Birds Hill Provincial Park
Visited: October 2024
Located near Winnipeg, Birds Hill Provincial Park offers a variety of trails throughout the year for hiking, cycling, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. Its landscape was formed by ancient glaciers and contains eskers, prairie, meadows and aspen forests. It was named after the Bird family who lived in the area in the 19th century and contains former homesteads from several other early settlers.
Pembina Valley Provincial Park
Visited: October 2024
Pembina Valley Provincial Park is located in the southwestern part of Manitoba close to the US border. It’s a relatively new park, it was established in 2001, and there aren’t many facilities or activities. But there are several hiking trails that weave through the forest and meadows, providing plenty of opportunities to view the Pembina Valley.
Pinawa Dam Provincial Heritage Park
Visited: October 2024
Pinawa Dam is located on the Winnipeg River and was Manitoba’s first hydro-electric generating station. It ran from 1906 to 1951 until it was replaced by the nearby Seven Sisters Generating Station downstream. Pinawa Dam Provincial Heritage Park contains the ruins of the former dam, along with a couple of hiking trails to learn more about the history of the area.
Riding Mountain National Park
Visited: September/October 2024
Riding Mountain National Park is located in southwestern Manitoba along the Manitoba Escarpment. It protects a diverse landscape, including boreal forest, aspen parkland, meadows, grasslands and wetlands. It’s also home to black bears, moose, elk, wolves, and even a bison herd. There are nearly 370 kilometres of hiking trails within the park, many of which are used in the winter for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Spruce Woods Provincial Park
Visited: October 2024
Spruce Woods Provincial Park is located in western Manitoba. It was named after its abundance of spruce trees growing in the area, but it’s best known for its towering sand dunes. The park contains a variety of hiking trails that weave through the different habitats in the park, including forests, grasslands, prairie, wetlands and open sand dunes.
Winnipeg
Visited: September 2024
Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba and is located near the centre of Canada. It sits at the junction where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers join, also known as The Forks. It has long been an important meeting place for Indigenous people and has a rich history and culture. It’s also known for its cold and long winters, is home to the Winnipeg Jets and has a thriving arts scene.