Adventure Aplenty in Southern Manitoba
Published July 30th, 2025
Photos by Jay Kana except for the ones he’s in; those were taken by Steph Wallcraft.
The Noble Rogues pictures were taken by one of our tens of fans.
In July, I spent part of a week rediscovering Winnipeg, the city where fun takes flight. But I needed more of Manitoba and more is what I got.
The second half of the week was spent discovering southern Manitoba, somewhere that was new to me. I’m gently kicking myself with house slippers for not going earlier but like my handsome looks that showed up in my 20’s, better late than never.
Here’s how my few days were spent there and when you go, you can follow my route or create your own. There’s no wrong order of operations to have fun in Manitoba.
This clocks in at a touch over 2,000 words so grab a drink, a snack, get comfortable and read about how the heart of Canada made me fall in love with it.
Riding Mountain National Park East Gate
Three hours northwest of Winnipeg, including traversing along the good ol’ Trans Canada Highway 1 brings you to the famous East Gate. Why is the East Gate so famous? Built in 1933, it’s the only surviving gate structure of the original three.
As you hang a left off of Highway 5 onto Highway 10, the dirt road lets you know of anyone else on the road ahead of you with the large dust clouds created by other cars. It reminded me of the Knight Rider intro with KITT racing over dessert plains, also with a prominent dust cloud behind him.
Get your pictures and video, park your vehicle at the nearby parking lot and enjoy a short hike on the East Gate Connector Trail.
Selo Ukrainian Village
For those who love a long and winding road, go through the aforementioned East Gate and enjoy this delightful driver’s road (Highway 19) through the park to reach Selo Ukranian Village.
Alternatively, you can take the longer, paved route along Highway 5 to get there, with both routes being a bit over an hour.
Regardless of your route, your reward arriving a touch above Riding Mountain’s northern boundary and into this splendid historical village.
It’s the provincial centre for the preservation of Ukrainian culture and heritage, the site of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival along with the Ukrainian Musicians Association Hall of Fame.
Featuring numerous historical buildings, their adorned with time period specific items and decor, from the schoolhouse to homes to a church, a store and much more.
When you go, you’ll experience what life was like in a pioneer settlement between 1896 and 1925 and I urge you to spend at least an hour learning about their rich history.
Wasagaming
If you follow my route, you’ll head south on Highway 10 after leaving the Ukrainian Village to reach Wasagaming. If you’re mixing things up, you’ll go through the East Gate and take the scenic twisty-turny route. However you get there, Wasagaming is one of my new favourite places in the prairies.
The townsite for the Park, called Clear Lake by some, is quaint, charming and bursting with character. All the shops, restaurants and the lake are within a 10-minute walk, so keep the car parked and get those steps in.
Home base was the Stowaway Inn, complete with a games room, covered porch, fire pit and the room was spacious with a built-in kitchenette. Bonus points to them for an ultra-comfortable bed.
To work up an appetite, head to the water, rent a single or tandem kayak and paddle peacefully on Clear Lake. Opt for a standup paddle board or pedal boat if kayaking isn’t your thing. Or do all three!
There’s also pickleball and tennis courts to get that heart rate up.
Follow that up by a walk around town, where you’ll see dozens of shops with cool signage, both modern and vintage.
I imagine you’re hungry by now. Of course you are! Wasagaming has delightful dining options and here’s what I can speak to based off experience:
Camp Cantina
The menu is shareable-themed and delectable, with menu items including Vietnamese Shrimp, Piri Piri, Pork Belly, Broccolini, and more and yes, there are gluten-free options.
A vast selection of wines await you, with expert suggestions from the owner and staff.
Plus, it doubles as a, in their words, “Deli service with tasty takeaway, patio & picnic fare, with our groceteria shelves stocked with unique, local provisions & supply.”
Chatting with the owner, Megan, clearly showed her passion for Camp Cantina, her vision and she’s an outstanding person. Tell her I said hello when you go.
Whitehouse Bakery
At times, I’m a balance between skeptical and trusting of what strangers say to me. When I was told by multiple people that “you better line up early before they open at 8:00 a.m. to get their wildly popular cinnamon buns,” I was skeptical. Really now, how long can the line possibly be in this small townsite? I should’ve used my trusting side because the line was, as I was told, long-ish at 7:30 a.m.
Steph and I decided to go back around 9:00-ish with a shorter line and I got not one, not two but three cinnamon buns. What? They were three different flavours and I’d come all the way from Mississauga!
They were soft, sweet and didn’t last long in my possession.
I felt a touch gluttonous with my three until I saw people buying them by the dozen, likely for their family and friends but you never know…
Oh, they’ve got gluten-free offerings as well.
Lakehouse Restaurant
I like chicken wings. A lot. I have a keychain charm that’s in the shape of one. Thankfully, Lakehouse Restaurant had wings and they were pretty good, especially sitting on the patio for lunch, soaking in the atmosphere of a sweet summer day in Wasagaming. There are shareable, sandwiches, salads and more, complete with gluten-free options.
Now that you’re full, going for a sunset stroll on the beach is an absolute treat, especially with it being so close to all the aforementioned restaurants. There’s plenty of shoreline and you can walk the plank…err, pier, for an even better view.
Sometimes things are better when you slow down and enjoying wonderful Wasagaming is certainly one of them.
Turtle Village
After a couple of days in the townsite of Wasagaming, take a five-minute drive that brings you to the Wasagaming Camp Grounds, part of the National Park and it’s here where you’ll find Turtle Village.
No, it’s not a village of turtles, although that’d be pretty cool.
It’s an off-grid, glamping set up via tiny homes known as Turtle Shells. It’s the first of its kind Indigenous-owned and operated glamping accommodation within Treaty 2 Territory, traditional territory of the seven Nations Anishinaabe of Riding Mountain National Park.
Launched in August 2023, it features a Queen bed, picnic table, fire pit, walking distance to bathrooms with running water and hot showers and a USB port. They’re weatherproofed, meaning they’re available year round!
So it’s kinda-ish like a Parks Canada oTENTik theme.
The Turtle Shells are fully off-grid, powered by a solar panel and battery providing LED lighting and a 12-volt plug. The units are heated by a propane heater.
During the one-night stay, Megan from Camp Cantina whipped up a delicious dinner we cooked over the fire, aptly called a “Fire Board” consisting of Brie cheese, grapes, roasted nuts, honey, and fresh bread (gluten free upon request) that’s paired with wine.
Definitely spend a night here as it’s a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors and it’s camping in style sans tent. I would and will do this again. Plus, the bed is pretty comfortable and the sea of stars you’ll enjoy are astounding.
Lake Audy Bison Enclosure
In Quebec, I’ve driven through Parc Omega. In Ontario, I’ve driven through African Lion Safari; both having animals share the road with vehicles. Manitoba completes the trifecta.
The final adventure in the Park came at the hands, errr, hoofs, of a herd of bison.
40 minutes northwest of Turtle Village is the Lake Audy Bison Enclosure, which is exactly what you’re picturing.
Along a single-lane dirt road, you’ll inch your car forward as dozens of bisons saunter by, with many stopping to either take stock of who you are and judge the car you’re driving, or to wait for a selfie with them.
After losing count of how many there were, I put the vehicle in park and watched them sniff and at times, lick parts of my car. Better get the premium car wash option over basic.
These majestic creatures were oh-so relaxed and simply went about their bison business as I kept my camera and smartphone busy and yes, I was one of those people who took a bison selfie. Whatever; do it for Threads. Or The ‘Gram. Or Facebook. But not X. Never X.
We were the only ones there at 8:00 a.m. so we took our time admiring these animals that were wildly yet calmly close to the car. Once the giddiness wore off, it was fascinating to simply watch them, how they walk, where they cluster and absorbing the joy of being there.
Souris
When I was younger, I was in a band called The Noble Rogues. Technically, we still exist, as does our website and only one of our two albums are on Spotify…long story.
We haven’t played since December 2019. We released an album in January 2020 with plans to play a ton of gigs to support the album. Then that thing happened in March 2020.
Anyway, our/my/the singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist (me being the super cool lead guitarist,) Shane Saunderson, was born in Souris. He was pretty stoked when I mentioned my Southern Manitoba road trip and despite him leaving Manitoba in the 1990’s and his parents selling their Souris farm a few years ago, I went to his old place and did a ridiculous video for him based around “This is where everything began for Shane.”
More than that wordy paragraph, Souris is kinda cool.
There’s Canada's longest swinging pedestrian bridge at 184 metres long, called the Souris Swinging Bridge. Interestingly the old bridge, which was ruined by floods, still has the beginnings of it in place, with the new one beside it.
There are some sweet Souris views from this bridge and remember to go slow and hold your phone firmly in hand.
In Victoria Park is a lovely lookout tower that’s worth the short climb and once you’ve finished with your panoramic views, take another short walk to find the “Old Oak Tree” that’s apparently 400 years old.
Hungry? Pop in to Antlers & Oak for a quick, fulfilling lunch and yes, they’ve got gluten-free offerings. Sit on the patio if you can because somehow, things taste better on a patio. It’s science.
There’s also a huge peacock statue that’s 12-feet high and made of stainless steel at Victoria Park. Peacocks are a thing in Souris, kinda like an unofficial mascot. I saw a poster for a peacock calling competition for kids. No joke, friends; no joke. And there are peacocks hanging out in parks and on the street. Calm creatures they are and remember to admire from a distance.
I texted Shane pictures of everywhere I went and got some cool history of the town that he called home for nearly 20 years.
When I go back, I’ll be spending more than a few hours here like I did this time. But those few hours did what they were supposed to; leave me wanting more and planning to return.
So that’s a wrap on sweet and savoury southern Manitoba, in all of it’s wonderful glory.
Is it on many people’s list of places to travel? Perhaps but it should certainly be.
Two more things before I go.
First up, across the jovial journey, Steph, my partner and owner of RoadTripper.ca saw plenty of roadside attractions. She wrote an excellent article about it which you should read.
(The carousel above gives you a taste of these cool roadside attractions!)
And lastly, we made the drive from Souris back to Winnipeg to fly home to Toronto and stayed at the Grand Winnipeg Airport Hotel by Lakeview. We could walk to the terminal and had a lovely view of the runways.
Made it all the way to the end? Congrats! If you’d like to support me and Modern Traveller, any kind of social media interaction and or share would go a long way.
One final, final thing; a million thanks to Hyundai Canada for providing us with a 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz as our road trip chariot. Here’s our road trip review of this compact pickup truck that’s a simply splendid road trip vehicle for so many reasons.