Eighteen holes laid through the dunes

The golf links came first, in 2005, and the rest of the resort grew around them. For many guests they are still the reason to come.

Dakota Dunes Golf Links sits on the heights of the South Saskatchewan River valley basin, on rolling natural sand dunes covered in native grass. The resort describes it as an 18-hole, full-service course, open to the public since 2005 and designed by Graham Cooke and Wayne Carleton; it calls it the province's only complete Graham Cooke and Cooke-Carleton designed golf property and the top-ranked public course in Saskatchewan, and its history page says Golf Digest has recognised it among the best golf experiences in Canada. Those rankings are the resort's statements; this guide repeats them as such.

A links fairway winding through tall prairie grass and sand toward a river valley at evening — Illustration generated for this guide. It is not a photograph of Dakota Dunes Resort.

The course was the Nation's first major step in building the resort. The Our Story timeline records that Whitecap Dakota Nation opened the links together with two partners, Lac La Ronge Nation and Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. Wikipedia adds, as a secondary source, that the course hosted the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open on PGA Tour Canada between 2008 and 2016, and gives the public opening as April 2004 rather than 2005; this guide uses the resort's year.

On the property

Holes: 18
Designers: Graham Cooke and Wayne Carleton
Open since: 2005, according to the resort
Clubhouse: 7,100 square feet, according to the 2020 opening release
Food: Taté Taŋka Resto-Lounge, seasonal, with an outdoor patio
Pro shop: Stocks brands including Callaway Golf and Under Armour, according to the golf site

The golf site sells season products for 2027, among them a transferable ten-round pack and a Player's Passport, corporate packages from 25 to 100 rounds with a power cart, and a Golf Getaway package that bundles a round with a stay. It also hosts tournaments and golf outings of any size and offers a private meeting room and patio for business lunches. Tee times are booked on the golf site, not through the hotel's room desk, and this guide does not sell rounds.

Staying for golf

The practical case for staying at the resort is simple: the first tee is on the same property, so an early round starts without a drive from Saskatoon. The Golf View King on the fourth floor and above faces the course; the rooftop pool is a good place to end the day, and the restaurant serves until 22:00. Golfers travelling as a group can ask the resort's sales team about group rooms, and the meeting rooms suit an awards dinner.

Out of season, the course becomes part of the winter programme: the resort's cross-country ski loop of 2.5 km starts at the tenth hole and is free to use, and the snowshoe and kicksled sessions run on the snow around the links.

Tee times, season passes and golf packages:golf.dakotadunesresort.com

Room request · Dakota Dunes Resort

Ask the desk to find a room at Dakota Dunes

The form goes to the room desk of this guide, not to the resort. The desk checks the dates against the hotel's reservations team or a booking partner and answers by email with what is available and what it costs. No card details are asked for here, and sending the form books nothing.

Name

Phone (optional)

Guests

Arriving (YYYY-MM-DD)

Leaving (YYYY-MM-DD)

Room

What brings you

Notes for the desk (view, bed set-up, a dog, a show night, access needs)

Whitecap Dunes Review may reply to this request by email or phone. Details in the privacy policy.

Thank you, the request has arrived. The desk will compare the dates with the hotel's availability and write back by email. Nothing has been booked or charged.

The request did not go through. Please check the name, the email address, the consent box and the dates (YYYY-MM-DD, leaving after arriving), or write to hello@whitecapdunesreview.com.