Tours Organizer: Saskatoon Custom Bird Tours Website: www.BIRDTOURS.ca
(Part of Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation charity) Email: birdtours@sasktel.net
Landline: 1-306-652-5975

Tours Niche: Birdwatching Tours and Bird Photography Tours Tours Region: Saskatchewan, Canada

Tours Duration: Half-Day, Full-Day, and Multi-Day (2 – 20 days) Tours Months: January – December

Tours Transportation: Tour Types: Private and Public

Self-Driving Guided Tours Hashtags: #saskatooncustombirdtours
(Guide often travels in your personal or rented vehicle) #birding #birdingtours #birdwatching
Walking Tours in or near Saskatoon, Canada #canadatravel #saskatchewan #cypresshills

Cypress Hills Birding Tours

Private Tours

Available April – December

Email birdtours [at] sasktel [dot] net with your proposed dates and ask for a quote.

Public Tours

2026 Public Tours

We offer 3 options for guided self-driving tours to the Cypress Hills region of SW Saskatchewan, Canada.

Option A

June 17 – 24, 2026

This 8-day tour will visit all of the best birding hotspots in SW Saskatchewan including Great Sand Hills, Cypress Hills Center and West Blocks, Govenlock Sage Flats, Old Man on His Back Nature Conservancy Canada Site, Eastend East Block and Grasslands National Park.
This tour begins in Saskatoon at 9 am on day 1 and ends at Mankota, SK at noon on day 8.
Participants may then choose to continue with the leader on the Best Birding Hotspots of SE Saskatchewan Tour.

Estimated return driving distance from Saskatoon: 2400 km.

Where is best place to find prairie birds in Canada?

Join one of our 3 tour options for visiting Cypress Hills and surrounding prairies in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Both novice and experienced birdwatchers are welcome. We will visit the best birding hotspots in SW Saskatchewan. These habitats are the favourites of both local and visiting birders looking for prairie birds as well as sub-alpine birds.

All 3 tour options visit the Cypress Hills. Some of the special unique birds in this region include MacGillivray’s Warbler, Dusky Flycatcher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Common Poorwill, Pacific Wren, Violet-Green Swallow and Western Tanager. We also look for rare Western Flycatcher and Bullock’s Oriole found in the region in recent years. We plan to visit the west and central blocks of this birding hotspot.

In addition to the Cypress Hills region, some tour options will also visit the following birding hotspots.

Saskatchewan’s famous Great Sandhills where Common Poorwill, Long-billed Curlew and Lark Sparrows plus other grassland birds may be found.
Option A
Govenlock Sagebrush Flats – known for Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Baird’s Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Thick-billed and Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
Options A and B
Old Man on His Back Nature Conservancy of Canada Grasslands – Bison and grassland songbirds. Chance for Burrowing Owl
CLICK HERE for Video about Old Man On His Back
Options A and B
Jones’s Peak birding stop in the East Block of the Cypress Hills offers magnificent scenery plus great views of Rock Wrens and Violet-Green Swallows plus other rarities are sometimes seen in this area.
Option A and B
Grasslands National Park where we will watch and listen for Burrowing Owl, Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle, Long-billed Curlew, Loggerhead Shrike, Sprague’s Pipit, Baird’s Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Chestnut-collared Longspur and Thick-billed Longspur.
Option A plus extension to Option B
See side panel for a list of potential species of interest.
A checklist of Saskatchewan birds may be downloaded HERE.

The Cypress Hills – Grasslands Park group tour on June 9 – 16, 2024 is one of the tours in the Saskatchewan Birding Hotspots Series offered by Saskatoon Custom Bird Tours. This tour can easily be taken following our Duck Mountain Park Tour and before our Best Birding Hotspots of SE Saskatchewan Tour .

Transportation:

All participants will travel in their own personal or rented car or truck.
Carpooling may be possible during group tours.
RVs and trucks pulling trailers are only feasible on private tours.
Full electric vehicles are currently only feasible on the Option C private tour. There is a charging station in Maple Creek.

Accommodation Options. Both camping and hotel accommodation options are available.

Option A Cypress Hills – Grasslands Park Itinerary

Weather conditions may result in changes to this planned itinerary.

Day 1

Tour departs Saskatoon after breakfast about 8 am. Participants may choose to join the tour at Rosetown, Kindersley or Leader.

Some of our planned birding stops include the following sites.

Pack your own Lunch to eat at Kindersley Regional Park – wetland birds and songbirds
South Saskatchewan River Valley downstream of Leader
Check in to hotel in Leader
Afternoon and Evening Visit to the Great Sandhills – Western Kingbird, Common Nighthawk plus possible Long-billed Curlew, Prairie Falcon
Pack your own Supper to eat at the Sandhills
Optional late night drive for Common Poorwill,
Overnight at a Leader hotel. Campers may wish to stay in town campground.

Day 2

Some of our planned birding stops include the following sites.

Breakfast at Leader cafe
South Saskatchewan River near Estuary
Pack you lunch to eat on the road.
Mason Lake
Supper at Maple Creek restaurant
Evening visit to Junction Reservoir
Overnight at a Maple Creek hotel. Campers may wish to stay in center block or town campground.

Day 3

Tour departs Maple Creek about 9 am.
Today we will hike several easy trails within the centre block of Cypress Hills provincial park.

We plan the following activities.

Eat breakfast on your own in Maple Creek restaurant.
Hike Highlands Nature Trail in morning
Eat lunch at park restaurant
Hike Valley of the Windfalls Nature Trail
Short visit to Park Nature Interpretive Centre
Hike Whispering Pines Nature Trail
Supper in park resort’s dining room
Evening drive to scenic Look-out Point and Bald Butte
Optional late night drive from 10:30 pm – 11:30 pm to look and listen for Common Poorwill.
Overnight at Maple Creek hotel. Campers may wish to stay in a center block campground.

Day 4

We plan to spend the day birding in the best hotspots in the west block of Cypress Hills.
Some sites (*) may be inaccessible if roads are very muddy.

Breakfast in Maple Creek on your own
Depart Maple Creek at 9 am
Cypress Hills Switchbacks – Dusky Flycatcher, Western Wood Pewee and chance for Black-headed Grosbeak
Fort Walsh hiking trails – Violet-Green Swallow and possible Say’s Phoebe and Western Tanager
Bring your packed lunch to eat in the park.
Cordilleran Flycatcher subspecies nesting site *
Conglomerate Cliffs in Cypress Hills *
Cypress Lake Recreation Site *
Supper at Consul restaurant
Overnight at a motel in Consul SK.
Campers may stay at Cypress Lake recreation site.
Optional evening drive near Consul.

Day 5

We plan to drive around the pastures south of Cypress Hills making stops to watch and listen for grassland birds. Some planned stops include:

Govenlock area – Thick-billed and Chestnut-collared Longspurs and chance for a Golden Eagle
Old Man on His Back Nature Conservancy of Canada grasslands – Bison and chance for a Burrowing Owl or Prairie Falcon
Supper at Eastend Restaurant
Overnight accommodation at Eastend motel.
Campers may stay at a town campground.
Jones’ Peak Lookout visit in evening – Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebirds and Violet-Green Swallows
Optional late evening drive to listen for poorwills.

Day 6

Today we will spend the morning near Eastend and then drive to Grasslands National Park.

Eastend Riverbank Park
Eastend Reservoir
Pine Cree Coulee Regional Park
Shaunavon wetlands – American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt
Pack a lunch to eat on the road
Val Marie Reservoir Bird Sanctuary
Check in to overnight accommodation in Val Marie
Evening visit to Prairie Dog colony to look for Burrowing Owls.

Day 7

We plan to bird in Grasslands Park for much of the day. Some planned stops include:

Val Marie town
Top Dogtown trail
Frenchman River Valley
Larson Interpretive Trail
Little Breed Creek Prairie Dog town
North Gillespie Road (if dry)
Rosefield Ecotour route

Day 8

We will spend most of the morning in Grasslands National Park.
Lunch in Mankota restaurant.

In the afternoon you may return home or continue with me to the SE Saskatchewan Birding Tour.

Option A Tour Fee

Cypress Hills – Grasslands Park Public Tour Fee: CAD $4980 (about US $3500, £2710) per vehicle with 1 – 4 persons. Note fee is for your entire party (not a per person fee). Fee includes guiding services. Meals and accommodation and transportation are NOT included.

Public 8-day Tour Dates: June 17 – 24, 2026
Trip begins in Saskatoon about 9 am on June 17 and ends at Swift Current, Saskatchewan about noon on June 19.

Please book your tour as soon as possible.
Accommodation options are very limited in the remote areas visited on this tour.

Tax Receipt. You will receipt a tax receipt for 50% of the tour fee.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Refunds less a $100 administration fee will be given if cancellation notice received 60 days before date of tour.
No refunds if cancellation notice received less than 60 days before date of tour unless another client takes your place.

Pre Tour Option

Note fees listed are the total fee for your group of 1 – 4 persons.

June 15 & 16, 2026 Redberry Bird Sanctuary Tour and Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary Tour
Combined Guiding Fee: $980 per vehicle for a party of 1 – 4 persons travelling in a single vehicle.
Fee includes guiding services. Meals and accommodation and transportation are NOT included.
Trip begins and end in Saskatoon.

Post Tour Option

June 25, 2026 Chaplin Lake Shorebird Tour
We expect to observe American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Piping Plover, Marbled Godwit, Wilson’s Phalarope, White-faced Ibis and many other shorebirds.
Guiding Fee: $690.
Tax Receipt (50%)

Multiple Tours Discount

Check out our multiple tours discount described here.

Carpooling

If you would like to share the costs of a group tour with other interested birders, then complete the Carpooling Section of the Registration Request Form below or email the tour name, your name, phone number and email address to birdtours@sasktel.net

Gift Certificates Available Now

This Cypress Hills – Grasslands Park Birding Tour makes an excellent birthday gift, anniversary gift, graduation gift, retirement gift or special gift for a birder, birdwatcher or anyone interested in nature.

GIFT CERTIFICATES: Click here for information about purchasing a gift certificate for this tour or any of our other tours.

Cypress Hills Tour Guide

Tour Guide: Stan Shadick. Click for more information about your tour guide.

Cypress Hills Group Birding Tour — Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Trails

CLICK HERE for a trip report from the 2022 Cypress Hills – Grasslands Park tour.

Testimonials from previous Cypress Hills Tour

Please accept our gratitude for a wonderful six days. The time together has been unforgettable and we will treasure these memories. TK June 17, 2022

Thanks for great SK birding and a respectable number of lifers for me! EZ June 25, 2022

Pre Tour Options

Note fees listed are the total fee for your group of 1 – 4 persons.

Multiple Tours Discount

Check out our multiple tours discount described here.

Can I bring my pet dog on this tour?

Dogs are permitted on private tours provided they are kept on a leash. Dogs are not permitted on group tours.

Covid Safety Policy on Cypress Hills Tours

Your tour leader is fully vaccinated.
Please contact us before booking tour if you have any special requests with regard to this policy. In certain cases if requested, leader may be willing to ride in client’s vehicle.

Insurance

We suggest that you consider purchasing travel medical insurance to cover emergency medical expenses during your tour.
We also recommend Trip Cancellation and Interruption insurance.

Travel insurance with trip cancellation and interruption benefits can reimburse you for non-refundable, pre-paid trip costs (up to the amount of your plan limits) should your participation in the trip be canceled or interrupted for a covered reason. According to our cancellation policies, your payment to us will become non-refundable if you cancel your participation after the deadlines outlined in our policies.

In general, Trip Cancellation insurance reimburses you for non-refundable expenses if you are unable to join the tour. Trip Interruption reimburses you for the unused portion of your tour if you have to leave part-way through a tour and it also covers some additional unexpected expenses incurred during your travel (e.g. additional hotel of flight costs due to weather delays or other delays that are not covered by your airline).

Some Potential Birds of Interest

We should find most of the following birds on the Cypress Hills – Grasslands Park Birding Tour.

Ring-necked Pheasant
Ruffed Grouse
Greater Sage-Grouse (rare)
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Red-necked Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Broad-winged Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Golden Eagle
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Upland Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
California Gull
Franklin’s Gull
Eastern Screech-owl (rare)
Burrowing Owl
Common Poorwill
Red-naped Sapsucker
Western Wood-Pewee
Dusky Flycatcher
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Violet-Green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Brown Creeper
Pacific Wren
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire (rare)
Thick-billed Longspur
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Audubon’s Warbler subspecies
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Brewer’s Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Baird’s Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Pink-sided Junco subspecies
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Bullock’s Oriole (rare)
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red Crossbill

How to Get to Saskatoon

Air: Saskatoon International Airport (YXE) is served by Flair, Air Canada, Westjet and their U.S. partners United and Delta.

Air Canada Star Alliance partners also include Aegean, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels, Copa, Croatia, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, EVA, Lot, Lufthansa, SAS, Shenzhen, Singapore, South African, Swiss, TAP, Thai, Turkish, United.

Westjet international partners include AeroMexico, Air France, Air Transat, Azores, Cathay Pacific, China, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta, Emirates, Hainan, Hong Kong, Japan, KLM, Korean, LATAM, Philippine, Quantas, Virgin Atlantic, Xiamen.

Train: Saskatoon’s Train Station is served by Via Rail’s Canadian train serving Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper and Vancouver.

Bus: Saskatoon – Edmonton and Saskatoon – Regina bus service

Car: Saskatoon is located on Canada’s Yellowhead cross-country highway plus 6 other major highways connecting with all cities in Canada and USA. If you drive, you do not need to rent a car for our tours.

Entering Canada

CLICK HERE for government regulations for entering Canada.
My recent fully vaccinated international clients tell me there are no significant delays at the border provided they have fully completed the ArriveCan app in advance.

Cypress Hills – Saskatchewan’s Favourite Birding Hotspot

Public Birding Tours