Travel Manitoba provides great information on outdoor adventures in the province. (https://www.travelmanitoba.com/things-to-do/outdoor/). Manitoba may have harsh winters, but our summers can be quite warm and we have beautiful shoulder seasons: spring & autumn. That provides visitors and residents with four seasons of outdoor adventures.
Many of the local communities provide information on the opportunities for fun.
Let’s start with my favourite season: autumn. In Manitoba, autumn in the far north can start in mid-August, near Hudson Bay and the port of Churchill. Here, polar bears begin staging in late September, while belugas, enjoy Churchill’s summer months. Snow, though, can fall in August, but temperatures also can peak at around 25-30C. In the south, autumn begins in mid- to late-September, with grain harvests, geese flocking, leaves turning. That doesn’t mean warm weather ends. Occasionally, 30C temperatures hit in the third week of September. At this time of year, enjoy fall suppers, craft and farmers markets, hiking & corn mazes. It’s also a great time to enjoy lakeside chalets and resorts, or even camping.
Four Seasons of Outdoor Adventures Include our Winter!
Now, for our famous “Winterpeg” winters. The four seasons of outdoor adventure and fun would not be complete without enjoying Manitoba’s vast outdoors from November to April (the bulk of winter). Two of the best things to do in Winnipeg include visiting the Forks (often) and attending Festival du Voyageur. Again, tons of hiking trails. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular, as is snowmobiling. Take in the northern lights and try ice fishing.
On to spring, which can start in early March, race back into winter, then get into full swing in April to early June. Sprng may bring floods of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, if heavy snowfall occurred in winter. For Winnipeg, the Floodway minimizes that risk. Not so, though, for many of the First Nations in central Manitoba. Still, spring sees the return of hundreds of thousands of birds, many to Fort Whyte Centre or Oak Hammock Marsh on their way north. Spring sees, ironically, the Royal Winter Fair in Brandon and the start of outdoor festivals, plus myriad other activities.
Lastly, summer. So much to do and see in four months, but camping, fishing, fairs, beaches and general touring all top the list. One of the underappreciated adventures is watching the narwhal whales pass by Churchill in June.The summers pack full of activities–so much that you cannot take them all in each year. This completes our four seasons of outdoor adventures in Manitoba.
