A Little Garden with a Big Heart

There’s something special about discovering a garden that tells a story far beyond its flowers. In Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Trackside Gardens is a reminder that a community’s character can be found in the places its people care enough to bring back to life.

Tucked alongside the railway near the former Canadian National Railway station, Trackside Gardens began as a formal English garden maintained by CN Rail. But when the railway reduced its services in Kamsack during the 1950s, the garden was left unattended, and its days as a carefully tended green space appeared to be over.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the end of its story.

In 1996, local residents Gloria Hunter, Helen MacFarlane and Ron Larson helped spearhead the Kamsack Beautification Project, an initiative aimed at improving the appearance of their community. The neglected railway garden soon became part of their plans, and restoration work began in early 1997.

What followed was a community effort rooted in pride, persistence and a shared appreciation for a beautiful place. Rather than allowing the garden to fade into the past, volunteers helped shape it into a welcoming green space that continues to reflect the spirit of the town.

Today, volunteers remain at the heart of Trackside Gardens, carrying out much of the design, planting and maintenance. Donations also provide most of the funding, making the garden a lasting example of what can happen when people invest their time and resources in the place they call home.

And that community spirit feels right at home in Kamsack, a town nestled in the scenic Assiniboine River Valley, where the Assiniboine and Whitesand rivers meet. Known as the *Garden of Saskatchewan*, Kamsack has long embraced the value of its parks, gardens and shared outdoor spaces.

For travellers exploring Saskatchewan’s eastern Parkland region, Trackside Gardens offers a quieter kind of attraction. It isn’t simply a place to stop and admire a garden; it’s an opportunity to appreciate the people behind it and the local pride that has helped preserve it.

Sometimes, the most memorable stops on a road trip aren’t the biggest attractions or the grandest landmarks. They’re the places that reveal a little more about the people who live there. In Kamsack, Trackside Gardens does just that, showing how a once-neglected railway garden became a cherished part of the community’s story.