Manitoba: Canada's heart is calling

Blame it on Farley Mowat, the grandfather of Canadian literature. His evocative descriptions of blue-tinged waterfalls, citrus-scented black spruce and the midnight-black form of a moose lurking in the willows sent me in search of his landscapes. And I didn’t have to go far from my home in the Interlake, where my family first settled two generations ago, for Manitoba’s 650,000 square kilometres promise a lifetime of adventures. Fifty years later, I’m still traveling these landscapes, still being transformed by what I see, hear, taste and touch, but mostly, by what I feel. Here are 10 experiences in the heart of Canada that offer an unparalleled rush.

one-kilometre self-guided hike would be quick. Nope. The Lord of the Rings-esque landscape en route to the shoreline of Clearwater Lake had me unable to peel my eyes away from the massive slabs of dolomite forced open by thousands of years of freeze-thaw cycles. Inside, I spotted rare blooms and plenty of fungi. I got down to my knees, held my phone steady and captured the dimply surface of a perfect puffball.

Pro tip: There are plenty of lodges in which to rest your head around Clearwater Lake Provincial Park.

It’s the world’s largest and most dramatically colour-changing marl lake. A marl is created when calcite, a kind of limestone, is triggered by heat, turning the water from turquoise to deep sea blue throughout the day. On a sunny day, your images from this spot north of Grand Rapids will resemble a Caribbean vacation. Stroll the shoreline and skip a few rocks.

Pro tip: The drivable path—and I do mean path— from the highway to the lake is not for the faint of heart. It can be impassable after a rain. There are no services (not even an outhouse) at the lake and camping is only with advance permission from the Mosakahiken Cree Nation.

A bucket list experience observing the world’s largest concentration of snakes

With their distinct lack of furry cuteness, forked tongues, and nefarious Biblical reputation, snakes are not everybody’s cup of tea. Many see a reptile with venomous fangs waiting to strike from dark crannies and overhead trees, stoking a reaction that spans from ickiness to panic, infiltrating the pits of our imaginations. But instead of picturing snakes as a devious species, I invite you to open your heart (and hands) to a misunderstood northern wonder. Each spring, tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes slink out of their rocky dens in one of Canada’s great and unheralded wildlife spectacles. Welcome to the largest gathering of any snake species on Earth.

Located just over an hour’s drive from Winnipeg, you’ll know you’re getting close to the Narcisse Snake Dens when you spot tunnels on either side of Highway 17. With so many snakes about, nobody wants to see serpents splattered across the asphalt. Soon enough, you’ll see a large sign and parking lot, accessing a three-kilometre-long interpretive trail. The dens consist of limestone outcrops that provide an ideal shelter for the snakes to pile atop each other, generating just enough heat to survive the long winter. When the prairies thaw, a biological alarm clock rings, and its full-tilt snakes on a plain.

North of Manitoba’s 53rd parallel are untouched landscapes, filled with towering black spruce, deep, cold lakes and elusive wildlife waiting to be discovered. Take the roads less travelled and you’ll be amply rewarded for your adventurous ways, for it’s here you will find the province’s unofficial Waterfall Alley.

a rock face, this exuberant upwelling of groundwater bursts out of a sedimentary rock cliff. It’s a tap that never gets turned off.

Hydrologists explain that it’s the meeting of Manitoba’s lowland landscape and the mighty Precambrian Shield that causes the phenomenon known as a karst spring—hence the trail’s name. Whatever the origin, it’s a breathtaking sight as the water hisses and bubbles over ancient rocks. Sit for a while on the mossy rocks and fill your lungs with the unmistakable spruce-scented air of the boreal forest. You might just get a visit from a friendly Canada jay.

Spend your first night of this road trip in Flin Flon, a town named after Josiah Flintabattey Flonatin, a character from a long-forgotten dime store novel. The mining community rests on curved slabs of pinkish volcanic rock, rich in zinc, copper, silver and gold—providing one of the most unique townscapes to be found.