THE HISTORY OF CAMP OSHKIDEE

The dream of Camp Oshkidee began long before the site was developed on Jeannette Lake. In the 1960s a small group of men who directed Christian Service Brigade in Saskatoon made use of many different sites to take young boys on wilderness camping and canoe trips. They practiced stringent conservation practices, and always left the sites in better condition than they found them.

In the late 1960s the group came to envision the creation of a permanent camp site for the benefit of other organizations like theirs that needed an appropriate site for their camps and retreats, but didn't need a permanent camp site year-round.

And so the search began. Many different sites were pursued and considered. It is a testament to God's hand guiding the process that the other sites weren't chosen, and that Jeannette Lake, an unbelievably perfect location, was secured. Located in Meadow Lake Provincial Park on a stretch with sandy beaches and mature forest. While nearly forty other organizations had also applied to secure a camping site, Camp Oshkidee was awarded the location because, unbeknownst to them, Park and Conservation officers had been watching the many times Saskatoon Christian Service Brigade went wilderness camping. Their conservation practices, caring for Creation, and even helping put out a forest fire, were noticed and rewarded.

The camp began with a mobile cook-house with campers using tents and camper-trailers. From the earliest days Camp Oshkidee hosted Family Camps, and partnered with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship who operated children and youth camps. Camp Oshkidee has also leased the site for over 25 years to Christian Medical Dental Society, Saskatoon Chapter, for their week-long family camp.

Camp Oshkidee has gone through many changes. Now there are many beautiful and rugged buildings on the site, and Oshkidee runs programs of its own including four weeks of Family Camps and a number of different retreats. Some things, however, have stayed the same: the forests of Birch, Spruce and Jack pine, the beautiful beach and pristine waters, the vibrant stars and Northern Lights.

Oshkidee is a place to leave behind the busyness of modern-life and connect with Creation and its Maker with other like-minded people. So come, join us, whether it's one of our programs or simply reserving the site for your own group. At Camp Oshkidee, you are welcome.

Henry "Chips" Block, one of the key founders of the camp,  has written in-depth memoirs about the early days of Camp Oshkidee, detailing how God's hand was upon the formation and the development of this incredible place.

Breaking Ground

Henry “Chips” Block with son Milton Block and daughter Reta Goby break ground at Jeannette Lake in dedication of the ministry to God.