The Powerful Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan and the Dead Sea of Canada #saskatchewan
In this video I take you through the beautiful resort village of Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan. This small village sits on the southern …
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February 28, 2026
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Thanks to everyone in Manitou Beach and Watrous for their hospitality, and thanks for watching!
I am planning a month long stay in Saskatoon this coming summer (2025) and your video's have been super helpful.
I did service at Danceland for many years for then owner Arnold Strueby. He was a lovely man, he and his wife always had time for you and a good story to share. They loved to talk about the big hall, Arnold was a musician as well and he once told me about his beloved Firebird guitar that was stolen but eventually came back to him by luck and a suspicious pawnshop owner in Saskatoon! He would always point out to guests the horsehair cushioned dance floor. Wonderful people and place.
QUITE INTERESTING ! GREAT INTRODUCTION OF HIDDEN GEM ! OH, CANADA !
Hey, that's Jorge at Oda!
You aren't drinking from that lake for days and surviving. When you put your arm in the water, after your arm dries, it's white from the salt.
Trust me, you would not drink this water. I have tried and it is terrible.
Very well done video!! Thank you! My friend sent it to me. Such a rich history!
Great place to stay! I like to camp there every year!
Just got back from a 4 night stay at Manitou beach with the wife and kids. Hit Danceland, layed on the beach, mini golf, paddle boarded. It was a great time for all. Reminded me of vacations as a kid. Not very busy, everything was affordable. I give it a 10 outa ten. The water was amazing for our hair. Brough some back and I drink 1/2 cup a day for the health benefits.
I spent two weeks in 2015 pouring over Watrous newspapers from 1921 to 1961. Elvis did not play at the Danceland (nor Hank Snow or Buddy Holly or Louis Armstrong or Duke Ellington or the Ink Spots as rumoured). Wilf Carter and Don Messer did play there. So did several hotel orchestras from Saskatoon and Regina. Once they had an African American orchestra from Chicago. I was born in Watrous and spent many a day in Manitou Beach as a kid. Going there is a bit bittersweet now as the lake rose a lot in the last 25 years and washed away the beaches which were replaced with a berm or levy to keep the lake from flooding even more of the village.
Thank you for the Manitou Beach video was very interesting I grew up coming here and now live close.
Grandparents lived in Watrous where my mom grew up… so many memories!! As a small child, I was terrified that the shrimp in the water were gonna bite me….not that you could see them. 😂 floating was so fun though!!
Your video brought back some great memories! I worked at Camp Easter Seal from 1962 to 1970, starting as a juniour counsellor and finishing as the camp doctor for two years. I remember that the long walk from Danceland back to the Camp on a Saturday Night was a romantic experience for many of our camp staff.
My Dad played his violin for dances at dance land in the 1940,s and 50,s
Love this place . The lake is so awesome and you can float for hours
You should listen to the band called " The Garry's". A wonderful female band who sing about Manitou Beach. They are awesome.
Sweet place. I swam across that lake and back and was so tired i crashed on my towel. Someone tapped me awake before i burned to a crisp..also saved a toddler from drowning there. Water is so buoyant, but he was spinning along his axis, face up to face down trying to right himself gulping water and couldn't scream. I ran out and pulled him out in time for his mom to see he wandered in too far but not to see what happened.
Anyways, not the first time that happened for me. Unusual.
Love this place! Very well done 👏👏👏👍
Camp easter seal we went to see it we were told we are not allowed to look do to we were not a member or some dump excuse, so we left disappointed.
Sure hope the new owners can keep it up, seen a downfall already in the cleansing especially in the pool area, the lifeguards can walk around and take towels to dry off the railings like before, they were not rusted now they are already due to the salty water. Don't keep it up people will not support it, hope they will it's a nice place and unique.
Great video. I actually grew up not far from Manitou Beach. My parents farmed near a town close by called Plunkett and we used to come to Manitou Beach with my Grandparents “John and Mary Farago. I was just a small child. At that time there was the big white public pool you see in pictures in this video. My Uncle and Aunt “Leslie & Edna Farago” and their kids would also meet us at the beach. We always had a great time. You would float like crazy in the lake water. My Grandparents and my Uncle and Aunt retired to the town of Watrous close by. My Mom and Dad “Lyle and Agnes Leyh” always told me stories of going to dances at Danceland and about the wonderful horse hair cushioned floor to dance on. My wife and I have been to Manitou Beach often over the years whenever we came back to the area to visit my Grandparents plus my Uncle and Aunt. The Watrous, Manitou Beach and Plunkett area holds lots of memories for me and my wife. You really did it justice in your video. Thanks for sharing and bringing back wonderful memories for me.
I want to give a shoutout to my Dad, Michael R. Gaudet! He lives at Manitou with his wife, Sharon, and he is the artist who did a number of the pieces of art that you featured, including the historic mural on the village hall, the Salty Surf Inn Butterfly, and the Burger Buoy sign. They also had a gallery and giftshop at the top of the hill above Danceland called GG's, although they've retired now. If you ever do end up going back, you should definitely look up my Dad and Stepmom, they've done a ton of large murals throughout Saskatchewan, including the Young Centennial mural, which is the largest free-standing mural in Canada and right down the street from Watrous. Honestly, @strangenorth you'd probably have a blast with my Dad – he's also very into the paranormal and has had a fair share of experiences 🙂
Hey, you might have missed an interesting Canada-only thing that happened here. Yes, Watrous was sort of names after Frank Watrous Morse VP of the Grand Trunk railroad. But the key was not Mr. Morse's middle name, but the letter "W." When The Grand Trunk Railroad was built there very little or absolutely nothing where the railroad was being built. Look at the names of the railway sidings, about every 8 miles, west and east of Watrous: – "Punnichy, Quentin, Raymore, Semans, Tate, Undora, Viola, Watrous, Xena, Young, Zelma." The towns names started with the letters of the Alphabet from a-z and back to "A" . Just west of Zelma is, of course "Allen". Pretty cool, no?
So glad you did this video, visiting it as heard good things about this place, keep doing your amazing videos👍❤️🇨🇦
Its not well known but I found it and swam in it, walked thru the dance barn. My in laws talked about hockey in Watrous often but never mentioned Manitou lake. Glad to know its still viable.
Lots of artisans scattered thru the village.
Great video! When I was young we used to stay at the beach every summer and spent many days at the pool and enjoyed the dances at the dancehall. . I have not been to the new pool, but I think we might take a trip this summer.
Great video!
I was just talking about manitou beach yesterday with a friend
And now this beautiful video convinced me to go and visit
Thanks
Very well done. I live here in Saskatchewan and have been to Watrous and Manitou on numerous occasions. Such a fantastic place to be so relaxing and peaceful. ❤
Thank you for sharing this video. My mom grew up in Watrous in the 40's and 50's so it was a treat to see the dancehall and imagine her attending dances there. And I remember swimming in the old pool with my grandma in the early 60's. I am looking forward to seeing the video of Watrous to reminisce about visiting mt grandparents, aunts an uncles. My grandfather was a section man for CN Rail there for many years.
Been there many times! Love the Mineral Spring resort, Danceland, the campground and the drive in theatre next to.the campground!
Saskatchewan people are known for their hospitality, kindness, especially in smaller communities, so welcoming!
Manitou Beach is an underrated and underappreciated place in Saskatchewan. I think that this video does an excellent job in showing what is has to offer and why it is special. If someone is looking for a great fishing and power-boating lake, there are other better places to go. However, there is an incredible variety of options of things to see and do when there. It is quite unlike what you find in other SK provincial and regional parks. The video does a great job of showing viewers that. The campground is open for a long time in the fall and is completely gorgeous when the leaves turn yellow.
Thank you for this video. Very informative. A must visit.
On my bucket list!
I love danceland
Manitou was where I went to church camp!
You had to shower after getting in the water basically immediately or else you'd dry with salt crystals all over you hurting your skin😭😭
Loved this video! Even though I have family in Sk, this was not on the list. Now, it is!
I watched the Watrous video and now this one. I asked my wife if she has ever been there since we are living in Delisle. Her aunt and uncle lived in Watrous. She knows all the facts I tell her somehow. I didn't even know about this place. I might bring the camper and stay in the campground with the family. Looks like a great place for a day trip as well!
My parents loved to go to Manitou for soaks! ❤❤❤
Thank you for sharing ❤️
Can't beat the old huge pool that once stood there. A stop at Danceland is like a trip to an old movie.They used to serve up the best french fries, on the beach. So much history, so many good peeps that live there. Thanks!
love your videos man