Page 57 - 2023-2024 Travel Guide to Canada

adventurous souls seeking the beauty and
solitude of unspoiled nature. Rugged
Precambrian Shield granite, lush with forests
and thousands of lakes to the northeast,
gives way to rolling hills and vast, rich,
agricultural prairie to the southwest. Dead
centre are three massive lakes: Manitoba,
Winnipegosis and Winnipeg (Canada’s 13th
,
11th and 6th largest, respectively).
GOING, GOING, GONE WILD
With all that wilderness, it’s no wonder
many of the province’s more than 10 million
annual visitors are recreational hunters and
anglers headed for remote lodges and small
towns tucked away in thick lakes or
riverside forests. As well, paddlers, hikers,
photographers and wildlife viewers love
these natural areas, and families can pitch
tents or park campers in one of dozens of
provincial parks, or settle into hotel rooms
from two to five-star rated. In Riding
Mountain National Park, campsites and
hotels abound around crystal clear, icy cold
Clear Lake and the historic townsite of
Wasagaming (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/
riding).
The three big lakes are fringed by
summer-oriented towns and villages, and an
October or November visit to far northern
Churchill virtually guarantees sightings of
increasingly-endangered polar bears in their
natural setting (www.churchillwild.com;
www.lazybearlodge.com; www.frontiers
north.com), and probable displays of aurora
borealis. And there’s a whole lot more to be
discovered in this varied province.
WHAT’S NEW?
The Village is a brand new shopping and
dining destination near Birds Hill Provincial
Park. Visit unique shops like Teekca’s
Boutique, The Faded Barn and Flourish. Grab
a coffee from Empty Cup, a cocktail or beer
from the Village Square and a hearty meal
from Nuburger.
Explore the six Gardens at The Leaf,
comprised of some 30 acres: Indigenous
Peoples Garden, Kitchen Garden, Sensory
Garden, Performance Garden, Seasonal
Garden and The Grove (www.assiniboine
park.ca/leaf/lifegrows).
Qaumajuq, the new museum inside the
Winnipeg Art Gallery, houses the world’s
largest collection of contemporary Inuit art
MB
55
POLAR BEAR AND TUNDRA BUGGY, CHURCHILL • SHUTTERSTOCK/THOMAS BARRAT
with over 27,000 pieces. See nearly 5,000 stone
carvings in the Visible Vault, catch new rotating
exhibitions and stop in at Katita Café and the
Gallery Shop. Admission to the first floor is
always free (www.wag.ca/about/qaumajuq).
CITY LIGHTS
Foodies alert: Manitoba’s culinary scene is a
rising gem, from haute to heavy-duty
chowing down. You’ll find food tours that
cover Winnipeg’s West End—the city’s
unofficial dining district—as well as beer and
spirit tours through the historic Exchange
District (www.soncinatravel.com/tours).
Manitoba’s famous Fall Suppers circuit
offers home-cooked, hearty, community hall
family-style fare all autumn long, with
listings at Travel Manitoba (www.travel
manitoba.com). Shoppers will be overjoyed
with the Outlet Collection Winnipeg’s
high-end brands, and special tourist deals
(www.outletcollectionwinnipeg.com).
Summer brings the Winnipeg Goldeyes AAA
baseball to Shaw Park (www.goldeyes.com).
Canada Life Centre, the winter home of NHL
hockey’s Winnipeg Jets, mounts concerts and
special events year-round (www.canadalife
centre.ca), while the city’s south end CFL
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Investors Group
Field tackles big blockbuster concerts
(www.bluebombers.com/stadium). In
July, the four-day Winnipeg Folk Festival
at Birds Hill Provincial Park, north of the city,
is family-friendly (www.winnipegfolk
festival.ca), as is the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s
“Ballet in the Park” at Assiniboine Park’s
outdoor Lyric Theatre (www.rwb.org).
Winnipeg warms up winter with the
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (www.wso.ca),
Manitoba Opera (www.mbopera.ca), the Royal
Manitoba Theatre Centre, Tom Hendry
Warehouse Theatre (www.royalmtc.ca) and
Prairie Theatre Exchange (www.pte.mb.ca).
Year-round, Thermëa by Nordik Spa in the
city’s south end (www.thermea.ca) and Ten
Spa at the Hotel Fort Garry (www.tenspa.ca),
provide sybaritic pleasures.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Provincial parks provide groomed hiking
trails and offer on-line summer campsite
bookings, and most are near small towns
where local motels appeal to family-oriented
explorers (www.gov.mb.ca/sd/parks/
index.html). Whiteshell Provincial Park
(www.whiteshell.mb.ca) is a handy hour’s
drive east of Winnipeg and, further afield,
wilderness wanderers can take to lakes and
rivers in canoes, kayaks, or fishing boats.
Cosy resort communities like Grand Beach,
Gimli, Winnipeg Beach, Victoria Beach,
Sandy Hook, Matlock, and many more lay
claim to wide, sandy beaches. Gimli is a
favourite weekend hangout with its charming
marina and beach-town atmosphere
(www.gimli.ca), along with an annual
celebration of Icelandic culture each
August during the three-day festival called
Islendingadagurinn. In Spruce Woods
Provincial Park, a day tripper’s hiking trail
covers forests, hills, a genuine desert, and
the eerie, deepwater blue Devil’s Punch Bowl
(www.travelmanitoba.com/directory/
spruce-woods-provincial-park).