A prairie province and in all honesty relatively flat, there are actually quite a few hiking trails in Manitoba. And beautiful ones at that. Lush boreal forest and Canadian Shield bedrock, the trails are unique, interesting and can be explored year-round.
Hiking in Manitoba is quite a bit different than hiking in different parts of Canada like Alberta and BC. The landscape is just too different. Although you may not reach the same level of elevation, there is still much to appreciate on Manitoba trails.
Manitoba is not a little province. With 92 provincial parks and 2 national parks, there are so many trails to choose from! I’ve written a list of 6 short hikes and a few longer ones that I highly recommend while you’re exploring Manitoba.
Know before you go
Get familiar with Leave no trace. These principles are essential to preserving and protecting not only Manitoba’s but the world’s wilderness. They are very easy principles to follow and if you want to get more familiar with LNT, you can check out Leave No Trace Canada. Basically,
- take out what you brought in. Do not leave garbage, tissues anything behind.
- stay on the trail
- respect wildlife
Any trail that is located in a national or provincial park requires you to have a park pass. These can be purchased at the park offices or from various vendors within the parks. The easiest thing is to purchase a pass online and have it printed out before you go.
hiking with wildlife
Manitoba is home to moose, elk, deer, black bears, wolves and many other mammals. It’s important to be alert when hiking and know and understand wildlife safety. Some areas in Manitoba are more populated with wildlife than others but nonetheless, you need to be prepared for an encounter wherever you are. Bear Wise a great resource for learning bear safety. Moose are not naturally aggressive but can get stressed and become very dangerous very quickly. Alberta.ca have some great advice for what to do if you encounter a moose.
Short hiking trails in Manitoba
Dragon fire trail- West Hawk Lake
The Dragon fire trail at West Hawk lake is located right in the West Hawk Lake Campground behind the public toilets as you drive in. This 1.1 km trail starts in the trees with glimpses of the lake and quickly climbs to the top of the rock face. The path is rocky on the way up but not very long. The view looks out over West Hawk Lake, a lake that was made by a meteor and is Manitoba’s deepest lake.
If you want to stay on a hiking trail, you can turn around at the top of the rock face or follow the path down until you reach Miller Beach in the campground. From there you can turn around and retrace your steps or you can walk back through the campground to the beginning of the trail, which isn’t quite as interesting. The entire trail may take 30-45 minutes return.
Blueberry Rock- Lac Du Bonnet
This is a lovely trail just outside of Lac Du Bonnet. Much of the path is over smooth rock and a wooden lookout tower gives views over to the lake. Near the tower, you can walk along some paths to see the rock quarry. Be super careful here as there are some sheer drops down.
As the name suggests blueberry bushes line the trail as well as tall birch trees. There are plenty of areas for a picnic and to soak in nature. This doesn’t take long to complete, about 2 km round trip but it’s a nice trail for an easy stroll or a quick trail run.
Pinawa Suspension bridge-Pinawa
Who doesn’t love a bouncy suspension bridge! This trail is part of the Great Canadian trail so you can really as far along it as you’d like. There are also a few options as to where you can walk from the bridge. A popular one is walking 3.5 km to the Diversion Dam which is essentially the top of the Pinawa river. From there you can turn around and retrace your steps or continue on to the town and make a loop back to the bridge.
In summertime, it’s possible you may have to pay to park at the suspension bridge parking lot. To combat this you could park in town and walk across to the bridge. This will add a bit to your hike but not too much and it’ll be easy walking.
Tulabi Falls – Nopiming Provincial Park
Nopiming is an Anichinabe word meaning Entry to the Wilderness. Driving into the park you certainly get that feeling. Gravel road all the way in surrounded by bush on both sides. Tulabi campground feels peaceful and one with nature. If you can, stay in one of the yurts that look over to Bird Lake.
There are a few short tracks to do at Tulabi Falls. One is the trail from the campground to the falls. It’s straightforward and a little less than 1 km, one way. Not too much of a hike but a lovely walk through the bush. There is also a lookout tower over the falls.
One trail I highly suggest is the short track up to the lookout over Tulabi Lake. The track starts right at the end of the road/the entrance to Tulabi Lake. You really can’t miss it. If you can, go up for sunset or close to! Check out my post on Nopiming Provincial Park for more!
Top of the world trail- Falcon Lake
Located near Falcon Trails Resort, this 4km trail takes you up to a beautiful lookout over Falcon Lake through tall Jack Pine and over granite bedrock. The track isn’t particularly steep but gradually climbs to the highest elevation in the area. The top is a great spot for a bite to eat and you can make most of this track a loop track.
This trail would be lovely do to in the fall when the leaves are changing colours. This trail is also used as a mountain bike trail so be aware of others on the track.
Longer hiking trails in Manitoba
Spirit sands & Devil’s punchbowl- Spruce woods Provincial Park
Spirits Sands in Spurce Woods Provincial Park located south of Carberry is one of the most unique spots in the entire province. Sand dunes and cacti aren’t things you would necessarily expect for a landscape that’s cover in snow 5 months of the year and yet that’s exactly what you’ll find.
The Devil’s Punchbowl is a bit of a side trip that you can loop in and definitiely not to be missed. The water in the punchbowl has beautiful hues of green and blue and the best place to see it is from the viewing deck.
The hiking is relatively easy with a few spots of stairs and the sand gives a good workout. It can get super hot in the summer though and although the area is in boreal forest there aren’t too many opportunites for shade. There are many different tracks that you can take determining how long your hike will be. I sugget taking the bigger outside loop, go to Devils Punchbowl and loop back to the start. This is about 10 km and takes about 2-2.5 hours.
Bald Hill via Gorge creek Trail- RIding Mountain National Park
If you’re looking for a bit more of a workout, Bald Hill track is a great one to explore. Again, diverse landscape and you’ll be surprised that it’s in Manitoba! The best time to do it is fall when all the leaves are changing colour!
I suggest starting at the east gate. This has a well mapped out route to Bald Hill and is about a 10 km loop. Most of the trail is undulating with a few spots of uphill. If you’re used to hiking only Manitoba trails, this one will likely get you puffing but it’s definitely worth it! There are a few junctions along the way but the signage is pretty good. There is a good map at the start of the trail as well.
You can check out my blog post about Bald Hill for more details. Riding Mountain is definitely an area with higher black bear and moose populations. Be alert when you’re on the trail.