Home

Introduction

Regions

Features
Read featured articles from destinations along the Yellowhead

Visit these Destinations along the Yellowhead:

Binscarth
Birtle
Gladstone
Minnedosa
Neepawa
Newdale
Portage La Prairie
Rapid City
Rossburn
Russell
Shoal Lake
St.Francois Xavier
Strathclair
Westbourne
Winnipeg

Welcome to Manitoba

Where the West Begins

by Terri Mason

Photo: Travel Manitoba

It is here in Manitoba that you get an inkling of the sheer size of this land. Brilliant yellow sunflower and canola fields on a colossal scale dominate the horizon. The sheer beauty and bounty of this land continues to call as sandy beaches and lush forests evolve into the great Central Plains astir with tall prairie grasses, quiet parks and wetlands. On the wind, the poignant strains of the song of the land, the Red River Valley, still echo. This is where the West begins.

In the heart of Manitoba’s cosmopolitan capital city of Winnipeg three great rivers, the Red, Assiniboine and the Seine, converge at ‘The Forks’ – a National Historic Site and the easternmost Mile 0 of the Yellowhead Highway Corridor. The Forks has been a gathering place since the time of the fur traders and today it is a dynamic festival, shopping and meeting place.

In northern latitudes the aurora borealis – named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas – is a common occurrence, especially from September to October and from March to April. The aurora borealis is also called the northern lights since it is only visible in the North sky from the Northern Hemisphere. Interestingly, the aurora has been observed on both Jupiter and Saturn — most clearly with the Hubble telescope. Photo: Travel Manitoba

The creative arts have a long and celebrated history in Winnipeg, and visitors can thrill to the grace of the internationally-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet, or enjoy French theatre in Canada’s oldest active theatre, Le Cercle Molière. A must-visit is the interactive Manitoba Museum, one of the premiere sites in Western Canada and Winnipeg’s landmark park, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden. Explore Manitoba’s rich Aboriginal history at the Circle of Life Thunderbird House, Lower Fort Garry, featuring North America’s oldest stone fur-trading post and the Riel House, tracing the life of the Métis leader. Festivals abound and include the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, Folklorama – the largest and longest-running multicultural festival in the world and the legendary Jazz Festival. At the other end of the calendar is Le Festival du Voyageur – western Canada’s largest winter festival.

Concentrated in the Central Plains region are vast areas renowned as important staging and nesting havens for a wealth of birds. The Delta Marsh on the south end of Lake Manitoba is one of North America’s largest waterfowl-staging marshes and a primary stopover site for migrating songbirds, great blue herons and tundra swans. The Big Grass Marsh, a 5,000-ha (12,400 acre) site safeguards an important area for wetland migratory birds, including the sandhill crane. St. Ambroise Provincial Recreation Park is also a staging area for migratory birds, including pelicans. The R.M. of St. Francois Xavier boasts the multi-award winning Oak Hammock Marsh near Stonewall. Oak Hammock offers 30 kilometres of trails surrounding the prairie marsh. Open year-round, the conservation centre is the national headquarters of Ducks Unlimited Canada, and also home to the award-winning Interpretive Centre, offering a full schedule of entertaining and ongoing educational public programs.

Experience the electrifying nightly performances by local, national and international entertainers at Folklorama in Winnipeg, the largest and longest running multicultural event of its kind in the world! Photo: Travel Manitoba

Situated on the banks of the Assiniboine River, Portage la Prairie began as a bustling fort during the fur trade era and today, visitors can experience that lifestyle at the Fort La Reine Museum and Pioneer Village.

Portage also offers beautiful Island Park, boasting many recreation and sport facilities and annual special events including the PortageEX, the oldest running fair in Manitoba. Splash down on Splash Island, a mammoth outdoor leisure park that runs the gamut from the Lazy River to super waterslides. Cultural amenities include the Craig Media Gallery, host to a variety of exhibitions throughout the year and the William Glesby Centre, a performing arts facility home to the theatre group, Prairie Players.

Come and experience “the olden days” at Gladstone’s Annual Museum Threshing Days, and tour the fascinating district museum. Originally settled in 1872, Gladstone claims the title of the geographic centre of North America. The area also offers camping along the lush Whitemud River as well as golfing and dining.

With its luxuriant tree-lined streets and stunning flower gardens, Neepawa has been awarded the “Most Beautiful Town Award” more than any other community. Manitoba’s warm summers provide perfect gardening conditions and Neepawa is the renowned World Lily Capital, growing more varieties of lilies here than anywhere else in the world. The hometown of author Margaret Laurence, enjoy the historic walking tours and recognize the local settings used in several of her bestselling novels. Visitors can tour her former home, now a provincial historical site.

Set in a valley paradise, the pretty town of Minnedosa is as lovely as it sounds. Tour the Minnedosa Heritage Village, stroll over the nearby suspension bridge and visit the bison compound. The jewel of the region is Lake Minnedosa with its clean, white sand beach and roomy campground, making Minnedosa an ideal home base for visitors to Riding Mountain National Park.

Riding Mountain National Park is home to a small herd of bison. Once teetering on the edge of extinction, the bison made a dramatic comeback and is now bred commercially across North America. Photo: Travel Manitoba

Riding Mountain National Park, a sanctuary of rolling hills and valleys is home to wolves, moose, elk, black bear, hundreds of bird species, a bison herd and – thanks to famed naturalist and passionate environmentalist Grey Owl – a thriving beaver population. The park offers an extensive trail system and all-season sports, everything from hiking and water skiing to craft classes, horseback riding and spectacular wildlife viewing.

The R.M. of Harrison, with offices in Newdale, is also home to the peaceful community of Sandy Lake. Sandy Lake offers golfing, sandy beaches, prime fishing and camping and proudly hosts the Ukrainian Heritage Museum, and the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox churches are local landmarks.

The south end of Shoal Lake is a thriving resort area complete with camping, lake front cottages and great fishing. Shoal Lake is home to the Police & Pioneer Museum, the official provincial museum of the North West Mounted Police. The Prairie Mountain Regional Museum hosts an extensive collection of wagons and horse-drawn vehicles. Nearby in the R.M. of Russell, Lake of the Prairies is one of the best walleye lakes in the province and yields northern pike and perch, while Spear Lake is popular for trout fishing.

Hosting a large collection of prairie memorabilia and rare artifacts, the Binscarth & District Gordon Orr Memorial Museum is of particular interest to history buffs. One of the many fascinating paleontological features is the skull of an extinct bison – of which only three such skulls remain in North America. The historical town of Binscarth itself dates from 1886, and features the largest outdoor swimming pool along the Yellowhead.

The energetic town of Russell is a sportsman’s dream, surrounded by a sparkling necklace of some of North America’s top fly fishing lakes, and host to the prestigious National Fly Fishing Championship. This is the land of beef and barley, with sleek herds of cattle and grain fields stretching to the horizon. Sites to see include the Boulton Manor, now a bed and breakfast, that was once home to Col. C.A. Boulton who organized and led the Boulton Scouts in the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.

Inglis, a “can-do” community is home to the Inglis Grain Elevators National Historic Site. The grain elevator, once a unique and enduring architectural symbol of the prairies, has disappeared from the skyline. Yet Inglis retained five of these sentinels of the past; one hosts the museum while the others are in undergoing restoration. This unique site offers rich imagery and stories about a way of life and how a community rallied to save history.

Asessippi Provincial Park at the south end of Lake of the Prairies is a full year-round facility, offering spectacular fishing, camping, houseboat rentals and a great beach, while in the winter, Asessippi Ski Area provides major downhill and snowboard ski runs plus snowmobile and cross-country ski trails. This family resort is a total entertainment center.

Located on the slopes of Riding Mountain National Park, the historical town of Rossburn offers visitors a wealth of choice resorts, lodges and bed and breakfasts. Many museums and monuments reflect their proud heritage, including buddhas, a small, tent-shaped pole structure covered in straw – the first homes of the Ukrainian settlers who settled in 1899.

The Birdtail Valley cuts deep into the prairie landscape, creating a beautiful backdrop for the appealing little town of Birtle. A range of secluded trails along the banks of the meandering Birdtail River beckon to hikers and horseback riders alike.

As you say goodbye to Manitoba the lure of the expansive plains continues to beckon as you enter Saskatchewan.