Rural Manitoba, Winnipeg

Lower Fort Garry (about 3/4 hour north of Winnipeg) is worth spending a day at during tourist season (mid May til Labour Day). Its is a historic site run by Parcs Canada. Lower Fort Garry has been refurbished back to the late 1800's, complete with Governor Simpson, his fur-traders, the blacksmith, even the First Nations people outside the fort. You may even get a little food from the governor's kitchen, or get to discuss canoeing/portaging techniques with the Voyaguers

Lower Fort Garry web site: http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/parks/manitoba/multi_e.htm

1/2 hour north of the city is River Road -- about as historic as Manitoba gets. The Red River in the late 1800's was a fur trading centre (that's all it was - no cities yet).

Along River road, you get to see four or five typical houses from that period, St. Andrew's Church (the oldest church in Western Canada I believe), a school for proper young ladies, Kennedy House (where you can stop for a spot of tea), and land up at the Marine Museum of Manitoba in Selkirk.

This Dam was one of the first built in Manitoba. It was used to supply power for electric trolleys in Winnipeg.

The dam is located just off a gravel road between the towns of Pinawa and Lac du Bonnet. It is about 1 1/2 hours north east of winnipeg

The dam has picnic spots and a play ground. There are spots to go swimming.

Fondest Memory:
When we were walking back to the playground from the dam, we came upon a garter snake. It just happened that we had the snake surronded. This snake was about 12 inches long. It moved towards my 3 yr old son. Being his first time seeing a snake, he ran backwards VERY fast, never taking his eyes off the snake. He screamed louder then I thought possible. Next time he talked to grampa and gramma, he told them about how a snake chased him and tried to kill him....

Camping is very popular around the Winnipeg area & all over the province of Manitoba. You can choose many type of different locations to go camping in seeing as Manitoba has many lakes, forests & even a desert at Carberry. You can also find many secluded areas the further north you go.

Churchill, way up in Northern Manitoba, is famous for its polar bears. I believe you can fly up there from the airport if you're interested in seeing the critters. Your best bet for finding some will probably be at the town dump.

Manitoba has several fine parks, including Riding Mountain National Parks, which is about 3 hours NW of Winnipeg, and Whiteshell Provincial Park, which is on the border of Manitoba and Ontario to the East. Both offer hotels and camping.

Spruce Woods provincial park is a great place to do some biking or hiking. The place also has mini golf and amenities. Nearby are the Spirit Sands, a large area of sand dunes created by glaciers. Just don't wander too far off the trails, or you might get hit by a missile from the Shilo army base. If you are bored by the sands, check out dismal and ugly GLENBORO where you can see the huge Sara the Camel next to a bunch of dilapidated farm machinery!!! OR, also nearby is Souris, which sports a nifty rope bridge over the river.

If you are bored out of your skull in Winnipeg, why not take a drive down some of our EXCITING rural roads, where you can glimpse wheat, wheat, and more wheat. (& maybe some canola or flax, if you're lucky)

One thing you don't want to miss in Winnipeg is pay a visit to Lower Fort Garry. It is very unique place to explore piece of Manitoba history. You will have an opportunity to step back into 19th century and see how people lived when fur trading was the main type of business. Costumed interpreters/actors (by the way it is very difficult to confuse them) re-enact events that happened in mid 1800-s. I got to talk to the woman whose husband went beaver hunting, and she is making him lunch (play-lunch nothing was really cooking...). We also discussed the news from 19th century. Also you can get into the local store and negotiate exchanging your rolex watch to a piece of very nice bear fur - lots of fun!

It is easy to get there by car - it is just a half an hour drive north from downtown Winnipeg and a few minutes south of Selkirk on Highway #9 (Main Street).