Top 10 Towns in Manitoba to Visit

1. Gimli: (Interlake region, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, about 2,345 people, best known as the center of New Iceland, with its harbour and beach, a Viking statue, the Icelandic Festival and the famous "Gimli Glider" landing)
2. Churchill: (Hudson Bay coast, northern Manitoba, about 870 people, best known as the "Polar Bear Capital of the World," with beluga whale watching, the northern lights and Prince of Wales Fort across the river)
3. Wasagaming: (Riding Mountain National Park, western Manitoba, a small resort community of a few hundred year-round residents, best known for its Clear Lake beach, historic townsite and walkable main street)
4. Morden: (Pembina Valley, south-central Manitoba, about 9,929 people, best known for the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, its research station and roses, the Corn and Apple Festival and nearby Lake Minnewasta)
5. Neepawa: (Westman region, about 5,685 people, best known for its lilies and Lily Festival, its tree-lined heritage streets and as the birthplace of novelist Margaret Laurence)
6. Dauphin: (Parkland region, between Riding Mountain and Duck Mountain, about 8,368 people, best known for Canada's National Ukrainian Festival, Fort Dauphin history and the Countryfest music weekend)
7. Minnedosa: (Little Saskatchewan River valley, western Manitoba, about 2,741 people, best known for Minnedosa Lake, its river setting and the Minnedosa Potholes, a prime birdwatching area)
8. Altona: (Pembina Valley, near the U.S. border, about 4,267 people, best known as the "Sunflower Capital of Canada," with its Sunflower Festival, a giant easel with Van Gogh's Sunflowers and its Mennonite heritage)
9. Killarney: (Turtle Mountain region, southwestern Manitoba, about 2,499 people, best known for Killarney Lake, a beach and lakeside park and nearby Turtle Mountain Provincial Park)
10. Pinawa: (Winnipeg River, southeastern Manitoba, about 1,558 people, best known for the historic Pinawa Dam heritage park and its suspension bridge, its past as a nuclear research community and nearby Whiteshell Provincial Park)

Spotlight on Four of Manitoba's Most Popular Small Towns to Explore

Spotlight on Gimli

Best known for its Icelandic heritage, its harbour on Lake Winnipeg and its walkable waterfront of beach, pier and restaurants.

Natural Setting

Gimli sits on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, in the flat, open country of the Interlake. A long sandy beach and a pier stretch out from the harbour, the water is shallow and warm in summer, and the sunsets over the lake are a local highlight. Fishing boats still work out of the harbour, and the nearby shoreline offers views over wide skies and seemingly endless water. Hecla Island, with its provincial park, lighthouse and wildlife, is a short drive north.

Historical, Cultural & Economic Importance

Gimli was settled by Icelanders who arrived in 1875, fleeing hardship and a volcanic eruption at home, and founded the colony of New Iceland on the lake's shore. The name Gimli comes from Norse mythology and refers to a hall of the gods. It is now the largest Icelandic community outside Iceland, and its heritage shows in the town's street names, food and festivals. The New Iceland Heritage Museum tells the story of the settlers, and a statue of a Viking, built in 1967, is one of the town's best known landmarks.

Each August, the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba fills the town with parades, music, a Viking village and traditional foods, and it has been held for well over a century. Visitors can try pickerel (walleye) fresh from the lake, along with Icelandic treats such as vínarterta, a layered cake. The Gimli Film Festival, held each summer, adds to the town's creative reputation.

Gimli also has an unusual place in aviation history. In July 1983, an Air Canada jet that had run out of fuel in mid-flight glided to an emergency landing on a former air force runway at Gimli, an event that became known as the "Gimli Glider." Tourism, fishing and the lakeshore cottage trade drive the local economy, and the compact harbour area is very easy to explore on foot.

Spotlight on Churchill

Best known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World, with belugas, northern lights and a remote Hudson Bay setting.

Natural Setting

Churchill sits where the Churchill River meets Hudson Bay, at the meeting point of boreal forest, tundra and the sea, and it can be reached only by air or by rail, since no road connects it to the south. Each fall, hundreds of polar bears gather along the coast to wait for the bay to freeze so they can hunt seals, and in summer, thousands of beluga whales feed in the river mouth. The tundra bursts into flower in July, and the northern lights often dance overhead on clear nights, while the rocky shoreline and wide horizons give the place a stark beauty.

Historical, Cultural & Economic Importance

The Dene, Cree and Inuit have long used this coast, and European explorers began to arrive in the 1600s. The Danish explorer Jens Munk wintered here in 1619 and 1620, and most of his crew died. The Hudson's Bay Company built a fort at the river mouth, and the river was named for John Churchill, a governor of the company and later the Duke of Marlborough. Across the river stands Prince of Wales Fort, a huge stone fortress built in the 1700s, and nearby Cape Merry offers views of the bay.

The railway reached Churchill in 1929, and the port opened to ship grain from the Prairies, which made the town an important northern gateway. Today the main industry is tourism, with guided tours in specially built Tundra Buggies and visits to polar bear habitat in the fall, and whale watching by boat or kayak in summer. The Itsanitaq Museum holds a notable collection of Inuit carvings and artifacts, and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre supports scientific research on the Arctic.

The town is small and rustic, with a handful of restaurants, shops and lodges within walking distance, and visitors are asked to follow local safety rules about bears. The rail line was heavily damaged by flooding in 2017 and was repaired and reopened in 2018, a reminder of how much the community depends on its link to the south.

Spotlight on Neepawa

Best known for its lilies, its tree-lined heritage streets and as the hometown of author Margaret Laurence.

Natural Setting

Neepawa lies in the rolling aspen parkland of western Manitoba, on the Whitemud River, between the open prairie to the south and the forested hills of Riding Mountain National Park to the north. The surrounding landscape is a patchwork of farm fields, groves of aspen and small lakes and sloughs, and in summer the town's gardens burst with color. The name comes from a Cree word often translated as "plenty," a nod to the rich farmland of the region.

Historical, Cultural & Economic Importance

Neepawa was founded in the early 1880s, as the Canadian Pacific Railway pushed west, and it was incorporated as a town on November 23, 1883. Its broad main street and shaded residential avenues, lined with older brick and wooden buildings, give it a settled, small-town charm, and many of its heritage homes remain. The town became the center of a productive farming district for grain, cattle and hogs.

Neepawa is best known as the home of Margaret Laurence, one of Canada's most celebrated novelists, who was born here in 1926 and based the fictional town of Manawaka in novels such as The Stone Angel on her memories of Neepawa. Her childhood home is open to visitors as a museum, and a literary walk and an annual festival honor her work. The town also bills itself as a lily capital, and the Lily Festival each summer celebrates the daylilies that fill local gardens, with garden tours, a parade and craft markets.

Farming is still the base of the local economy, and a large pork processing plant is one of the main employers, which has brought a wave of newcomers from many countries and helped Neepawa become one of the fastest growing communities in Manitoba. Its walkable downtown has independent shops, bakeries and restaurants, and it is a good stop on the Yellowhead Highway between Brandon and Riding Mountain National Park.

Spotlight on Morden

Best known for the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, its research station and roses, and its position in the sunny hills of the Pembina Valley.

Natural Setting

Morden sits in the Pembina Valley of south-central Manitoba, in the rolling hills at the foot of the Pembina Escarpment, one of the warmest and sunniest parts of the province. The slopes around town are patterned with orchards, farms, shelterbelts and small streams, and the fall colors are among the best on the prairies. Lake Minnewasta, a reservoir just north of town, has a beach, boating and trails, and the Pembina Valley Provincial Park and the scenic Pembina Hills are a short drive away.

Historical, Cultural & Economic Importance

Morden was founded in the 1880s as settlers moved into the Pembina Valley and was named for Alvey Morden, a local pioneer. It grew as a farming and service center, and it was incorporated as a city in the early 2000s, though it is still a small and friendly place. Its research station, established in the early 1900s, has developed hardy varieties of apples, plums and roses suited to the prairie climate, and its Explorer roses are known to gardeners across the country.

Hundreds of millions of years before the first farmers arrived, a shallow inland sea covered this land, and its fossils are what draws many visitors today. The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre holds the largest collection of marine reptile fossils in the country, including a mosasaur named Bruce that is one of the largest on display in the world. The Morden Corn and Apple Festival, held each August since the 1960s, treats visitors to a huge free corn feast, a parade and live entertainment.

The local economy mixes farming, services and tourism, and the neighboring city of Winkler makes the pair a regional shopping and dining center. Morden's compact downtown, with cafes, shops and restaurants, is easy to walk, and it is a good base for exploring the fossils, orchards and trails of the valley.