Issue link: http://read.canadatravelguides.ca/i/809166
From north Winnipeg, take River Road along the Red River to Selkirk and the Marine Museum of Manitoba (www. marinemuseum.ca), with Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site about two-thirds along the 60-km (37-mi.) route. Tiny Lockport, an historic catfi shing spot (rent a boat and gear) and hot dog stand heaven, lies between the two. From Selkirk, return to Winnipeg via pretty Henderson Highway. For a longer day trip, take Highway 44 east from Lockport, through the Agassiz Provincial Forest and all the way to Seven Sisters Falls and the classic hydro station there, then onto Pinawa for a visit to Pinawa Dam Provincial Park and the picturesque town and lake. Stop to walk the suspension bridge and hiking trails ( www.gov.mb.ca/ conservation/parks/popular_parks/eastern/ pinawa.html). FAMILY FUN Kids go wild at FortWhyte Alive, where bison roam on prairie grasses near a pioneer sod house, teepee encampment and prairie dog town ( www.fortwhyte.org), and at Assiniboine Park's Nature Playground and Polar Playground (www. assiniboinepark.ca). Journey to Churchill is home to eleven polar bears, including Nanuk and Siku, two cubs rescued this past winter from the Churchill area. For history and fun, families can ride the vintage steam train Prairie Dog Central Railway from north Winnipeg to the villages of Grosse Isle and Warren and back ( www.pdcrailway.com). En route to Gimli, Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre welcomes thousands of migrating geese in the fall ( www.oak hammockmarsh.ca); and, at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, see monster fossils from prehistoric Lake Agassiz and the new 15-m-long (50-ft.) life-sized replica of Bruce, the world's biggest publicly displayed mosasaur ( www.discoverfossils.com). PARK PICK THE FORKS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE The Forks National Historic Site ranks at the top of visitor to-do lists, thanks to its marketplaces, Sunday summer farmers' market, Children's Museum, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, traditional Aboriginal Oodena Celebra- tion Circle, Festival Park and Stage with free concerts, Riverwalk and summer boat rides along the Assiniboine. In winter, the river becomes a skating, skiing and snowball-throwing play- ground, with warming huts designed by an assortment of international architects. Around the borders of The Forks is the Beaux Arts 1911-vintage Union Station rail terminal, the post- contemporary Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and the elegant cable- stayed Provencher Bridge with little restaurant Mon Ami Louis halfway across it ( www.parkscanada.gc.ca/forks). National Parks and Historic Sites: www.parkscanada.gc.ca 1-888-773-8888 THE FORKS MARKET • TOURISM WINNIPEG/BRENT BELLAMY IMMERSE YOURSELF IN MANITOBA'S HISTORY… climb aboard the Nonsuch, a replica 17th-century ship ...watch a polar bear under the northern lights ...smell the Boreal forest as you pass a Cree settlement ...and, step into the past as you stroll the boardwalks of 1920s Winnipeg! ALWAYS MORE TO DISCOVER ManitobaMuseum.ca @ManitobaMuseum SET SAIL ON A WORLD-CLASS ADVENTURE MB 83