Our Beautiful Provincial Parks
Did you know our provincial parks preserve more than four million hectares of land and water? With 92 provincial parks across Manitoba, you can explore a vast number of habitats such as sandy beaches, prairie parklands, and boreal forest.
Now is a great time to rediscover some of our most beautiful places safely. Our provincial parks are full of fun recreational activities.
Swimming at the beach
We are lucky to have so many beaches in Manitoba. Seven of our provincial parks have the word “beach” right in its name and there are 83 provincial park beaches (click here for the complete list).
Two beaches we want to highlight are:
Bird’s Hill Park Beach, which has accessibility mats placed across the beach to help people get to the water without having to go through the sand.
Grand Beach, which has three kilometres of fine white sand and is rated one of the top ten beaches in Canada. Check out our video to learn more.
If you are going to the beach, see our previous post for some simple ways to keep our beaches clean during your trip.
Camping
It might be a bit late to reserve a campsite for this weekend. Though who knows, you could get lucky. If you want a bit of an adventure, there are many campsites that you can hike or paddle to that are first-come, first-served.
If you are camping this weekend, check out last week’s blog post for Lake Friendly Frontcountry Camping Practices. Whether you are car camping or venturing into the wilderness, these tips can help anyone.
Hiking
Grab your backpack, give your legs a stretch, and hit the trails this weekend.
Day hikes in provincial parks vary in difficulty so that most people can find a hike to enjoy. You can walk along easy and accessible in Bird’s Hill Park, or try a challenging and breath-taking hike like Hunt Lake Trail in Whiteshell Provincial Park.
Learn about history and nature during a hike on one of many self-guided trails. These hikes are between one and seven kilometres. See the full list here.
For a list of 20 hikes in Manitoba that many people probably haven’t heard of (about half the hikes are in provincial parks), visit Travel Manitoba’s guide here.
Biking
Explore on two wheels and breathe in the fresh air. Whether you want to bike on paved trails or go mountain biking, you can find cycling fun in many provincial parks.
Paved Trails include:
Bird’s Hill Park's Lakeview Trail, which is a paved trail that goes around the beach in the park.
Dirt and Rock Trails (or Mountain Biking) include:
Falcon Trails, in Whiteshell Provincial Park, offer trails that range from easy to very technical (challenging).
Part of The Great Trail of Canada (aka Trans Canada Trail) goes through Grand Beach Provincial Park. This mostly off-road gravel trail easily connects you to the neighbouring sandy beaches and cottage communities.
Paddling
Explore some of the 100,000 lakes that make up Manitoba. Whether you are looking for a calm lake, rushing waters, or complete wilderness, Manitoba’s provincial parks have a wide variety of lakes to enjoy.
How to do your part to preserve the precious lakes and natural spaces while you are exploring:
Follow “Leave no trace” principles by packing out what you bring in. Throw your garbage in the provided bins, or take it home with you.
Respect wildlife — Don’t approach or feed wildlife (including birds).
Be conscious when applying sunscreen and bug spray before entering the water. Make sure you choose water-resistant lotions or sprays and wait at least 15 minutes to go into the water after applying.
Don’t bathe in the water even with biodegradable soap.
Clean up after your pets.
Never dump anything in the lake or bury trash in the sand.
Visit the Lake Friendly Website for everyday tips to protect our lakes.
If you want more places to explore, see Travel Manitoba’s Provincial Park Gems post.
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