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It’s going to be hard to imagine the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon without The Prairie Lily sailing down it.
After 14 summers of operation in the city, the red and white riverboat is closing down, potentially for good, with its final event — a sold-out dockside wine tasting — planned for Aug. 27.
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Joan Steckhan, co-owner of the Prairie Lily, which will cease operating in Saskatoon on Aug. 27, 2025. (Will Mandzuk/650CKOM)
The Prairie Lily first graced the river in 2012 and co-owner Joan Steckhan said the venture raised some eyebrows.
“We had friends looking at us saying ‘What are you doing?’ ” she said.
“The fact that the ship has been so welcomed, it’s really gratifying that this really was something that people did want and people enjoyed.”
The Prairie Lily was built in 1989 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, for navigating shallow channels like the South Saskatchewan.
In 2012, the ship was purchased by Prairie River Cruises when Mike and Joan Steckhan partnered with Mike and Valerie Kingsmill and has offered a variety of sightseeing and dining cruises from May to September.
Steckhan said the end of the riverboat’s era has finally sunk in.
“Sometimes you don’t really know what’s over until it’s over,” she said.
“I’m not sure we’ll be shedding tears — Captain Mike (Steckhan) and I aren’t tear-shedders just by our nature — but certainly there’s some feeling of melancholy.”
The Prairie Lily sign showing cruise cancellations in Saskatoon on Aug. 23, 2025. (Will Mandzuk/650CKOM)
After over a decade of operation, Steckhan said it’s hard to nail down a favourite moment, and that it’s more about a feeling.
“Favourite moments are really about how people have made us feel when we brought the ship in,” she said.
“It feels good that it’s something that has done well, has been a good business (and) has been part of the tourism community.”
Steckhan said memories of sailing with her family stick out.
“Wednesday nights in the summertime, my mom comes down and we have Wine Wednesday together,” she said.
“When else can you do some fun things like that?”
Steckhan said 2025 had been a frustrating final year, and definitely not the one that she imagined.
High sand dunes, and lower water levels in the South Saskatchewan River has left The Prairie Lily grounded all summer, and even now as the crew gets ready to bid farewell, the Lily finds itself trapped at the docks.
“The frustrating part of not being able to get out in the water is really based on the lack of planning and lack of management on behalf of the Water Security Agency and the Government of Saskatchewan,” Steckhan said.
“It should have been apparent to them for the last three years that this problem was coming, and it was ignored.”
Steckhan said she can’t even begin to imagine what the spring of 2026 will look like if nothing changes with the water levels, and said it feels like the government has turned their backs on the river.
“There’s upwards of 12 to 14 feet of sand in this river that has accumulated since July, 2020,” Steckhan said.
“If the Water Security Agency and Government of Saskatchewan doesn’t make a plan to do something, eventually Mother Nature will fill the Rockies with snow and cause an excess amount of water to come through the South Saskatchewan River.”
The future of The Prairie Lily is up in the air, but Steckhan said they have received interest from potential buyers interested in keeping it going.
— with files from Alex Brown, Brittany Caffet and CKOM News
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