Anyone familiar with Manitoba Canada?

My dad is in Winnipeg right now. We had a cottage on Lake Winnipeg and I highly discourage you from going there. Flies, fish flies, mosquitoes and poison ivy. Grand Beach might be better.

Go to Calgary. Seriously or I will meet you in Victoria which is called Lotusland. It really is the best!

Oh dear, another Canadian checking in to ask why and what time of year are you planning to go?

Winters are frigid and summers thick with every fly you can imagine. 

I know several people from Winnipeg that migrated to BC as young adults, married/partnered up and never returned. Most were only able to convince their partner to visit with them once. The stories they tell were about running from the cabin screened porch, covered in bug repellent, to the lake and hoping not to get carried off by a human sized mosquito. 

The only place in Manitoba that interests me is Churchill for a polar bear tour.

My DH's sister and family live in Winnipeg. We have been several times. It is lovely in the summer. We have rented a cottage on Lake Gimli. It was beautiful. The mosquito's can be bad but they do spray for them so if you are not too early in the season you should be fine.

The Forks is a great place of restaurants and shopping and usually tons of festivals going on. They have a great children's museum and the Museum of Human rights is great too. We stay with family when there but have never felt unsafe or scared there. We haven't been since 2019 but I wouldn't hesitate to go again

Lake Gimli is a beautiful place.  A lot of Icelandic people are in this community.

The City of Winnipeg is not a nice city.  I have relatives there and have traveled there for over 60 years.  Not much has changed but the crime is horrible.  A lot of homeless people.  They just shut down The Bay, that was a historical building.  There are some great museums that are wonderful to go to.

Bring along the best bug spray and be prepared as for the mosquito's to have a full flight crew on board.

I will give a very enthusiastic 2 thumbs up for Churchill, Manitoba, which is the perfect place to see polar bears, beluga whales and the northern lights all on one trip. However there are no roads into Churchill, so it’s probably not the best destination for a road trip.

I saw a movie a million years ago and it had an old women from Manitoba in it that bad been a beauty queen. She was living in the US and her young male neighbor was a song writer. He wrote her a song with the line, Miss Manitoba, so you miss Manitoba? It was a catchy enough song that I remember it all these years later.

Another Canadian chiming in…Was in Winnipeg and Brandon Manitoba for an Aboriginal conference in 1995, first and last time in Manitoba. Toured around the province a bit over the few days we were there. Not somewhere I ever wanted or needed to return too. I’d pick somewhere else to be honest.

There’s a reason why there’s a “going to Winnipeg” commercial 😂 I’d link it if I could but it’s not working. I think every Canadian has used the “going to Winnipeg” quote 🤪

I passed through Winnipeg a few decades ago when I was backpacking across Canada. I remember being handed a can of bug spray when I checked into the hostel. Apparently, the Red River had flooded the week prior and, as a result, the mosquito population had boomed by an estimated 900% that week. Other than that, I actually had a good time. They had a really great natural history museum - I do remember that.

If you are looking for great lakes, I'd head to Saskatchewan. When we moved to Alberta, I was disappointed in the lakes here--the mountains are fine and the mountain lakes are freaking cold, but the lakes in the rest of the province are mostly yucky, water-wise. Saskatchewan has everything from Lake Diefenbaker in the south (made by damming the river, it's huge! Surrounded by prairie and minimal development considering the size of the lake) to Waskesiu in the north-ish (actually only halfway up the province, but the whole top part is forest without many roads--not what people expect of SK). Saskatoon is a really pretty city with lots to do. Regina less so, but still has some good parts, and it's very close to Moose Jaw which has a great tourist industry with their tunnels and mineral spa. My only experience with Ontario lakes was that I was disappointed in the swimmability of them compared to the ones I grew up with in SK ...

i am glad you found someplace to book, and northwestern ontario (kenora) was going to be my suggestion for a not-too far destination since after this feedback you would be crazy to go to MB. lol!

a little surprised to see many negatives about the province (and quite a few from those who admit they have never been)... i lived in both winnipeg and a small town of about 2000 people about 30 mins outside of winnipeg.

summers are beautiful, there is nothing like a sunny summer day driving in the prairies with not a cloud to be seen a gorgeous sunflower or flax fields as far as you can see. small towns have lots of fairs and events that people from all around look forward to all year. people are friendly. yes, there are mosquitos, go to cottage country in ontario, quebec, anywhere else and there are mosquitos too.

hope your trip is all you are looking for!!!