Theodore Reservoir is a man-made
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
along the course of the
Whitesand River in the
Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
. The lake was formed with the building of Theodore Dam in 1964. The reservoir and dam were named after the nearby community of
Theodore. Whitesand River is the primary inflow and outflow for the reservoir. Lawrie Creek, which begins in the
Beaver Hills, flows into the lake on the western side near the dam.
While there are no communities on the lake's shore, there is a regional park and a Bible camp on the western side. The lake is accessed from
Highways 651 and
726 and nearby communities include
Springside and
Good Spirit Acres.
Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park is to the east.
Theodore Dam
Theodore Dam () was built in 1964 along the course of the Whitesand River to create Theodore Reservoir. The dam is high and the reservoir impounds of water. The outflow from the lake is at the southern end of the dam. In 2024, the
Saskatchewan Water Security Agency began improvements to the dam that included the control gates being replaced and upgrades to the spillways.
Access to the dam is from Highway 726 and there is a boat launch at the northern end of the dam.
Whitesand Regional Park
Whitesand Regional Park () is a
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 distr ...
on the western shore of Theodore Reservoir. The park is accessed from Highway 651, which runs north from Theodore and the
Yellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway () is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg west to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western provinces of Britis ...
.
The Whitesand Regional Park first opened on 4 May 1965. Since then, through regular expansion and investment, upgrades such as a picnic area, golf course, campground, boat launches, mini-golf, modern washroom and shower facilities, and a children's playground were added. The campground is made up of 30 electrified sites with access to potable water. Whitesand Regional Park Golf course is a sand greens, 9-hole course that originally opened in 1969.
Fish species
Fish commonly found in the lake include
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
,
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...
, and
perch
Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...
. The lake is frequently stocked and was last stocked with 400,000 walleye fry in 2023.
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 lake ...
*
Saskatchewan Water Security Agency
*
Dams and reservoirs in Saskatchewan
*
Tourism in Saskatchewan
There are numerous heritages and cultural attractions in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Museums, dinosaur digs, aboriginal cultural and heritage sites, art galleries, professional sport venues, spas, handcraft, antique and tea shops, ...
*
Whitesand Dam
References
{{Authority control
Lakes of Saskatchewan
Dams in Saskatchewan
Dams completed in 1964