Sunshine on the shore of Lake Manitoba

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Steep Rock, north of Watchorn Provincial Park. (NEIL BABALUK / FOR THE FREE PRESS)

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St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park. (NEIL BABALUK / FOR THE FREE PRESS)

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Watchorn Provincial Park. (NEIL BABALUK / FOR THE FREE PRESS)

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Lundar Beach Provincial Park. (NEIL BABALUK / FOR THE FREE PRESS)

St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park
Lundar Beach Provincial Park
Watchorn Provincial Park

Beautiful sandy beaches, striking limestone cliffs, and the sun shining down – this past weekend’s trip to Manitoba's provincial parks was totally opposite to the previous weekend's.

After last weekend’s dreary, rain-plagued trip to provincial parks in the central Interlake, my travel companions and I decided to try our luck again in this geographically diverse region. Our destination - the eastern shore of Lake Manitoba. Three provincial parks hug this side of the lake – St. Ambroise Beach, Lundar Beach, and Watchorn. All three parks are small and are home to small, moderately used campgrounds. Each park is easily accessible, just to the west of Highway 6, one of Manitoba’s main north-south arteries.

The first stop on our journey was St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park. St. Ambroise Beach is the second-closest Interlake beach to Winnipeg (Matlock on Lake Winnipeg is a bit closer). St. Ambroise is 105 kilometres northwest of the city, just a short distance west of Highway 6.

The park rests on a narrow strip of land that divides Lake Manitoba from the Sioux Marsh, an eastern extension of the world-renowned Delta Marsh. This marsh is home to hundreds of species of birds, including catbirds, American goldfinches, and yellow-headed blackbirds.

When we arrived, the sun was shining, a welcome change of pace after the previous four rain-filled weekends. A quick look at the beach revealed that there wasn’t really much of one. The gravel/sand beach extended about ten to fifteen feet to the lapping water of the lake. If you’re looking for a stunning sandy beach, St. Ambroise shouldn’t be your first choice.

However, if you’re an enthusiastic bird watcher, the park should be among your prime destinations. The boardwalk that leads into the Sioux Marsh is just a short stroll from the beach. The vast number of birds that make this area their summer home became evident even before we reached the boardwalk, as dozens of killdeers were parading around the parking lot, faking broken wings. They were attempting to lure us away from their poorly placed nests, most of them right in the gravel of the parking lot. This likely wouldn't persuade the real danger to their nests – foxes and skunks.

The Sioux Marsh boardwalk snakes its way through shoulder-height reeds and cattails. Dozens of birds soared and swooped through the air, often coming to rest on the reeds at the side of the boardwalk. At the end of the boardwalk, an observation platform provides a view of the sprawling marsh, which stretches as far as the eye can see.

Next, we headed north up Highway 6 passing through St. Laurent and by the massive Canada goose statue in Lundar, before arriving at Lundar Beach Provincial Park. Like St. Ambroise Beach, Lundar Beach has a small campground right on the shore of Lake Manitoba. The beach was much nicer though, extending around the length of the bay. With the sun shining and temperatures hitting 25° C, this provided us a perfect opportunity to lie on the beach and catch some rays. Lundar Beach provides a change of pace from the more crowded beaches on the west side of Lake Winnipeg.

Further to the north on Highway 6, roughly 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Watchorn Provincial Park is a small, campground oriented park. It has a nice sandy beach, with the rare opportunity to camp right along the edge of the beach. The attraction of coming to Watchorn isn’t the park itself, instead it’s the relative proximity to the town of Steep Rock.

Steep Rock is a village, 40 kilometres north of Watchhorn. The town gets its name from the nearby towering limestone cliffs that drop off into Lake Manitoba. I’ve heard several people suggest the cliffs look like they belong along the Mediterranean and having visited the Mediterranean myself, I can say there is some truth to that. The crumbling cliffs are a remnant of the last ice age and of wind and water erosion that carved countless nooks, crannies, and caves into the soft limestone. We walked along the shoreline from the federal government dock, located in the middle of town, and were able to climb in and around the ten metre high cliffs. Kayaks and canoes are available for rent at the dock, providing a different view of the cliffs. These cliffs are one of the "must see" Manitoba sites that everyone should visit at least once.

The eastern shore of Lake Manitoba was a welcome relief after my previous week's trip. Next up, a trip to a desert, a haunted house, and one of the stranger bodies of water in the province.