LAKE OF THE PRAIRIES -- Is this really Manitoba?
One hill after another, separated by magnificent ancient valleys, then more hills, each a different size and contour, like a floor of giant tortoise shells.
Roz Pulo at recently sold cottage lot.
"This is the rolling-hill capital of Manitoba," said realtor Ken Jakeman, on a driving tour.
"This area has always been the under-seen, unknown part of Manitoba," he maintained. "The only thing missing is people."
Perhaps not for long.
Plans are underway for construction of up to 1,000 cottages around Lake of the Prairies, making it perhaps the biggest cottage development boom since the Whiteshell opened in the late 1950s.
"That's like a whole third town up here," said Roz Pulo, Asessippi Ski Hill marketing director. On the north end of Lake of the Prairies, Roblin has about 900 homes; Russell to the south has 700.
These are also 1,000 mostly year-round cottages because as big an attraction as Lake of the Prairies is, there's also the Asessippi Ski Hill next door for winter recreation.
There's golf, too. There are plans to build two 18-hole golf courses at a cost of $8 million, spearheaded by father and son Gerald and Dave Keating. A decision by the province is expected soon.
That would include a world-class course to attract golfers from across North America. The Keatings already own a par-3 course, opened three years ago, where people can play all day for just $5 a person.
These are also 1,000 cottages, and up to three golf courses, around a lake that, until recently, never was.
The Lake of the Prairies is the impoundment of the Assiniboine River. It was created by the Shellmouth Dam, built in 1968 to hold back the Assiniboine River--the third phase of Winnipeg's flood protection, after the floodway and Portage la Prairie diversion.
The Shellmouth Dam, at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Shellmouth rivers, has created a lake 56 kilometres long, although not terribly wide.
It has become a top-notch walleye fishery in the past decade. It's only in the last three years that cottage construction has begun on a large scale. More than 200 cottages are already built and close to 600 more lots designated for cottages, with more expected.
It isn't Winnipeg's playground this time. Winnipeggers are buying some of the ski-in, ski-out chalets at Asessippi Ski Hill. But most of the Lake of the Prairies lots are being bought by people from northern Manitoba to Brandon, Portage la Prairie and through the Parkland around the Duck and Riding mountains.
Cottage owners include farmers, who sell a portion of their land for a recreation property or are retired.
Dennis and Carol Chase sold their farm and now live in a gorgeous 1,900-square-foot lakefront bungalow with a walk-out basement. The Chases love fishing, even more so in winter.
But they're a little different, too. Carol just couldn't live without a garden, so a considerable area is set aside for that. And Dennis probably couldn't live without climbing onto a tractor, even if it's just a riding mower now. So he's got a considerable lawn to care for on their expansive four-acre property.
"When we quit farming, we didn't know where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do. Then we found this spot and fell in love with it," said Dennis.
People are buying from Saskatchewan, too, from places like Yorkton, Estevan, Esterhazy and Regina. Regina is about a three-hour drive to Russell, compared to four and a half hours from Winnipeg to Russell.
And there are many buyers from Alberta, and even British Columbia, who want "to retire here because they can't afford to retire out there," said Alvin Zimmer, reeve of the RM of Shellmouth-Boulton. "Lakefront starts at $1 million in B.C."
People from out of province buy from private developers, who account for more than half the cottage lots at Lake of the Prairies. However, some buyers in Saskatchewan have friends in Manitoba who front for them in the cottage lottery.
More than 200 lots around the lake have been taken in the provincial draws.
Most lakefront properties have been snapped up. There is also another popular category, thanks to this area's hilly countryside: lakeview.
"You've got five river valleys through here," said Ken Jakeman, of Jakeman Insurance and Real Estate in Roblin.
"It creates a lot of hills, a lot of viewpoints." (One hint for people travelling Manitoba: To really see the hills and valleys, you have to take side roads off main Highway 83. )
The lots in the province's lottery started at $10,000 for backlots and $22,000 to $26,000 for lakefront, said Manitoba Conservation. Private lots, like those sold by the Keating family which owns Prairie Lake Lodge, started at about $35,000 for lakefront and now go for $75,000 to $100,000 -- if you can find any.
Much of the cottage development is spearheaded by road builders. Gerald Keating was a road contractor and, at age 75, can still can be spotted out driving a front-end loader, although son David runs most of the development now.
It's a story that's written again and again in Manitoba. At Lake Manitoba Narrows, father-and-son team Blair and Chad Olafson had the earth-moving equipment and know-how to build the roads to launch their big new cottage development. Jim Thunder, the father of current Buffalo Point First Nation Chief John Thunder, built his own road to launch Buffalo Point's cottage development on Lake of the Woods.
The cost of building roads is one of the biggest expenses in cottage developments.
Lake of the Prairies is primarily a fishing lake. Algae in July and August prohibit most swimming. The algae are generated from the run-off of nutrients from farming country upriver in Saskatchewan.
But Lake of the Prairies has features other cottage developments don't have: a nearby ski hill, a golf course and another two possibly on the way.
The golf courses proposed by the Keatings are on a former cow pasture. The land could take 400 to 500 cottages. Initially, Keating plans to sell 200 cottage lots, 125 on the golf course and 75 with a "10-mile valley view."
The Keating plan would further stimulate the local economy. "We've got no population, no oil, no timber, no big industry--just farming," Keating said. "So what would you prefer? One hundred cattle here or 100 jobs?"
However, there are also concerns about so much cottage development. There aren't enough contractors to handle all the construction, although more contractors are moving into the area.
The sewage lagoon has to be expanded, and the RM will have to amortize the cost with cottagers' tax bill on lottery lots. (Private developers are adding a surcharge to lots.) No septic fields are allowed and holding tanks start at about $2,500.
There is also concern the fishing cannot sustain the increase in anglers from so many more cottages.
Manitoba fisheries experts believe fishing is largely self-regulating. When fish stocks get too low, limits and slot sizes are adjusted accordingly. Also, anglers who camp around the lake -- it has about 500 campsites -- move on to other lakes.
The Lake of the Prairies Conservation District also has concerns. More cottages mean more lawns, and that can mean unwanted chemicals in lakes. Brandon and Portage la Prairie treat Assiniboine River water for human consumption.
The conservation district hopes to kick-start an education campaign on proper shoreline management.
bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
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