Located five kilometres south of Val Marie, just outside Grasslands National Park, is an elaborate aberration among the prairie, a labyrinth that's one of the first of its kind.
Mary's Labryinth was Canada's very first Legacy Labyrinth and the fourth to be built in the world.
Susan Howard and her husband, Neil Ward, purchased The Crossing at Grasslands and made the move to Val Marie in 2015, with Howard bringing a love of labyrinths with her to the grasslands.
Prior to moving to Saskatchewan, Howard spent a decade helping lead labyrinth tours and workshops, making for a natural progression of creating one at her new home.
"Mary's Labyrinth is built on an ancient labyrinth tradition. Labyrinths have been built and etched in stone for thousands of years and have been found across every continent, including North America," she said. "It's a tradition marking life journeys and celebrating different parts of the life journey, and there's only a single path that winds its way into the centre, with no deviation.
"It allows the person who is walking to relax into a meditative state, relax the body, relax the brain, relax the mind, and find a calm that allows us to feel things that are often so far into the background in our busy lives."
In June of 2017, the building of the formation was completed after 10 days, 11 dump truck loads of stones, thanks to the help of the local community and folks from across North America.
"It's literally 0.33 of a mile to walk from the entrance of the labyrinth into the centre, which can take 15 minutes or longer depending on how fast you're walking," Howard said. "It's a beautiful place that's being shared and was dedicated to the community that welcomes everybody here to experience the beautiful strength of this land."
Mary's Labyrinth was named after two significant women named Mary. The first being Howard's mother, Mary Helen McGillis Howard, and the second being the virgin Mother Mary.
The labyrinth is open to the public, and folks are asked to park near the large boulder, halfway up the driveway, which marks the path down to the labyrinth
To book a walking appointment at Mary's Labyrinth, visit thecrossingatgrasslands.com, contact (306)298-7373, or email thecrossingatgrasslands@gmail.com.
