Eight grown-ups, four kids, two dogs, and a brand new hiking trail through the back woods in Whiteshell Provincial park. The sun was bright, the air cool and fresh, and the trail stretched out ahead of us – an invitation for an intimate experience with Mother Nature! OK – the noise and commotion of 12 [...]

We decided to check out the Walleye fishing on Nutimik Lake, Whiteshell Provincial park and found a glorious little spot on the shoreline where we set up our lines. About 20 minutes of wonderful walleye fishing, Henry felt a bit of a tug on his line. A moment later the tug became a pull and [...]

Our destination was Lockport on the Red River, a place of legend when it comes to channel cats. We were dipping our chestwadered toes into the Red by sun up, trying our luck from shore rather than from the boat. After loading up a catfish rig with some shrimp past its prime, I cast out and [...]

Our day started out with a 20-minute flight on a swanky new Cessna from North Star Resort, across the endless patchwork of lakes and bush that make up northern Manitoba. Destination: Utik Lake. Our guide Dave suggested a bay that promised some serious action. So he cranked up the 75 horse Merc and off we [...]

“That’s an awfully big walleye you got there,” I said to Ernie as he clutched his ultra-light fishing rod. “I’m gonna lose it,” he spat. “I knew I shoulda changed line. This is last year’s stuff!” It was the end of the day and we decided to pick up a few walleyes for supper. For some reason, Ernie [...]

The first time I saw the belugas was from directly overhead. I was lucky enough to hitch an afternoon ride with a biology team aboard a shaky old DeHavilland, outfitted with the equivalent of lawn chairs for seats. The team on board was used to seeing the otherworldly sights of Churchill and didn’t think much [...]

It’s hard to believe that a 10-minute drive can get us from a zooming city street to a breathtaking wildlife scene. Under a stand of poplars just a few metres away, a pair of white-tailed deer gingerly poke through the last of the snow looking for those first tender grass shoots. Believe it or not, [...]

Back in the day, I would swim with the snakes – clamber down into the cool limestone crevasses and mingle with the millions. That was before anyone knew that the Narcisse Snake Dens were a treasure, a reptile research utopia and home to the world’s largest community of red-sided garter snakes. And right here in [...]

We’ve been to Clear Lake many times. We’ve breathed that sprucey boreal air, marveled at the craftsmanship of the log building and consumed more creamcheese covered cinnamon buns from Whitehouse Bakery than any family should. But it wasn’t until our most recent trip that we discovered something new – Riding Mountain National Park is huge [...]

Our favorite spot to vacation is Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. It is a magical place full of fun memories for our children. We have been going to Riding Mountain since our daughter was 5 and our son was an infant. One of our special family rituals is going for animal [...]