Day Trip to the Cochin Lighthouse August 5, 2019 · 3 min. readThis article may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I haven't gone on a major trip since my journey to Riding Mountain National Park last autumn, so I booked off a week to travel out west. However, things didn't work out as I had planned, and my vacation turned more-or-less into a staycation.
Thankfully, it wasn't all for naught. I managed to get away one day, and I did a couple of little day trips throughout the week too. The day I got away I wanted to go as far north as possible, and I chose the Cochin Lighthouse.
The Cochin Lighthouse is just north of the Battlefords and it is the only lighthouse in the landlocked province of Saskatchewan. It sits on the top of Pirot Hill in the village of Cochin and shines a light out onto the nearby Jackfish Lake – or as locals call it, the "Cochin Ocean".
The lighthouse sits on land owned by Don Pirot – whose name looks like "pirate", but isn't pronounced that way – and is leased to the village for 99 years. It was on his request that the hill was named "Pirot Hill". The lighthouse was constructed in 1989 and in 2017 it received a facelift following decades of graffiti.
The lighthouse is fully equipped with a working spotlight, and functions, like any other lighthouse you'd find on the coast. The biggest difference between those lighthouses and this one is that you can't go inside. I think this would be an excellent place to have a museum or gallery but by itself, it is still very impressive.
The lighthouse may be visible from Highway 4, but don't let it fool you. To reach the lighthouse you need to climb 152 (some say 153) wooden stairs, and these stairs are absolutely gruelling. When I got to the top, I felt like Rocky after climbing the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art – and to think, he only had to climb 72 of them!
Before I attempted the climb, a gentleman at the bottom told me to climb up beside the stairs, on a little beaten path. I wanted bragging rights to say I climbed them so I ignored his advice, but I think it would have saved me a lot of pain had I just listened.
If you plan to visit the Cochin Lighthouse, it is a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Regina, or about a two-hour drive from Saskatoon. If you need a bite to eat, there is a nearby restaurant called The Lighthouse Café. I didn't have time to visit it since it closes at 8pm, but next time I'm going through the area, I'll make that a priority.
Have you ever visited the Cochin Lighthouse and the nearby "Cochin Ocean"? What other attractions should one visit while in the area? Let me know in the comments below.
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And, as always, a big thank you to my sweetheart Jessica Nuttall for proof reading a countless number of my articles. I couldn't do any of this without you. I love you.
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I haven't gone on a major trip since my journey to Riding Mountain National Park last autumn, so I booked off a week to travel out west. However, things didn't work out as I had planned, and my vacation turned more-or-less into a staycation.
Thankfully, it wasn't all for naught. I managed to get away one day, and I did a couple of little day trips throughout the week too. The day I got away I wanted to go as far north as possible, and I chose the Cochin Lighthouse.
The Cochin Lighthouse is just north of the Battlefords and it is the only lighthouse in the landlocked province of Saskatchewan. It sits on the top of Pirot Hill in the village of Cochin and shines a light out onto the nearby Jackfish Lake – or as locals call it, the "Cochin Ocean".
Although the hot summer days of July are long behind us, 2017 is still Canada's 150th year. In honour of Canada's sesquicentennial birthday, I decided to put together a list of 150 things about Canada. This list talks about our quirkiness, our strengths, our weakness, and our legacy, for better and for worse. There are some sad facts, some odd facts and some facts that will probably make you open another tab to look into for yourself.
Hope you enjoy this list, and I hope you all had a great 2017!
1. Canada's two official languages are French and English, but only 20.6% of Canadians speak French.
I'm proudly Canadian, and I accept the fact that a lot of people know very little about my country. A lot of people also seem to think cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver "define" Canada. Just to set it straight, while these are beautiful cities, they don't represent the whole of Canada.
Being such a quiet country, we often keep our secrets to ourselves... and often from ourselves. This is a list of 7 things you -- and maybe other Canadians -- don't know about Canada.
Editor's Note: if you liked this article, but want more than just seven items, here is my 150 Facts About Canada article.
