Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Selkirk
whitewater canoeing. Atikaki means
“country of the caribou,” and moose
and caribou sightings are common.
On Route 9, Selkirk, a small river town
marked by a giant catfi sh, is home to
several important attractions. Lower
Fort Garry National Historic Site
,
just south of town, is a reconstitution of
a trading post and pioneer village. It re-
calls the former importance of this post,
which was built to replace the original
Fort Garry in Winnipeg after it was car-
ried away by fl ood waters.
Whiteshell Provincial
Park
Further south, Whiteshell Provincial
Park is Manitoba's largest and most
beautiful park. Occupying some
2,720km
2
, it is rich in lakes, rapids,
waterfalls, fi sh and birds. There's some-
thing for everyone here: Alf Hole Goose
Sanctuary
is among the best places
in the province to see Canada geese,
especially during migration; the rocks
at Bannock Point
, laid out by local
First Nations to resemble the forms of
snakes, fi sh, turtles and birds, are of ar-
chaeological interest; and the cliffs of
Lily Pond
, in Caddy Lake, are 3.75
billion years old.
Around Lake Winnipeg
Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park has
long been a favourite summer get-
away for Winnipeg residents. Besides a
well-known beach and boardwalk, the
park's grounds also include a marina, a
campground and a bay that's a favour-
ite with windsurfers.
and Pierre), as well as some 50 volunteers, La Vérendrye left Montréal
for the West in 1731, setting up trading posts along the way. During
the journey, La Vérendrye's son Jean-Baptiste was killed by the Sioux.
In 1738, La Vérendrye, accompanied by his son Louis-Joseph who
had joined him and a group of men, fi nally cleared a route to the
southwest via the Missouri River to reach the Western Ocean: the
effort was in vain, though, because the Missouri, the “great Western
river,” led instead to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi. He would
go no further.
His son Pierre headed north in the spring of 1742, with the idea of
building forts. For their part, Louis-Joseph and François refused to give
up their idea of walking until they reached the Western Ocean. At
the beginning of 1743, a giant wall of rock prevented them from go-
ing further. Disappointed, the two brothers backtracked. What they
did not know was that they were the fi rst French Canadians to have
seen and described the eastern face of the Rockies, even though they
never laid eyes on the Pacifi c.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search