DESTINATIONS CANADA | MANITOBA
wonders WINNIPEG
Visitors tend not to stay in Manitoba’s capital, but encourage clients to linger for a
few days and they’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s a city made up of eclectic and walkable neighbourhoods, including North End, site of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919; St Boniface, Winnipeg’s pretty French
quarter; and the innovative Exchange District. It also has excellent museums – none more insightful than the Canadian Museum for
Human Rights – and a thriving food scene. My highlight was The Forks, a complex featuring boutique shops and a food hall overlooking the junction of the Assiniboine and Red rivers.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Bison roam the grasses; The Forks Market, Winnipeg; food at Lakehouse; Riding Mountain National Park PICTURES: Travel Manitoba; Wibke Helfrich; Bill Bennett
INSIDER insightinsight
“Manitoba is best known for polar bears, beluga whales and northern lights in
Churchill – but summer reveals a completely different side of the province. It’s ideal for clients looking for an authentic Canadian experience, where you holiday alongside the locals rather than international tour
groups. With more than 100,000 lakes, Manitoba is perfect for paddling, fishing and relaxed stays in lakeside cabins. It’s all about slowing down and experiencing Canada at its most genuine.”
Karin Schreiber, account manager for UK and Germany, Travel Manitoba
The only thing that broke the silence was a flock of goosanders landing on the water’s surface, perhaps to get a good look at the sunset themselves.
NATURAL ASSETS The following day, I enjoyed Clear Lake in a completely different way – dining at its shoreline on braised bison short rib, with the crackle of an open fire the sole mealtime soundtrack. “It’s called Clear Lake for a reason,” said Karly McRae, owner of accommodation provider Lakehouse Properties. “Everywhere you go, the landscapes are untouched. We like to think this is what Banff National Park felt like a hundred years ago.” I was staying in Wasagaming, a sleepy town on the shores of Clear Lake, a three-hour drive from provincial capital Winnipeg. Here, life is lived at a gentler pace, which is exactly how the locals like it. My base, the Lakehouse Boutique Hotel, felt more like a collection of quiet cabin retreats, fronted by a restaurant serving hearty Canadian classics. Wasagaming sits right on the edge of Riding Mountain National Park, one
40 25 JUNE 2026
33Most visitors to Manitoba fly straight from Winnipeg to Churchill, which leaves an awful lot of the province undiscovered
of only two national parks in the province. Yet most overseas visitors to Manitoba fly straight from Winnipeg to Churchill to go polar bear spotting, which leaves an awful lot of the province undiscovered.
BEAR AND BISON COUNTRY Churchill’s polar bear fame might make it Manitoba’s winter wildlife hotspot, but summertime in the province offers equally interesting fauna. Riding Mountain National Park welcomes a fraction of the visitors Churchill sees, which makes it prime territory for clients to embark on a wilderness adventure on the open road. One morning, I set off for Lake Audy Bison Enclosure,
a portion of the park reserved for bison herds. But, early as it was, Wasagaming’s location within Riding Mountain means you need to be switched on from the minute you leave town – you never know what you might see. Sure enough, after about 10 minutes, I saw what looked like soot-dusted rocks on the roadside.
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travelweekly.co.uk
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