The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river flowing east from the Canadian Rockies to Lake Winnipeg. It is one of two major rivers that make up the Saskatchewan River.
The North Saskatchewan has been designated a Canadian Heritage River for its importance in opening up western Canada.
At the junction of the David Thompson Highway (#11), it initially turns northeast for 10 kilometres before switching to a more direct eastern flow for about 30 km. At this point, it turns north where it eventually arrives at Abraham Lake.
The north end of Abraham Lake is constricted by the Big Horn Dam, where the North Saskatchewan emerges to track eastward to Rocky Mountain House.
At Rocky Mountain House, the river abruptly turns north again for 100 km where it switches east towards Edmonton, Alberta.
In Edmonton, the river passes through the center of the city in a northeasterly direction and out towards Smoky Lake at which point it quickly changes to the southeast and then more to the east as it makes it way to the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary.
From the Saskatchewan boundary, the river flows southeast past North Battleford and on towards Saskatoon.
About 40 km from Saskatoon, the river turns to the northeast where it passes through Prince Albert.
Around 30 km east of Prince Albert, the North Saskatchewan River joins the South Saskatchewan River to become the Saskatchewan River. From here, the river flows east to Tobin Lake.
