Ecotourism

Ecotourism explores our beautiful landscape by offering numerous outdoor activities. We respect the environment by keeping the land free of litter, use established trails while offering a learning experience and promote local communities and culture.

The activities offered in the area of “Valley in the Mountains” are: wildlife photography and viewing, butterfly and bird watching, fishing, reptiles and amphibian seeking, all in their native habitats. Hiking trails with scenic outlooks, geo caching, snow shoeing, tobogganing, cross country skiing and watching northern lights. Snow mobile, ATV, cycling, off road vehicles, canoeing, kayaking, horse back riding and historic tours. There are 12 operators in this area catering to resident and non-resident clients.

Eco Tourism visits many different types of environment. There are wetlands, bogs, quick sand, beaver ponds, waterways, hills, forests, logged areas, salt licks, sand dunes, grass meadows, gravel pits and the Manitoba Escarpment. The pioneers first established many of the trails used today, as they settled and started the logging industry. Many of these trails are the only access to the backcountry where we offer a unique learning experience.

Bird watching is a wonderful past time. There are about 350 species in our area. Some species are very rare and you need to know which season they may be seen in. There are ninety common butterflies to seek out. Ice fishing and summer fishing offer a great experience for all age groups. We have over sixty fish species and are blessed with numerous lakes, rivers and creeks. It’s an adventure to take groups out on spring sucker and carp fishing trips. The fall tours include trout spawning areas. Pine River is the Trout Capital of Manitoba and many people visit the famous river. We have eight types of reptiles and amphibians. The best time to look for frogs is in spring. You can hear them everywhere, but now lets try finding them. Go looking for painted turtles and garter snakes. We have over fifty-five mammal species in this vast area. Wildlife photography and viewing are the most satisfying tours available to individuals and groups. All the above tours depend upon Mother Nature’s species to cooperate with us in order to see them. There are no guarantied sightings but all operators strive for success.

The ATV, snow mobile, horse back rides, cycling and off road vehicle tours offer individuals a challenge to travel unfamiliar areas and experience navigating over different types of terrain while seeing nature’s beauty. While on these tours we include traveling to historical sites, scenic outlooks and do some Geo Caching. A few of the spots we visit are Lovers Leap, Pine River Escarpment and Kettle Hills. Hiking, snowshoeing, tobogganing, cross-country skiing, canoeing and kayaking are offered to individuals or groups. While enjoying these activities take time to explore the plant life, the beautiful flowers, delicious berries, types of grasses, trees, shrubs and fungi. We also have over thirty poisonous plants in our region. At night as we relax around a warm campfire you may experience the Northern Lights “Aurora Borealis”. The Northern Lights are much brighter and more common in winter showing their beautiful display of colourful dancing lights. To experience a different type of adventure contact one of our local eco-tourism operators listed in Travel Manitoba, Canada Adventures Guide.

Submitted by Debbie Soloway