Rural recharge

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/07/2020 (2113 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BUFFALO POINT FIRST NATION — The sandy beach at Buffalo Point Marina is the eastern edge of Manitoba.

There is nothing but water beyond it when you’re staring out at Lake of the Woods. To the south, only a kilometre or so away, is Minnesota.

To the north is the Northwest Angle, which, by a quirk of political geography, is also Minnesota.

This beach is about as close to the United States as most Manitobans dare go this summer. The border is closed, as are many favourite vacation spots.

Make 180-degree turn though, and all you’ll see is Manitoba in front of you.

Buffalo Point, a traditional healing area for the Anishinaabe, is a beautiful and relaxing place, just one of many staycation opportunities — as vast as the views of Lake of the Woods — that await.

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Even in a normal summer, going to the lake is a common getaway. The phrase “going to the lake” even has its own entry in The Encyclopedia of Manitoba.

Of course, although Manitoba has lots of lakes — more than 100,000 — not every Manitoban has an actual body of water bestowed upon them along with their birth certificate (though it may sometimes feel that way). However, the province does have some of the largest lakes in the world, so there is room to share.

“We’re hoping this is the year of the road trip,” Linda Whitfield, Travel Manitoba’s vice-president for marketing and communications, says. “We’re really hoping people venture out of Winnipeg and, conversely, that rural folks come in to Winnipeg. There’s never been a better time.”

For many Manitobans, a staycation may mean little more than hanging out with family and friends at a lake cottage or cabin. Most notable for Winnipeggers is Grand Beach Provincial Park and its many sand dunes, which have been a haven for the city’s sun worshippers for years. Smaller beaches on the way north along Highway 59 are also popular. 

So too are West Hawk Lake, Falcon Lake and the countless lakes in Whiteshell Provincial Park. The Canadian Shield and its granite outcroppings takes centre stage at these popular summer spots.

However, Travel Manitoba aims at steering Manitobans away from their cottages, even for a day or two.

The Interlake, the region between Manitoba’s three largest lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba, is another favourite staycation getaway.

Travelling north on Highway 9 from Selkirk — which subs as the town of Millwood in CBC’s legal drama Burden of Truth — is the scenic route along Lake Winnipeg’s western shore. Winnipeg Beach was such a hot spot early in the 20th century that it had train service from Winnipeg and its own Ferris wheel. Both are gone now, but the picturesque beach remains, as do nearby cottage communities such as Sandy Hook and Ponemah.

Further north is Gimli, which has become one of Manitoba’s tourist gems owing to its view of Lake Winnipeg and its Icelandic tradition. Standing on Gimli’s pier offers a similar awestruck feeling to standing on the edge of an ocean — the horizon is nothing but water.

“It’s so lovely to have two spectacular resort communities just 10 miles apart,” Whitfield says.

The August long weekend was supposed to be the 131st annual Islendingadagurinn, or Icelandic Festival of Manitoba, where Gimli transforms into New Iceland, dignitaries from the island nation visit and streets are festooned with Iceland’s flag. The town’s famous viking statue, a great meeting point during the fair, remains a landmark but the festival is going virtual in 2020. (There are probably just as many colourful curses for COVID-19 in Icelandic as there are in English.)

Further north is Hecla Island, which juts out into Lake Winnipeg and is part of Hecla Grindstone Provincial Park. It’s also a haven for hikers, bikers, swimmers and golfers; Lakeview Hecla Resort offers a comfy home base while exploring the island’s sights for those who need a break from camping. Travel Manitoba offers a list of eight tourist ideas at the provincial park, including visiting the historic Hecla village (wfp.to/heclatips).

The other side of the Interlake — Lake Manitoba’s eastern shore — offers a more rustic version of a Manitoba staycation. The community of St. Laurent — which was settled by the Métis — is the hub of several of sandy beaches, whether it’s the expansive Twin Beaches and Sandpiper Beach south of town, or nearby Laurentia Beach. 

Twin Beaches is even in range for hardy Winnipeg cyclists, says Anders Swanson of the Winnipeg Trails Association. The cycling advocate makes the 67-kilometre trek to Twin Beaches using the Harte Trail, the Headingley Grand Trunk Trail and small provincial highways and country roads for a couple of days’ getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

“I’m very slow — 16 kilometres an hour is a reasonable speed for me,” says Swanson, who lugs a small tent and some camping gear along on his biking getaway. “When I start in the morning, I get there in the mid-afternoon and stay the night.”

Following Highway 6 north will lead to more beaches near Oak Point and Lundar. A lakeside sight of a different sort in Steep Rock offers a history lesson, and a scenic one at that.

It’s hard to imagine cliffs in the middle of the Canadian Prairies, but Little Steep Rock Trail’s easy hike through the woods leads to giant limestone promontories that overlook the lake and the nearby beach and wharf. They are the geological remnants of glacial Lake Agassiz, which covered much of the Canadian Prairies from about 11000 BC to 6000 BC.

The village also offers boating and kayaking opportunities as well as trails for hikers and ATV enthusiasts. Drive slowly entering the town because deer are in abundance, especially as the sun sets.

Further north is Baker Narrows Campground, near Flin Flon, and Paint Lake Campground near Thompson, which Travel Manitoba says are two of the province’s 10 notably gorgeous camping spots (wfp.to/tencampingspots).

Further west is another geological anomaly on the Prairies, Riding Mountain National Park. Clear Lake’s boating and canoeing opportunities are the recreational highlights, but there is also golfing, hiking trails and, of course, horseback riding, which gave the park, and the mountain within it, its name. 

“Clear Lake and the Wasagaming townsite, they’ve done such a fabulous job there. I kind of think of it as our smaller version of Banff,” says Whitfield, who says she’ll miss competing in the annual Riding Mountain triathlon, which has been cancelled for 2020. “No matter what you like to do, whether you’re a cyclist or a wildlife enthusiast, it’s such a great spot.”

The park is always a popular place for campers, so check Parks Canada’s website (wfp.to/ridingmtncamp) well in advance for more information and availability.

Brandon, Manitoba’s second-largest city, is 100 kilometres south of Riding Mountain. It has hiking and fishing in an urban setting along the Assiniboine River, as well the Brandon Hills Wildlife Management Area, which offers some of the province’s best mountain bike trails.

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Perhaps the dream Manitoba staycation — a journey to Churchill — is on the bucket list of many a world traveller. Phase 3 of the province’s pandemic reopening plan allows folks from southern Manitoba to visit the town on the shore of Hudson Bay again, and in so doing, opened up a chance to view polar bears in the wild and a landscape unlike any other in the province.

Whitfield says accessible wilderness, found especially in Churchill but also in many other parts of Manitoba, is a big selling point to tourists from all over.

“You’re out on a tundra buggy and you’re nose to nose, practically, but safely, with a polar bear. That’s pretty darn accessible,” she says. “We always hear the expeditions to Churchill are the calibre of an African safari but at nowhere near the cost.” 

Visit churchill.ca for details on polar bear and beluga whale tours — not to mention the safety aspects of both — as well as bird-watching and a chance to get dramatic views of the northern lights later in the year.

Churchill visitors will need time and money to get there though. Via Rail will get you there in two days on its winding route that stops in The Pas, Thompson and Gillam for as low as $459 return in August, while Calm Air flies from Richardson International Airport direct to Churchill. An August return trip can cost $1,000 or more, and gives passengers an idea of the economic realities for those who live in remote communities in northern Manitoba. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented Manitobans with endless obstacles, frustration and anxiety. It’s also provided a chance to remember there’s more to Manitoba than going to the lake. Weekend warriors on bikes or canoes or those in a comfy chair in the sand on Grand Beach will find there are moments when the stress of life in 2020 can be forgotten, for an hour, a day or a week or two.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca  

Twitter:@AlanDSmall