The Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre provides indoor and outdoor tours that feature an education in aboriginal history, paleontology, and ecology. Herschel's Ancient Echoes interpretive center is only a short drive off the beaten track, but a world away. The picture postcard setting, beautiful prairie valleys, and its exceptional rich heritage all combine to make Ancient Echoes a must visit. Aft
er you and your family enjoy a guided hike to the petroglyphs, the fossil beds, or the ravine, join us in our tea room and enjoy some country style Saskatoon berry pie. Ancient Echoes is a community based project which interprets, conserves and promotes the history, the peoples and the assets of the land forming the Eagle Creek Valley and beyond the Coal Mine Ravine at Herschel, Sask. The Interpretive Centre began in the fall of 1994, after the closure of the local elementary school, which the Board of Directors bought from the school division for a small sum of money. Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre is located northwest of Rosetown in the village of Herschel. It is a community-based project that serves the West central area of Saskatchewan for the educational and preservation purposes of the site and as a community centre. of Mountain View #318 and the Ancient Echoes board serves as an advisory board. The Centre has three key areas of focus: prehistoric era, aboriginal history and the ecology of the area, which is native prairie. The area includes aboriginal historical sites including petroglyphs, which have been designated as a Municipal heritage site. We have archaeological dig-sites and paleontology excavation sites. Our area is the resting place for many marine fossils including plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. We provide guided hikes through the ravine area to see the different sites and give interpretation in our exhibit room that contains a natural history display, aboriginal artifacts and a permanent painting collection about the disappearance of the plains bison. Outside our facility is a life size statue of a plains grizzly bear that was once part of our landscape, having since disappeared. We also pay tribute to the 9th Earl of Southesk who came to this part of Saskatchewan, from Kinnaird, Scotland, in 1859 on a hunting expedition in search of large game including the grizzlies. His diary details his encounter with a bear in the Bad Hills near Herschel. Our centre provides programs for school groups and the general public. We accommodate all age levels, interest levels and group sizes. We have special programs throughout the summer months and a few in the winter months. Spring hours
May-June we are by appointment only. Summer hours
July-August 9:00-5:00 (Tuesday- Friday) appointment only. If you are interested in booking for Monday or on the weekend please contact us in advance. Last day August 23rd 2024
Winter hours are by request only. Our tearoom is open seasonally, operating Thursday afternoons (2:30 – 4:30pm), serving up delicious home baked goods.
