Brimming with legendary, health-promoting minerals and known around the world as Canada’s Dead Sea, Little Manitou Lake in Saskatchewan is perhaps the province’s best secret.
The terminal lake, which means it has no inflow or outflow, is fed by underground springs and has a mineral content high in sodium, magnesium and potassium salts, allowing bathers to float without effort.
Since the 19th century, native people have been bringing their sick to the lake they named after the spirit Manitou. Legend has it that the earliest known practice of using this water to heal was when some Assiniboine people afflicted with smallpox were cured after drinking and submerging themselves in the water.
Since the turn of the 20th century and the depression of the 1930s, Manitou has been a tourist resort due to its unique mineral waters. Since the late 1980s, the claimed health benefits and the buoyancy of the water have once again made it a popular tourist destination.
Little Manitou Lake is located approximately 100 km east of Saskatoon and attracts a national and international clientele, including Debbie Mason of Kamloops, B.C.