Fences to be installed at Whiteshell park site where brothers drowned

The Manitoba government will install fences and signs to restrict access to a popular natural attraction in Whiteshell Provincial Park, where two brothers drowned this month and others have died in recent years.

“My heart goes out to the family. We recognize the hardship and the tragedies that are taking place, and so we’re responding as quickly as we can to secure the site,” Environment Minister Mike Moyes said Tuesday, referring to Sturgeon Falls.

“People will still be able to view the falls. They’re still going to be able to enjoy the beauty of that area of Manitoba, but they’re going to be able to do it in a way that ensures that they’re going to remain safe.”

The falls are located between Nutimik and Numao lakes on the Winnipeg River system. Visitors can reach them by hiking a 1.9-kilometre trail that begins at the Nutimik Lake campground.

New fencing — estimated to stand about four feet tall and span roughly 300 metres — will wrap around the end of the trail and prevent people from reaching the area where the rocks meet the water. The province plans to build fenced viewing areas, Moyes said.

Signage at the site will be updated to include warnings about hidden dangers, including rocks, strong currents and a steep drop-off. Additional signs will be installed along the shoreline to warn people travelling on the water.

“We want to make sure that we’re using very explicit language that ensures people recognize the risk,” the minister said.

Moyes said he went to the area Tuesday morning and met with local groups, including staff from Manitoba Parks, members of the Whiteshell Cottagers Association and business owners.

Allison Baker-Thiessen, who owns Nutimik Lodge with her husband, Harry Thiessen, said she was at the meeting.

“We are very pleased to know that it’s not taking away from the natural environment and it’s going to keep people safe,” Baker-Thiessen said.

The province closed the trail and launched a safety review with Manitoba Parks after Maximo Au Ramirez, 10, and his brother, Aaron Au Ramirez, 13, disappeared into the rapidly moving water on July 19.

Their bodies were recovered days later.

The site has claimed other lives in recent years, including 38-year-old Harpreet Kaur Girn in 2025 and 12-year-old Usaid Habib in 2023.

His father, Muhammad Danish Habib, welcomed the new safety improvements, but said they are too late.

“We need to be proactive in these things, instead of reactive. It’s good to know they are doing something so in the future nobody else has to suffer what we have suffered,” he said.

Moyes has directed parks staff to conduct further assessments of other provincial park sites to determine whether enhanced safety measures are needed elsewhere, he said.

The trail to Sturgeon Falls will not reopen until the fence is installed, the province said.

It is critical that Whiteshell visitors do not try to sneak past the barriers, Baker-Thiessen said.

“Today we found out that there were kayakers that did go around the barricade, which was a little disappointing,” she said. “That’s probably the worst time to go out there, when nobody else is around. It’s closed for a reason.”

Moyes expects the trail to reopen before the end of the summer, he said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca