Canada's most underrated national park rivals Brazil's Pantanal

Tiny burrowing owls perch on barbed wire fence posts in Brazil’s Pantanal, and even more pepper an open field. The same species stands atop a prairie dog burrow in Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park. At first glance, the comparison seems improbable. 

Separated by a hemisphere, one landscape is shaped by semi-arid climate, winds, and drought, the other by seasonal flooding. Yet both share common features: vast landscapes, rich biodiversity, cowboy culture, and rare and unique wildlife—a reward for travelers who take the time to slow down.

Proclaimed a national park in 2001, Grasslands National Park, found in southwest Saskatchewan, covers over 347 square miles, split between two blocks, each with entirely different terrain and features. The West Block, near Val Marie, is rich in wildlife and shaped by rolling hills, deep coulees, and river flats, while the East Block, found two hours away near Montana’s border, is defined by rugged badlands and rich fossil beds. Little has changed here since Indigenous Peoples followed migrating bison across the prairie more than 10,000 years ago, leaving behind one of North America's largest collections of undisturbed archaeological sites, including tipi rings and ceremonial sites that visitors can still see today.

A designated UNESCO World Heritage site, the Pantanal offers a different kind of openness as the world’s largest tropical wetland extending across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Most of it lies within Brazil’s central-western State of Mato Grosso. 

If you can’t make it to the Pantanal, Grasslands National Park is a surprisingly close alternative that changes how travelers see the prairies and their often-overlooked wildness.

Mindful observation of the landscape

“Globally, prairie is so underrated. People don’t realize how much is here,” says Nick Ypelaar, Parks Canada interpreter, whose role is to bring nature and the park’s history to life through guided tours, storytelling, and educational programs. 

Offering full, unobstructed 360-degree views, the mostly treeless landscape is frequently mistaken for barren. However, the park’s expanse reveals an abundance of life, but it requires presence, and sometimes even acclimation. Overwhelmed is a common first reaction for visitors.

"The sky is way too big," Brenda Peterson, former Parks Canada interpreter and rancher, recalls hearing. To help visitors adjust, Peterson began by asking them to lie on their backs on tours. “Then I’d get them to turn on their stomachs. They’d start noticing and seeing what’s around. They might notice the grasses first, then maybe the lichen.”

In the Pantanal, a different kind of grounding is afoot. Guide Victor “Vitinho” de Nascimento goes shoeless, moving barefoot through the water-filled landscape, damp earth squishing between his toes as if it were an extension of his body. “I am part of this, I am home,” says de Nascimento. 

In both places, visitors who immerse themselves in the landscape begin to notice what slowly unfolds around them. The night also has something to offer. 

While the Pantanal offers remarkably dark southern skies, Grasslands National Park is renowned for its darkness and pristine night skies. The designated Dark Sky Preserve is one of the best places in Canada for exceptional stargazing.

Wildlife hides in plain sight

Like a Pantanal safari drive, visitors can spot plenty of wildlife during an Ecotour Scenic Drive in the West Block. They may see a Plains bison roadblock and watch them as they amble leisurely across the road to graze on tall native grasses. Or see a pronghorn darting with startling speed across the horizon. They’re likely to hear the sophisticated chirps of keystone species, black-tailed prairie dogs, before spotting them scattered within colonies punctuating the park’s landscape—the only place to find them in Canada. A walk along the 0.5-mile, Top Dogtown Trail overlooks colonies and boosts the odds of observing burrowing owls, and if you are exceptionally lucky, the once extirpated swift fox.

With over 30 at-risk species of flora and fauna, all of which depend on the park’s rare environment, it’s rich in biodiversity, much like its southern equivalent. Native wildflowers such as prairie crocus and grasses like Blue grama grass, favored by bison, can be found. 

Although the ecological architecture is different, Pantanal’s wide-open floodplains create the same sense of expansive and iconic wildlife viewing found in Saskatchewan. With an abundance of mammal and bird species, travelers could see brilliant blue hyacinth macaws roosting in palm groves; caimans sunning themselves along shorelines, or capybaras munching on grass, while jabiru storks wade in a nearby flooded savannah—even jaguars are possible to spot along waterways.

Another world at your feet

There’s a whole prehistoric world being slowly revealed in Grassland’s East Block—an area that was once covered by an inland sea before dinosaurs roamed. Here, constantly eroding badlands and winds reveal records of life from nearly 70 million years ago. Hunt for fossils along Rock Creek Trail, a one-mile stretch where some of Canada’s most significant fossil finds have been unearthed. It’s possible to stumble across ancient fragments of seashells, marine reptiles, or dinosaur bones.  

Fossils aren’t the only thing hiding below the surface. Walking through native prairie grasses means stepping over some of the world’s largest natural carbon reservoirs. Beneath your feet, these resilient, deep-rooted plants, adapted to drought and fire, store incredible amounts of carbon in the soil—even more than many forests. In the Pantanal, grasses connect wetlands and forests across seasonally waterlogged plains that sustain life at every level of the food chain. 

Native grasses are often mistaken for agricultural land, with many unaware of just how vital their infrastructure is to sustain other park plants and inhabitants. This occurs in Brazil, as well. “People think there isn’t a lot of life in grass,” a sentiment shared by former Pantanal guide Gabriella Stowell. Over time, both have become increasingly recognized as critical ecosystems that sustain biodiversity far beyond what is visible.

Conservation with a human hand

Grasslands National Park protects Canada’s largest and one of the world’s most endangered mixed-grass ecosystems. To sustain its habitats and protect wildlife, the park adopted the approach of ranchers who have worked the land for generations—cattle grazing. Together, cattle and the park’s reintroduced bison maintain short-grass habitat essential to many at-risk species. “Look at the diversity inside the park where there is grazing,” says Yeplaar. “If species disappear, they most likely won't come back. These lands must be grazed.”

In Brazil, Pantaneiro cowboys and ranchers have harmoniously coexisted with seasonal flooding by practicing low-density ranching for over 300 years. Participating in ecotourism has also afforded them opportunities to share their culture and keep it alive while showcasing the Pantanal’s beauty. 

Soak up cowboy culture

Travelers can channel their inner cowboy with a visit to Hotel Fazenda das Pedras, a sustainable ranch offering Pantaneiro-led outings. Experiences include wildlife viewing, horseback riding, and an opportunity to learn about on-site conservation efforts to protect lowland tapir and giant armadillo.

Over in Grasslands, visitors can camp under the stars in the park, book a Parks Canada oTentik (a custom-made, permanent camping shelter), or overnight in Val Marie. They can embrace the frontier spirit by galloping across open fields with Hi Horse Adventures. 

Prefer hitting the open trails over horseback? The park boasts numerous options, including the popular 1.25-mile 70-Mile Butte Trail in West Block—with one of the park’s highest points, it’s ideal for sunset views, or for a challenging backcountry experience. Seasoned hikers can trek the East Block’s 6.2-mile trail, Valley of 1000 Devils.

Why choose Grasslands National Park?

Separated by 5,281 miles, Grasslands National Park and the Pantanal share a similar story as destinations with ecosystems that are among the world’s richest.

Skip the expensive airfare and long-haul flight in favor of visiting this sprawling, lesser-known park. North American travelers will find many of the same rewards that draw people to Brazil’s Pantanal because both invite visitors to immerse themselves in nature and reveal their greatest treasures to those who slow down long enough to take them all in. 

A visit to Grasslands National Park leaves visitors with more than wildlife memories. They leave learning how to see the prairies differently—not because the landscape changed, but because they did.