Limestone cliffs of Steep Rock a lot of fun

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2003 (8073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STRETCHING 738 kilometres from the Perimeter up to Thompson, Highway 6 is the second-longest patch of pavement in the province.

But it’s the No. 1 highway for loneliness, once you get past Interlake cottage communities and into the Manitoba Lowlands, an almost featureless expanse of limestone-bedded forest that’s one of the most sparsely populated parts of Canada you can reach by road.

As the gateway to the North, this is the route you must take if you want to canoe the Grass River, hike the Pisew-Kwasitchewan Falls trail or catch a Via train from Thompson to the eco-tourism mecca of Churchill. It’s also the fastest route from Winnipeg to Flin Flon and The Pas.

As a wannabe naturalist, I’m thrilled this massive stretch of open country is so undeveloped, as it lacks both the fertile soils that make the Prairies so perfect for farming and the minerals that brought mines to the Canadian Shield to the north.

But as somebody who drives to most of the places I like to hike, bike or paddle, I find the Lowlands a bit much, especially that empty stretch where Grand Rapids is the only town for 350 kilometres.

Luckily, there’s a great way to break up the long drive, and I’m not talking about using a high-powered rifle to take potshots at metal highway signs (which is what some northerners appear to do, but that’s another story).

About two hours north of Winnipeg, right before the human population disappears, sits the sleepy town of Steep Rock, where the limestone that makes the rest of the Lowlands so dull is fashioned into something a lot more fascinating.

On the shores of Lake Manitoba, the lakeside stone has eroded into a series of small but picturesque cliffs, caves, monoliths and other Dali-esque formations reminiscent of some of the more modest badlands in the Dakotas or Alberta.

Some of cliffs are 10 metres tall, but the rock is too fragile to support climbing. Instead, this a great place to scamper around, as you can easily spend hours scrambling about the lakeshore just south of the town or northeast to a beach located a few kilometres up the coast.

Given the close proximity to the town — and the absence of any back country beyond the shoreline — you won’t get any sense of solitude or wilderness at Steep Rock. Also, the hiking could hardly be described as strenuous.

Wild snacks

But the little kid in you will love the rocks themselves, especially since Manitoba has so few dramatic-looking, naturally eroded areas. And if you go soon, keep your eyes peeled for the last remnants of the summer’s wild snacks — raspberries, blueberries, saskatoons, wild strawberries and most impressively, gooseberries.

From Winnipeg or anywhere in the Interlake, it’s easy to make Steep Rock a day trip. Just take Highway 6 until you reach the intersection with Provincial Road 239. Turn west and keep following the road past a limestone quarry and continue into the town.

The southern trailhead is located a few hundred metres southwest of the government dock, while the northern shoreline leading to the beach starts at the dock itself.

From Winnipeg, allow a little over two hours of driving to this place. If you’re continuing down Highway 6 and want to stop in the area for the night, I’m not aware of any wilderness-camping options in the area — but you can do some conventional camping.

Steep Rock’s beach is part of a sprawling campground frequented by car campers and RVs. Just as developed, but quieter, is the Roviera Campground, which straddles a muddy river a few kilometres up Highway 6, just north of Fairford.

Once you get past Gypsumville, the population thins out completely, so it should be possible to make your own secluded site somewhere off the highway, if you’re discreet enough to pull off short-term squatting.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

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