My first road trip through Manitoba was all about parks. I travelled across the southern part of this beautiful prairie province. After leaving the grain fields of Saskatchewan I explored forests, sand dunes and more wonderful lakes. The people I met were lovely and I had some new adventures that I would not have even considered before this trip.
I stopped off at the Manitoba border tourist office and received some great tips. I love to travel on less travelled roads so got some great directions. After my wonderful road trip through Saskatchewan I was eager to see what adventures Manitoba would bring.
Where are the Bison in Riding National park?
The first park I travelled to was Riding Mountain National Park. My planning or lack of it was not the best as I arrived on the last long weekend of the summer. The weather was spectatuler and therefore so were the crowds. I arrived at Wasagaming, which is a beautiful little tourist town at the southern entrance of the park. I did find a parking spot but did not want to hang with crowds so only did a quick look around. Clear Lake was beautiful with a nice beach, walking trails and park to picnic at.
A site listed in the park was the Bison enclosure at Audy Lake. Wanting to see the bison I headed out. After travelling down a dusty gravel road for nearly 45 minutes I finally arrived. Yes, more gravel roads on my adventure in Manitoba just like Saskatchewan. Second week in September is too late in the season for a visit as I found the office closed.
The park gate was open so I headed in to see what I could find. I found a small small lake with no real access from the road I was on. The campground and bison enclosure were blocked off so I could not explore much. I was disappointed that there was no bison sighting for me at Audy Lake.
Stopped off at the grassy parking lot at the entrance and had some lunch and rested for a bit. The very spotty cell service squashed my temptation to stay for the night. As a solo women travelling my gut instinct and good cell service are top criteria for deciding where to spend the night.
Spruce Woods provincial park
Spruce Woods Provincial park was my next stop. Again I took the less travelled secondary highway passing Brandon. The drive was only a couple hours. Normally there is a fee to stop off at provincial parks but the weekend I arrived had free entry. Yeh, saving money! This was great as I am on a budget.
I pulled off onto the first parking area in the park, Epicentre trailhead. The tourist office from the day before told me there were great biking trails in this park. So I pulled out my bike, my helmet, backpack and paper map.
Decided the 2 km trail ride would be perfect for me, as I was not sure what the trail was like and there were signs all over to be bear aware. I had no bear spray and travelling alone I decided to leave a note on my driver seat stating the time and which trail I was biking.
I am lost !
So much for the paper map, after 4 km I knew I must have taken a wrong turn. The trail I was riding was up and down and rocky but clearly marked so I knew I was on one of the trails, just which one? The ride was longer than I had prepared for so needed a rest.
Finally found a rest area and tried to see where I was from my paper trail map as I did not have any cell service to check google maps. I figured I was on the much longer trail than I had planned but was not totally sure.
Feeling a bit weak in the legs by now I decided I need the shortest way out, which looked like a road. I found the main road but did not really know which way to turn. Finally I got one bar on my phone and discovered where I was. Once my home appeared in the distance I immediately felt safe again. Made it back with a huge sigh of relief.
My first time off-road biking was an experience. From exhilaration, to calmness from the beauty of the trail, to tiredness (I need to get more fit) to anxiety, to gratitude. All in a couple hours. Once I was back in the van and rested I acknowledged I had really accomplished something. Back road biking! I have stopped myself too many times from really going for it on a physical level. I did it
On the road again travelling Manitoba
Both Riding Mountain and Spruce Woods parks were on the the western side to the province. My next park was on the eastern side. I travelled through more secondary highways towards Winnipeg. The only disadvantage is there are no formal rest stops along the way and poor cell service. I needed to have my lunch and had a zoom meeting scheduled so I needed to use my hotspot. Finally stopped off on a side road near Oak Bluff.
I was working so was there for a couple hours. Just before I was getting ready to head out a golf buggy rolled up beside me. Wendy was from the neighbouring house across the road and wanted to make sure I was okay. I told I was good and just had stopped because the cell service was good here. She came back a few minutes later with bag of freshly picked cucumbers and tomatoes. A lovely and tasty gesture from a friendly Canadian.
White Shell Provincial park
White Shell provincial park was another stunning area to visit. With beautiful lakes, swimming, easy bike trails and quiet time. What more does a traveller need? I went on my longest bike ride yet 15 km. The trail was fairly easy, with a wide track through a forested areas. The trees made it reasonable cool. Absolutely wonderful experience.
As it was warm and the lake looked so inviting I took a lovely swim in the afternoon. In the clear Cady Lake I had my first water submersion since leaving Alberta. Showers become sporadic in vanlife. It was wonderful.
I did not really want to leave the area so stayed at the West Hawk Lake campground for the night. Only $15.95 so it was a bargain in my mind. I definitely would have stayed longer but again that darn cell reception issue. Throughout the park I was only getting 1 bar on my phone. So back on the road for me. Ontario here I come.
Where I stayed in Manitoba
1. Quiet rest stop near Minnedosa
2. Kiche Campground
2. Gas station near Pawada. A busy little spot in the early evening but quieted down at night.
4. West Hawk Lake campground
adventures here for sure! beautiful photos:)
It was my first roadtrip in this province and was wonderfully surprised how much I loved it.