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The first thermal-cycle spa in Saskatchewan will open just in time for Christmas.
Dakota Dunes Resort & Casino is set to become home to the province’s first thermal-cycle spa, opening Dec. 4, 2026. It will also be the first Indigenous-themed thermal spa in Canada.
“We have a mineral spa in Moose Jaw, but this is a different type of spa,” said Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear.
Ground was broken for the building of the thermal spa in July 2024.
Read more:
- Dakota Dunes breaks ground on new thermal spa
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Bear said 26,000 thermal-cycle spas are active in Pacific Asia, 6,000 in Europe and 310 in North America. Canada alone has fewer than 70 of these spas. One is located in Winnipeg, Man.
“It’ll make us the number one resort in this province,” Bear said.
Whitecap Dakota First Nation chief Darcy Bear speaks to reporters about the opening of the new thermal spa at Dakota Dunes on Aug. 20, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
Citing health benefits such as improved muscle recovery, reduced joint pain, reduced anxiety, better sleep and improved immune system health, Bear said thermal-cycle spas are popular around the world and with major sports teams.
The chief also emphasized the benefit of the spa serving as a social and gathering place that will add to the resort.
“I’ve even heard people in Saskatoon tell me that, you know, when they’re looking at attracting executives to come to our city to come and work, that they always look at the amenities around the area, you know, and these thermal-cycle spas are very, very popular,” Bear said.
A rendering of the Dakota Dunes Thermal Spa, set to open on Dec. 4, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
Many of these spas remain open year-round, despite being mostly outdoors.
Bear said Whitecap Dakota First Nation has done “everything” to be “first class.”
“We’ve always said we want to be number one, and you have to have that attitude,” Bear said.
According to Bear, the spa will have a “double-digit return on investment,” which he estimated at about 11 or 12 per cent of its $54 million price tag.
Pools have been put in at the new Dakota Dunes thermal spa, which is still under construction, on Aug. 20, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
The spa will also generate 165 jobs in the region, Bear said. Most key positions have already been filled, and he said further hiring is happening now to staff the new addition to the resort.
“It’s been another great journey and I want to thank the federal government for investing in this, too,” Bear said, referencing the $50 million capital contribution to the project made by the Canadian government.
Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services, Mandy Gull-Masty, was at Dakota Dunes on Thursday for an event marking the announcement of the spa’s opening date.
“I’m very pleased to be here, because this is a groundbreaking project,” she said.
“This is a project that’s not only going to further innovate and further highlight all of the actions and activities taken in this community. It is one that’s demonstrating that First Nations really have the capacity and are beyond capacity to step into places, and expand and demonstrate what is possible when you have good partnership, when you have the willingness to go into places and endeavor in new opportunities.”
Gull-Masty said the project will help put Whitecap Dakota First Nation “on the map as truly one-of-a-kind in terms of (a) tourism destination.”
“I know that, irregardless of when the spa opens, I intend to come back and play a round of golf and join the spa with my husband, so I’m looking forward to that,” Gull-Masty said.
