Thomson Lake is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in the
Canadian province of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
along the course of
Wood River in the
Old Wives Lake closed watershed. The lake was created in 1958 for
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
and
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
with the damming of Wood River. It was named after Dr Leonard Thomson who was the director of the
Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a branch under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), a department of the Federal Government of Canada.
The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration was established by an Act of Parliam ...
(PFRA) at the time.
Most of Thomson Lake is within the
Rural Municipality of Wood River No. 74 while the northern tip is within the
Rural Municipality of Gravelbourg No. 104. Thomson Lake Regional Park is located on the eastern shore of the lake and, other than the cabins at the park, there is one small
cottage community on the lake called Gaumond Bay; it is located along a bay at the northern end of the lake.
Lafleche, located along Lafleche Creek, is the closest town at about east of the southernmost point and the town of
Gravelbourg is north of the lake. Access to the lake is from
Highway 58.
Thomson Lake Regional Park
Thomson Lake Regional Park () was the first
regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.
Definition
A regional park can be a special park distri ...
in Saskatchewan. It received its charter on 21 March 1961 and officially opened on 10 July of that same year. Seeing the potential for a great recreational spot, Dr Thomson was instrumental in the initial development of the park. Originally, the park had only a sand beach, bathhouse, playground, 12 campsites, 64 cottages, and a 9-hole golf course. At that time, the lake was stocked with
rainbow trout.
The park is now 200 acres and has over 260 campsites with modern washroom facilities, showers, laundry, and potable water. There is also a BMX track, swimming pool, hiking trails, boat launch, filleting station, ball diamond, minigolf, and swimming lessons.
The golf course, which has a driving range and clubhouse with a dining lounge and pro shop, is a grass greens, par 36 course with a total of 3,007 yards.
Fish species
Fish species commonly found in Thomson Lake include
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...
,
yellow perch
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...
, and
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
. The lake was last stocked with 500,000 walleye fry in 2022.
See also
*
List of lakes of Saskatchewan
This is a list of lakes of Saskatchewan, a province of Canada. The largest and most notable lakes are listed at the start, followed by an alphabetical listing of other lakes of the province.
Larger lake statistics
"The total area of a lak ...
*
Tourism in Saskatchewan There are numerous heritages and cultural attractions in the province of Saskatchewan. Museums, dinosaur digs, aboriginal cultural and heritage sites, art galleries, professional sport venues, spas, handcraft, antique and tea shops, agricultural t ...
References
{{Authority control
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Wood River No. 74, Saskatchewan
Gravelbourg No. 104, Saskatchewan