Long Creek Golf & Country Club

Long Creek is an 18-hole championship golf course with 300-year-old ash and maple trees gracing fairways in a beautiful valley setting. As one of the most beautiful and challenging courses in the province, it is a must to play and it has proven to be a major golfing attraction drawing people from all over the province.

A professionally designed clubhouse is beautifully situated overlooking the valley and the course. The clubhouse seats 150 with a first-class restaurant and a separate lounge area with a cozy fireplace.

Every great golf course has to have a pro shop and Long Creek is no exception. The pro shop carries a wide variety of golf equipment and clothing making it an ideal place to shop for all of your golfing needs.

Tournament packages are available that can include golfing fees, meals, golf carts and, of course, golf lessons! Contact Long Creek Golf and Country Club at 868-4432.

Dunnet Regional Park

Travel just 7 kms southeast of Avonlea following the valley lined with 300 year old ash and maple trees and the winding creek that leads to a majestic 600 acre lake, and you have discovered the beautiful Dunnet Regional Park that offers both
summer and winter recreation.

The park is equipped with:

* 100 well treed campsites (some electric)
* heated outdoor swimming pool (swimming lessons available)
* showers
* concession stand
* hiking trail
* picnic areas
* playground structure
* 50 x 80 foot recreational building
* numerous ball diamonds ideal for tournaments.

On the lake you can enjoy boating, fishing (summer and winter) and water skiing.

The park is also the ideal setting for your next ball tournament or family reunion with an area for private functions can accommodate groups up to 500. Dunnet Regional Park is aptly named after Dr. Dunnet who practiced medicine in Avonlea from 1913- 1957 and delivered over 4500 babies to the families of Avonlea and surrounding areas.

Avonlea Creek Badlands

The badlands (second only to those found in the Montana - South Dakota area), located within 5 kms east of Avonlea, are natural land forms of exposed 70 million year old rock, part of the Saskatchewan Plains in this area called the Bearpaw Formation. A natural habitat for wildlife, this area is ideal for group field trips which can be arranged through application to the Village Office.
Avonlea Badlands

Effigies of Man & the Dirt Hills

Also located within 10 kms of Avonlea are the Dirt Hills, where if you listen closely, you can still hear the buffalo pounding down the plain towards the buffalo jumps. This is a sacred area where aboriginal effigies have been discovered that are estimated to be 500 to 1000 years old. Aboriginal people still return to this area to partake in sweat and healing lodges - a traditional method of purifying the mind and the body.

Avonlea & District Museum - Heritage House

Immerse yourself in early pioneer life at the Avonlea Heritage Museum. Uniquely situated in the old CNR train station at the end of Main Street, the museum depicts early western development through various displays such as an old 1920's store, a school room, an R.C.M.P installation that includes the original cell from the Avonlea detachment, a mural of the great NWMP march west, painted by local artist Paul Geraghty, and many other interesting exhibits.

The "Avonlea Before the Plow" exhibit completed for the Centennial year Saskatchewan's 2005, is located in the Display Building adjacent to the Museum.

This fascinating art installation takes the viewer through four eras in the history of the plains. "The Life Before Man: Avonlea Under the Sea" exhibit is a wrap around mural with life-sized marine reptiles that lived in the sea which occupied the area of Avonlea 60 million years ago. A tipi ring exhibit includes a breath-taking 16' high diorama of the Blue Hills and ceremonial circle overlooking the "living sky" of the Missouri Coteau with a Golden Eagle gliding overhead. An almost life sized mural of a tipi encampment with people, dogs, and equipment depicts life as it might have appeared 200 years ago. Finally, the Avonlea Arrowhead and Buffalo Jump, which dates back to approximately 400 A.D., monumentally displays the walls of the badlands valley with a 10 foot tall plexiglass window to the past where the viewer can see the mural of a buffalo jump taking place.

Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site

15 kms west of Avonlea on Highway 339, cradled in the hills of Southern Saskatchewan, exists a splendid example of early 20th Century industrialism. From 1914 to 1989, the plant was one of two major fire-brick production plants in Canada. It also produced high quality face brick, which today graces many of Saskatchewan's most elaborate buildings as well as the central tower of the Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City. Today it remains as one of the key stops on the South Central Saskatchewan Heritage Trail.

After watching a video of the brick making process, you can relax in the restored bunkhouse which is now being used as a Visitor Centre and lunch facility then browse through the arts and crafts gift shop.

Visiting the site is like stepping back in time as the buildings, machinery, domed brick kilns and tall chimneys seem frozen in time. Tour this National Historic site which has remained virtually unchanged since 1914.

Community Concerts

There are many musically gifted people in the town of Avonlea and they all get together to share their talents at least once a year at the annual town Christmas concert. Children and adults alike join their voices to raise the roof of the community hall and celebrate the warmth and friendliness of the season and the community.

Arts & Crafts

Avonlea is home to one of Saskatchewan's most prominent artists. Painter Paul Geraghty's work is on permanent display as part of the pictorial exhibits at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Paul is also a naturalist, and is always interested in discussing the nature and habitat around Avonlea.

Paul's artwork, which is all nature based, can be found in wildlife museums and natural habitat sites around the world. If you are interested in crafts, take a stroll through the Avonlea Prairie Gift Shop which showcases the work of local craftspeople.

Alive with Literature

The Avonlea Library is both progressive and innovative when it comes to serving the needs of its community members. Informational and educational programs for children, and adults are conducted year round, including a summer reading program, and a craft/story time for children. The traditional services are also offered including lending fiction and nonfiction material, dvds, videos, audio cassettes and magazines.

Community in Bloom

Avonlea literally blossoms in the spring and summer. Floral gardening is almost a way of life. Individuals take pride in their own home gardening, but they also come together to nurture floral displays all over the community.