Parks and Green Space
The Parks Department is responsible for maintaining over 2,300 hectares of parks, sport fields, naturalized areas and other open spaces throughout Saskatoon. These spaces provide several environmental and social benefits, including recreational opportunities, habitat for birds and wildlife, shade and beauty.
What are we doing?
Park Locations
Saskatoon maintains over 200 parks located throughout the city for residents and visitors to enjoy. Use the City’s Parks Map to search for a park by name or location and find out what amenities each park has to offer.
Park Enhancements
The City is committed to maintaining the vitality of its parks and green spaces. This involves upgrading green spaces in established areas, as well as planning and designing parks in new neighbourhoods. To see a list of parks being upgraded this year, visit the Park Upgrades and Development page.
Naturalized Parks
Saskatoon manages several naturalized parks, which support biodiversity, feature drought-resistant native plants and grasses and require less maintenance, mowing, fertilizer and irrigation. These parks include various ecosystem types, such as native prairie, wetlands and aspen parkland. They also feature walking trails and provide opportunities for education and connections with nature. To see a list of naturalized parks in Saskatoon, visit the Park Locations & Amenities page..
Park Maintenance
The City helps keep our parks and green spaces safe, clean and beautiful through maintenance activities such as mowing, pruning, irrigation and pest and weed management. To learn more about what you can expect the City to provide in terms of maintenance, please visit Saskatoon’s Parks Maintenance page.
Irrigation Improvements and Water Conservation
The City is finding ways to save water and costs in its own operations. Work is underway to keep parks healthy by using less water through actions such as naturalizing more green spaces, upgrading irrigation control systems and using weather monitoring technologies. As part of this work, the City began optimizing park irrigation systems in 2021 through an Evapotranspiration (ET)-based program. In 2023, the City saved 41 million litres water, 18 tonnes CO2e and $155,000 (Water and Wastewater Utilities 2023 Annual Report).
Natural Infrastructure Fund
Several parks, green spaces and natural areas are receiving federal funding through the Natural Infrastructure Fund for enhancements, such as tree planting, pathway upgrades, natural area restoration, irrigation improvements and food forests.
Monitoring Progress: Where are we now?
Park Area
The amount of park space in Saskatoon is increasing—overall and on a per-capita basis.
- Total park and open space area managed by the Parks Department: 2,304 hectares in 2022 (Parks 2022 Year-End Report).
- Number of parks managed by the Parks Department: 247 in 2023
- Park area per person: 37 square meters per capita in 2021.
Naturalized Parks
- Naturalized parks make up about 12 percent of Saskatoon's total park area in the city.
How you can help
- Visit one of Saskatoon’s many parks, including green spaces within Meewasin’s jurisdiction.
- Become a park steward by reviewing Saskatoon’s Park Etiquette.
- Learn about the outdoor recreational opportunities available in Saskatoon.
- Look for volunteer opportunities that support and enhance our natural environment.