Published April 22nd, 2025

Photos by Robin and Arlene Karpan

With the “Elbows Up” movement in full swing and Canadian tourism becoming increasingly popular, it’s an excellent time to discover, or rediscover, our captivating country.

So you’re looking at Canada’s Prairies for a summer vacation and asking yourself “what’s there to do in Manitoba in summer?” So, so, so much! Manitoba is marvellous for family road trips, a guys and or gals trip, a couples getaway or a solo adventure.

If one of your summer travel destinations is Manitoba, we’ve got a stellar list for you to either follow or include in your exploration of this beautiful part of Canada.

Riding Mountain National Park

Nothing says summer in Manitoba like immersing yourself in the wild beauty of its parks. Topping our list is Riding Mountain NP, perched in the highlands of the Manitoba Escarpment, and blending the best of Canada’s landscapes with northern boreal forest, eastern deciduous forest, and grassland meadows ablaze with prairie wildflowers. Wildlife runs the gamut from moose to wolves, bison, foxes, cougars, bears and more. We even saw an elusive lynx on one visit.

The park’s name originated with early explorers who found that riding on horseback was the best way to travel. Today’s explorers choose from over 370 kilometres of trails with everything from easy walks to steep challenging slogs. Scenic drives and plenty of opportunities to get out on the water add to the possibilities.

The lakeside townsite of Wasagaming on Clear Lake serves as the park’s lively hub with a visitor centre, accommodation, eateries, the largest campground, and other services. Smaller campgrounds, such as our favourite at Lake Audy, offer a more away-from-it-all experience, plus it’s just a short drive to the bison area and dazzling wildflower displays.

Spirit Sands

Are you looking for a place to play in the sand this summer? If so, head southeast of Brandon to one of Manitoba’s more unusual landscapes. The Spirit Sands are part of Spruce Woods PP, a wild area of spruce forest, native prairie, and expanses of shifting sand dunes next to the Assiniboine River.

Hiking trails weave through this fragile landscape leading to wind-sculpted dunes where wildflowers such as sand dock grow out of pure sand. Contrasting with the arid land is the surprising oasis-like Devil’s Punch Bowl, an iridescent pool fed by underground springs.

Stop at the visitor centre where displays highlight the special landscape and human history, then pick a site at the campground for a more leisurely stay.

Waterfalls of the Grass River

This road trip reveals some of Manitoba’s most accessible and beautiful waterfalls. Highway 39 southeast of Flin Flon parallels the Grass River, once important to the fur trade and now a paddler’s dream.

Grass River PP offers river and lake access, and three campgrounds. Head out on the Karst Spring Trail which leads to a mysterious spring that seems to surge from solid rock in a magical setting.

A bit farther along the highway we arrive at Wekusko Falls PP where the river plunges 12 metres through a series of dramatic drops and rapids. It’s easy to see most of the falls along a short walking trail and two suspension bridges crossing the river, getting you up close to the thundering water and the constant spray. If you’re camping, try to snag one of the prime walk-in tent sites overlooking the falls.

Highway 39 joins Highway 6 towards Thompson. Along this stretch, we come to Pisew Falls where the river cascades 13 metres in a massive wall of water. This impressive spot is the second-highest waterfall in Manitoba and it is just off the highway.

The Caves and Crevices of Clearwater Lake

Clearwater Lake, northeast of The Pas, is fed by springs, making its deep waters astonishingly clear. Located in a provincial park, the lake is popular for its beach, watersports, camping, and fishing for lake trout.

Our favourite part is the Caves Trail, a short walk through a strange fairy-tale land of massive boulders, dolomite cliffs, caves and crevices, much of it coated in emerald green moss and lichen. Continual freezing and thawing over the years has fractured the rocks, with the cracks closer to the cliff edge widening into crevices, and some eventually collapsing.

Many fractures are so straight that they seem cut by some gigantic precision machine. Some cracks are barely wide enough for a toothpick, while you can easily walk through others.

The cave-like structures, caused by haphazardly falling rocks, provide shelter for wildlife such as squirrels, weasels, garter snakes and bears. This surprising and visually stunning gem is not something we expect to find hidden away on a forested lakeshore.

Whiteshell Provincial Park

This huge wilderness playground in the forested Precambrian Shield of eastern Manitoba is a land of wild rivers, waterfalls, sandy beaches and almost unlimited possibilities for hiking, canoeing, wildlife viewing, and fishing. Among the 200 lakes is West Hawk Lake, Manitoba’s deepest at 115 metres, formed when a massive meteor slammed into Earth 100 million years ago.

Resort communities, lodges, campgrounds, viewpoints, and trailheads line the 125-kilometre drive through the park.

Don’t miss the Bannock Point Petroforms – ancient boulder effigies thought to date back centuries. Placed stones within the extensive site represent people, a turtle, a snake, and figures whose meanings have been lost in time. First Nations people consider it a sacred site and use it as a place of teaching and healing.

UFO Trail Ride

This horseback ride is out of this world - literally. More than a pleasant outing, it gets us in touch with a great Canadian mystery. We start at Falcon Beach Ranch, a stone’s throw from the Trans Canada Highway in eastern Manitoba. While the guest ranch runs a variety of excursions, the UFO Trail Ride is its star attraction.

Ranch owner Devin Imrie guides us through forested hills to an open area on a broad outcropping. Devin relates in detail the strange tale of amateur geologist Stefan Michalak who, in 1967, had an encounter here that changed his life and brought international attention to this piece of wilderness.

Michalak came across a saucer-like craft which left him with serious burns before it flew off. After the incident, police, military, and investigators swarmed the area. They discovered highly radioactive soil at the site, but in the end it was officially classified as “unexplained”. It remains among the most credible UFO reports anywhere, and was featured in shows such as “Unsolved Mysteries”. The Canadian Mint even launched a commemorative coin. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself glancing skyward on the ride back.

Swan Valley Magnet Hill

This road trip will leave you scratching your head in disbelief. From the town of Swan River, follow the signs southwest towards the Thunder Hill Ski Area near the border with Saskatchewan.

Just short of the ski hill, an obvious dip in the road has a sign for the Swan Valley Magnet Hill. The sign says to stop, shift into neutral, and then release the brakes. When we did this our car immediately started rolling backwards. Uphill! At least that’s how it seemed.

Not to spoil the fun, but of course it’s an optical illusion caused by the lay of the land, similar to the phenomenon at the more famous Magnetic Hill in New Brunswick. A big difference here is that there are no tourists, line-ups, or admission fees, and you’ll likely have the place to yourself. We drove it a few times, just trying to figure out how it works. You probably will too.

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