Scootering Manitoba

Here's another day trip I'd like to take at some point in time. I've done this trip many times by myself. I usually ride through and don't stop to do anything in the park, but some short stopovers can be done if people really want them. I think I'll wait until I get my tune up parts before I do this one.

The catch with this route is that since it's in a Provincial Park, you need to either have a seasonal pass or buy a 3 day temporary pass. A seasonal pass costs $28 and is good at any provincial park (ie. Birds Hill, St. Malo, Grand Beach, etc) for the entire year. A temporary 3-day pass (valid for 3 consecutive days) is $7, so if you plan on going to any provincial parks more than 4 times in a single year you might as well get the seasonal pass.

Tips

- Using a bike that is at least 250cc is recommended. It is possible to do it with smaller bikes (I've done it with a 150cc Vespa by myself - avg speed 90km/h) but the smaller bikes will get outpaced on the highway by the larger bikes. It might be kind of fun if a bunch of 250cc and under bikes take this ride together.

- The road through the park is VERY rough in some parts. Be sure both you and the bike can handle the bumps.

- have at least intermediate riding skills. The roads are bumpy, curvy, with no shoulders. I've bottomed out and scraped my stands while cornering with the Scarabeo in the park. It's mostly 2 lane highway so be ready to either pass other vehicles, or be passed yourself.

- Use caution in the park. Watch for bicycles and children near the highway. Also keep a sharp look out for wildlife. I've seen many deer, foxes, skunks, etc during my rides.

- bring a camera. There are some nice photo ops in the park.

The route is as follows:

Take either Hwy 9 or Hwy 59 north - head east on Hwy 44 to Beausejour - snack(optional)/top up fuel in Beausejour - continue east Hwy 44 - north on Hwy 11 - turn east, through Seven Sisters, MB continuing on Hwy 307 - keep going until you reach junction with Hwy 44 - now there are 2 options:

Option 1 (shorter trip) - take Hwy 44 west back to Beausejour, then continue back to Winnipeg

Option 2 (full route) - take Hwy 44 east until junction with TransCanada Hwy - (optional stop at Falcon Lake for fuel) take Hwy 1 back to Winnipeg

Here's what the full route looks like:

Some pics from my rides through the park:

And just to prove that a 150cc can do it:

I work at Red Rock Bible Camp which this route goes right past. If someone is planning a trip in the Whiteshell in the spring months you could make a stop in for lunch here. The area around here is great for hiking so I could even take people on a quick hike to stretch your legs if you want. Just a thought.