Every Saskatchewan camper reaches the point where they’ve tried to book Waskesiu in late June and found nothing left — or got through the queue but the only available sites are the ones you wouldn’t have chosen. That’s when you start looking at the parks further north. Narrow Hills is where that search usually ends up, and it’s worth knowing about.

Narrow Hills is about 150 km northeast of Prince Albert, in the boreal north of the province. The drive from Saskatoon is roughly 3 to 3.5 hours — Hwy 11 north to PA, then Hwy 55 east to Smeaton, then north into the park on Hwy 106 (the Hanson Lake Road). It’s not a short trip, and the last 40 km involves gravel road depending on which campground you’re heading for. Check the park map and road conditions before you go.

The park

Narrow Hills is different from the parks around Saskatoon in every way that matters. It’s boreal forest — spruce and poplar, lakes cut by rocky points, no prairie flat anywhere. The lakes are cold and clear. The main campgrounds are Lower Fishing Lake, Ispuchaw Lake, Baldy Lake and Zeden Lake, plus the Gem Lakes, each with a different character.

Gem Lakes campground (note: closed in 2026 due to 2025 wildfire recovery — check parks.saskatchewan.ca before booking) is typically the most remote-feeling of the lot. Lower Fishing Lake has electrical sites and easier access. The Gem Lakes are a genuinely unexpected landscape — seven deep, sand-bottomed lakes that look like they have no business being this far north.

Fishing

Narrow Hills is a serious fishing destination. The lakes hold lake trout, walleye, and northern pike, and the pressure is lower than at the more accessible parks. If fishing is a reason you’re camping rather than just something you do while camping, this is the right park.

Booking

Narrow Hills is in the last tier of the provincial parks reservation schedule — April 17 in 2026. The demand isn’t as high as Candle Lake or Waskesiu, and you can often find decent sites without the opening-day panic. That lower demand is partly distance and partly reputation — not every Saskatchewan camper has made the trip north. The ones who have tend to come back.

Supplies

Nipawin is the supply town for Narrow Hills, about 130 km southeast of the park. Nipawin has a Co-op  and everything you need for a week of camping. Don’t count on picking up supplies after the Nipawin turnoff — there’s not much between there and the park. Prince Albert works too if you’re coming from the west, but you’ll have driven past it by the time you reach Nipawin.

The honest part

The drive is the thing that keeps people from going. Three-plus hours each way is a real commitment, and the road into the park is not paved throughout. If you’re in a low-clearance vehicle or towing a large trailer, do your homework on road conditions before you go. The park office number is worth a call if you’re unsure.

But if you’ve got a week off in July and Waskesiu is full, Narrow Hills is the trip. The lakes are genuinely wild, the boreal feels real, and you will not have the campground to yourself but you will feel further from the city than anywhere else a provincial park road can take you.