Sunday Review: Riding Mountain National Park

Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba is one of those places that you just have to visit in Canada. The park is located on the Manitoba Escarpment and covers nearly 3000 square kilometres. The protected area covers three converging ecosystems; grasslands, upland boreal forest, and eastern deciduous forest.

The park itself is reasonably priced compared to other national parks, but if you are looking to save some money you can stay outside of the park and take day trips. The campground and RV park are very nice and you can also rent yurts and cabins for short term stays. Next to the main campgrounds is a quaint little town with a few small resorts and a public beach. Lyndsay liked the town and its little diners, bakeries and coffee shops. The laundromat is exceptionally expensive, however.

There are also many secret areas in the park that few know how to get to and you can only find by exploring the backroads away from the tourist areas. If you need help navigating, get the Manitoba Backroad Mapbook, or get the entire prairie bundle.

Clear Lake is the largest water body in the park, and it is said to have mystical healing properties.

One of the many secret beaches in the park. Picture taken in the heart of tourist season.

As a protected area, the park teams with wildlife. Even going down the main highway you are likely to see many different kinds of animals.

Taken on the main highway.

Smaller wildlife also abounds in the park off of many hiking trails, and wild edibles are plentiful. Even though my daughter was only three at the time, I was able to begin teaching her how to forage wild edibles and how to catch my favourite animal; frogs!

Please wet your hands with water before picking up frogs and toads; their skin is easily damaged by dry hands.

Something of which to be aware - though not to fear - is the high black bear population in Riding Mountain. The park is filled with wild berries and other staples of the black bear diet, allowing for a fairly dense population.

Momma and cub.

Though they are indeed bears - which are dangerous animals - black bears are the smallest species of bear and are generally cowardly. They have absolutely no interest in confrontations with humans; I've scared them off with a whistle. Even on the hiking trails, the chances of seeing one are slim during the day as they learn to stay away, and even a small amount of talking will keep them away.

On the off chance that you do see a bear up close, you just keep your distance and they won't bother you. They have poor eyesight, so just raising your arms into the air and yelling will almost always scare them away. If you find yourself in close quarters - an accident that can occasionally happen - the bear will be just as surprised as you. Just back away slowly while speaking softly and without making sudden movements to at least a 3 metre (ten feet) distance, then raise your arms and yell.

And keep an eye out for the cubs, of course. Never under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES should you be between a mother bear and a cub. If you see a cub, stay very, very still until you find the mother. Once you are certain you are not in the middle, use the aforementioned techniques to scare them a safe distance away.

Bear attacks are almost non-existent and not to be feared. A little bit of knowledge is all you need to stay safe, so I highly recommend checking out the gorgeous hiking trails of the park. Just remember to pack out whatever you pack in; leaving garbage on a trail makes you a bad person.

Not Yogi.

There are three must-see areas of the park that most tourists never go to - too interested in beaches and ice cream.

The first is the bison preserve. Manitoba used to be covered in bison, but most of the population is long gone; only a handful remain. The preserve at Riding Mountain contains a breeding herd. There is an interpretive centre and a road circles around the prairie field. We've gone twice and readily found the herd both times. We even saw babies!

Pictures can never do a bison justice. They are massive, intimidating creatures.

And like... three other cars in the heart of tourist season.

The second is the original road into the park. It is gravel and covered in switchbacks, but it takes you to the top of the "mountain". From the top, there is a lookout post. Again, pictures cannot do justice to what you will see. Laid out before you will be the true majesty of the prairies; the patchwork quilt of grasses, forests, and farmland, and the truly endless prairie sky.

When you can pull yourself away from the view, your last must-see stop is the original entrance to the park built in the 1930s as part of Canada's Great Depression relief programs. The old gatehouse still stands and is a window into that era.

Finally, look down the endless prairie road and infinite sky. Take time to ponder on the hardships of life only a few short decades ago. Take the time to be thankful for all that you have today, and the hard work of those that came before, and those that do the hard and dirty work still today to give us all that we have.