The article reports on Little Manitou Lake, a terminal lake located just outside Watrous, Saskatchewan, which is up to five times saltier than the ocean and has healing properties. According to community members, Indigenous people used the water for its healing abilities as far back as smallpox treatment. The area around the lake is rich in history, with over 3,000 artifacts found along the shore, and attracts about 150,000 visitors a year. The article highlights various attractions at Manitou Beach, including a spa, a drive-in theater, and a combine from the original Twister movie.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Little Manitou Lake, located near Watrous, Saskatchewan, is a terminal lake that has been attracting visitors from across Canada and beyond. The lake's water is incredibly salty, up to five times saltier than the ocean, due to the presence of minerals absorbed by the water over time. This unique property is said to have healing properties, which has drawn people seeking relief from ailments such as smallpox. Indigenous peoples are credited with first using the lake's waters for their healing abilities, and oral tradition suggests that they would leave behind ill individuals who would return a month later to find them healed. Today, the area sees around 150,000 visitors per year, drawn by its natural attractions and purported health benefits. Some visitors credit the lake's water with helping to heal injuries, such as one individual who reported recovering from a hip injury after soaking in the lake's waters.
Written for “Little Manitou Lake Health Benefits” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
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No political leaning scored for article 5932 · logged 2026-09-07
Just outside the small community of Watrous, Saskatchewan, Manitou Beach sits on the so-called “Dead Sea of Canada.”
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Beach → sit → Canada
“Little Manitou Lake, carved out by glaciers exposing bedrock and minerals that have been absorbed by water over time,” said Jeff Siegfried, community enhancement director of the Watrous Manitou Beach Marketing Group.
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Siegfried → carve → Group
“It’s called a terminal lake meaning water flowing into it has no way to escape and so the minerals that are in the bed of the lake leach into the water.”
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that → call → water
The water is up to five times saltier than the ocean and said to have healing properties.
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water → say → properties
The name Manitou means spiritual force or mysterious being.
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name → mean → force
Indigenous people first used the water for its healing abilities.
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people → use → abilities
Oral tradition suggests the water was used to treat ailments such as smallpox.
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water → suggest → smallpox
“I guess in their day, because they had to move to follow the buffalo,” said Lionel Sproule, Watrous Manitou Beach Heritage Centre chairman.
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Sproule → guess → buffalo
“They left these ill people behind…
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They → leave → people
they would come back by this way a month later and there would be the ill people healed and then carry on with life.”
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they → come → life
Sproule, who managed the spa in Manitou when it opened, has many other stories of the healing waters, including a lady named Lydia from the southern part of Saskatchewan.
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it → manage → Saskatchewan
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Lydia came to Manitou Beach not being able to walk by herself.
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Lydia → get → herself
She soaked in the water over 10 days and by the end of it, she was able to take small stiff steps.
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she → soak → steps
She moved to Watrous and lived there the rest of her life.
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She → move → life
But the water isn’t the only thing Manitou Beach is known for.
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Beach → know → ?
The land is rich with history and more than 3,000 artifacts have been found along the shore, left by Indigenous people over centuries.
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artifacts → find → centuries
It’s also home to The Salty Cinema Drive-In Theater, one of just three remaining in the province.
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It → ’ → province
“Drive-ins are you know not as in vogue, but it is just another experience that goes on here at Manitou that makes us unique and people are willing to travel for it,” said Lane Manson, overseer of the drive-in.
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Manson → know → in
Just outside the theatre sits a combine from the original Twister movie.
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combine → sit → movie
The Manitou Beach attractions bring in people from all over Canada and beyond, with the area seeing about 150,000 visitors a year.
“I recovered from my hip injury, but I come out here for the water and you know the magnesium in the water, it’s really good and I find that it really works well.
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it → bring → water
I mean last year when I was here with my arm injury, I was in the water and I could do things with my arm I couldn’t do before,” said Bob Dobko from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.
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Dobko → mean → House
