You Can Hike Huge Sand Dunes In Canada & Feel Like You're Wandering In The Sahara Desert

If you want to walk across huge sand dunes like the kind you'd find in Egypt, you can skip the travel time and plane ticket and visit a Canadian desert instead.

In Western Canada, you'll find an area with huge sand dunes that's like a real slice of the Sahara desert.

Located in Saskatchewan, the Great Sandhills are an area of active desert-like sand dunes, meaning the landscape is constantly changing and shifting.

In fact, the area is one of the largest sets of active sand dunes in Canada.

The sand dunes cover an area of 1,900 square kilometres in southwestern Saskatchewan, not far from the town of Leader, and definitely make for a stunning photo backdrop.

Native grasses and sagebrush plants line the Great Sandhills' dunes, adding to their African desert feel.

The area is said to be a great spot for bird watching and nature photography. Some of the wildlife you might be able to spot include mule deer and antelope, which are known to frequent the sandhills.

The area is around three and a half hours from Saskatoon and about the same distance from Drumheller, Alberta, where you can find more unique natural formations like the Canadian Badlands.

When you think of Saskatchewan, you might not have immediately thought of an area filled with deserts, but it turns out the province is actually home to many areas where you can see huge sand dunes.

At the other end of the province, near Lake Athabasca, is the remote Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, where you can see towering dunes that look like they're straight out of a movie.

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.