For over 30 years, the Fort Saskatchewan Sheep have been welcomed into City parks to help keep the grass trim. This unique program serves as both an eco-friendly way to look after the parks, and a delightful opportunity for visitors to get up close and personal with farm animals in the city. This friendly and fuzzy flock of 50 sheep and their accompanying sheepdog and Shepard are quite the site to see!
We recently visited the sheep for our second time and the experience did not disappoint. I love that they roam freely through the Fort Precinct grounds and that you are able to interact directly with the animals. They can be anywhere on the grounds so we did have to take a short walk to find them, but there is usually good signage near the parking lot to let visitor’s know the location of the sheep that day.
We came prepared with cut carrots and the sheep were quick to catch on that we had treats for them. Expect to get a bit overwhelmed as all of them trying to force their way to you at once for a chance at a treat! Luckily the flock is always under the careful watch of their shepard and she made sure to let us know that she had her trusty sheep dog at the ready to disperse the sheep if we began to feel uncomfortable. Closed toed shoes are also recommended to protect from stray hooves.
We headed out to Fort Saskatchewan on a Thursday afternoon knowing that the farmer’s market would also be happening while we were there. The Yellowhead Railway Club’s opens up their model train display during the Farmer’s Market and I was wanting to check it out. It is located in the basement of the Fort Saskatchewan CN Station and is open to the public on Thursday’s from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM. It is still very much a work in progress, but it was neat to see some of the Fort Saskatchewan buildings they have already re-created at the tiny model train scale.
Upstairs in the CN Train Station is also home to Millers Ice Cream. Offering over 40+ flavours of ice cream and mini donuts, it is not hard to guess why this is a popular summer spot. We have enjoyed Millers in the past and normally my kids are always up for ice cream, but that day we opted to try a freshly squeezed Limeade from the Farmer’s Market instead.
And, if your kids still need to run off a bit energy, I highly recommend making your way across the street from the train station to the Fort Saskatchewan Elementary School playground. With it’s soaring slide tower, it is one of the more impressive playgrounds I have seen – perfect for my older kids that have started to outgrow several playground features. My kids spotted it from the train platform on our first visit to the sheep and we all agreed we HAD to check it out!
If you have never been to Fort Saskatchewan, it is worth making the short drive out. It is a vibrant city with plenty of fun family-friendly experiences to offer!
Visit the Fort Saskatchewan Sheep:
When: Thursday to Sunday from June 3 – September 4, 2023
Time: 11:30 am to 7:00 pm
Where: Fort Heritage Precinct
Address: 10006 100 Avenue, Fort Saskatchewan
Website: www.fortsask.ca
