Eastern Manitoba

Eastern Manitoba covers the part of southern Manitoba west of the Ontario border, and east of Winnipeg and Lake Winnipeg.

Cities

 * — home to a pioneer village open-air museum
 * — services for visitors to Whiteshell Provincial Park
 * — the Snowman Festival offers fun for families
 * — has a 54-m-long suspension bridge
 * — visit the Mennonite Heritage Village

Other destinations

 * — 12-m-high dunes and kilometres of warm sand beach
 * — a mixed (natural and cultural) UNESCO World Heritage Site

Understand
Major fur trading and travel routes, such as the LaVerendrye, Dawson and Crow Wing Trails, were the beginning of European settlement of the region.

The region has a very diverse ethnic cultural background (First Nations (Indigenous), Metis, Ukrainian, French, Mennonite, British, Dutch).

Talk
There are many francophone communities in the Eastern Manitoba, but English is widely spoken.

Get in
The nearest major airport is in Winnipeg:


 * Kasper Bus connects runs through the region along Highway 1 from Winnipeg en route to Thunder Bay.
 * By car, Highway 1 is the principal route from Winnipeg and Ontario. From the United States, follow Highway 75 from the North Dakota border, or Highway 12 from the Minnesota border.
 * By car, Highway 1 is the principal route from Winnipeg and Ontario. From the United States, follow Highway 75 from the North Dakota border, or Highway 12 from the Minnesota border.

Get around
By car, by bike, or on foot.

See
St. Pierre-Jolys hosts the Frog Follies in mid-July, a festival that features the Canadian National Frog Jumping Championships.

In Steinbach, the Mennonite Heritage Village, a 40-acre complex, spreads out from a street reminiscent of the Mennonite villages found in southern Manitoba during the late 1800s.

Beausejour hosts the Canadian Power Toboggan Championship Races in early March attracting racers from across Canada and the United States.

Do
Whiteshell Provincial Park offers year-round activities: hiking, mountain biking, camping, quiet beaches, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and fishing opportunities on more than 130 lakes.

Nopiming Provincial Park has over 700 lakes, many of them with fly-in or drive-in fishing lodges and out camps. The park's wildlife includes woodland caribou (in season).

St. Malo Provincial Park offers campgrounds, sandy beaches, a children's playgrounds and a large family picnic area.

Moose Lake Provincial Park, next to Lake of the Woods in the Northwest Angle Provincial Forest, offers campgrounds, picnic area and visitor accommodations.

Birds Hill Provincial Park, 24 km northeast of Winnipeg, has hills and ridges formed by ancient glaciers. It offers camping year-round, swimming, picnic sites, a riding stable, hiking trails, paved bicycle and roller blading trails, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling trails. The park also hosts the Winnipeg Folk Festival every July, one of North America's largest folk music events.

Eat
Eastern Manitoba has a large francophone population. Tourtière, a meat pie originating from Quebec, is made from ground pork, or combinations of ground pork, ground veal, and ground beef, and seasoned with savory, nutmeg, clove, and/or cinnamon. Poutine is another French-Canadian dish found in Manitoba. Poutine is a dish made with French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds.

Go next

 * Winnipeg, the province's capital and largest city.
 * Angle Inlet, Minnesota, the only part of the 48 contiguous United States which is north of the 49th parallel, has easiest land access through highway MB-525 East in Eastern Manitoba.