilient and we have folks out there skating when it is -30 C, -40 C with the windchill.”
MacLean said the warm weather has been a nice change of pace after an extreme cold snap in January.
“Folks were out there in just a sweatshirt and a vest and really enjoying what winter has to offer. We’re expecting it will be busy this weekend as well,” she said.
“With nicer weather, it is a little easier to stay out there longer, so we’re going to take advantage of being able to showcase all of the different activities that we have for winter and we’re looking forward to the winter season continuing. MacLean said Echo Valley typically keeps its skating loop open for as long as it can – usually lasting until the end of March, depending on the weather.
“We’re assuming that this warm-up that we have here in February is just a temporary break to allow us to all wear a few less layers and get those smiles out and get outside and enjoy some of this winter weather we have,” she said.









