Trails and Trials of the TCT in Manitoba

 Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba

 "…the sea, the woods, the mountains, all suffer in comparison to the prairie … the prairie has a stronger hold upon the senses."

Albert Pike

 

Normally, our assessment and reflection of the Trans Canada Trail in each province is released days after we complete that same province.  However, in the case of Manitoba, we are publishing it online several years after the fact.  We did this for a number of reasons: First, we were hoping to gain some perspective on the national trail in Manitoba by way of comparison to the pathway in the other prairie provinces. And second, we hoped that with time, some of the events and commentary that took place in Manitoba would make more sense.  Ultimately, however, even after completing 14,000 km of the Great Trail spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, our experience of the TCT in Manitoba is just as mixed as it was by the end of 2021.

 

By the time we reached the Arctic Ocean in 2025, we remained with the sense that our time in Manitoba was one that was hard to define.  

 

What we have written is a reflection of our experience, and it is meant to inform those who might undertake the TCT in the future. It is not meant as a judgment or critique – especially as the national pathway is always growing, developing and improving. 

 

Route of the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba

 

It would take us two seasons of trekking – ranging from the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021 - to hike the 1336 km of the Trans Canada Trail that traverses the province of Manitoba. 

 

Starting, in our case, in the east, the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba begins its extremely indirect wandering through the beautiful forests and lakes of Whiteshell Provincial Park before weaving north toward the communities of Pinawa and Gimli. From there, the route doubles back south along rail trails through Selkirk and into Winnipeg, where the character of the journey shifts once again. Leaving the city, the trail follows the historic Crow Wing pilgrimage route south toward Emerson, before turning north onto a long succession of rural roads and concessions that slowly box their way past small towns such as Morden, Manitou, and Glenboro.

 

A brief reprieve from gravel roads arrives as the route passes through Spruce Woods Provincial Park, offering a short but welcome change in scenery and footing, before returning once more to back roads en route to Carberry and Neepawa. From here, the national pathway follows its longest continuous section in the province: the Rossburn Subdivision. While mapped as a converted rail trail, this stretch is, in reality, heavily used by ATVs, with deeply rutted surfaces and gopher holes that demand constant attention. The route skirts south of Riding Mountain National Park before eventually concluding in the town of Russell. From Russell, the trail enters its final and most westerly Manitoba section along the Crocus Trail, which follows a series of roads through Roblin and San Clara, before the last kilometres at the provincial border finally return walkers to a true off-road trail once again.

 

Coming to Terms with the Great Trail in Manitoba

 

Manitoba and the Trans Canada Trail in the same province is one of the hardest for us to write about.  Seen from one perspective, it is one of the most diverse provinces, ranging from the forested trails of Whiteshell and Pinewa to the urban pathways of Winnipeg to the pilgrimage route of the Crow Wing Trail and northward to the historic Inglis Grain Elevators and ATV tracks of the Rossburn Subdivision Trail.  It is a province that spans from the forests of Northern Ontario and Eastern Manitoba to the open prairies of the Midwest.    The people in this range encompass generous indigenous peoples, cottagers, campers, city dwellers, Germanic Mennonites and agricultural communities  

However, in as much as the people are diverse, and the nature of the national pathway varied so too was the reaction to a pair of hikers venturing across the province.  Each community and each region begot wide-ranging reactions to our #Hike4Birds and our desire to promote conservation in localities. In many places the people we met responded with curiosity, positivity and encouragement.  However, admittedly, there were other locals were we were definitely not welcomed, where we were searched, harassed, and even targeted.  Each of which were responses that would shape our remaining times on the Trans Canada Trail to Victoria and Tuktoyaktuk.

 

The TCT in Manitoba: A Patchwork of Experiences

 

With that context in mind, it is perhaps most useful to look at the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba not as a single continuous experience, but as a series of very different sections, each shaped by local geography, history, and priorities. Moving east to west across the province reveals a patchwork of trail types - some exemplary, others improvised - that together define what walking the Great Trail in Manitoba actually looks like on the ground.

 

Eastern Manitoba - Whiteshell to Winnipeg

The eastern reaches of the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba offer some of the most rewarding walking in the province. The trails of southern Whiteshell Provincial Park and the Pinawa area are consistently engaging, combining forest, water, and well-defined pathways that feel purposeful and inviting. 

The route from Lac du Bonnet to Grand Falls stands out as particularly memorable, offering a sense of continuity and flow that is often absent elsewhere. Further west, the rail trail stretching from Powerview to north of Selkirk provides a smooth, scenic approach toward the capital region and remains one of the most enjoyable converted rail corridors in Manitoba.

 

Capital region and Crow Wing Trail – Winnipeg to Emerson

 

The capital region offers one of the more coherent and accessible stretches of the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba. Duff Roblin’s Parkway, also known as Duff’s Ditch, is a remarkable engineering achievement that has been successfully repurposed to include a well-used multi-use corridor for walkers and cyclists alike. 

A short spur west of the city along the Headingley Grand Trunk Trail provides an enjoyable rail-trail experience leading toward an impressive provincial park, though the necessity of crossing a busy four-lane highway does detract from an otherwise strong section. Within the city itself, Winnipeg’s extensive network of urban pathways provides consistent access to green space, is well-maintained, and clearly well-loved by the local population, while also offering excellent opportunities for birding.

 

Beyond the city, the historic Crow Wing Trail becomes a distinctive and memorable route, passing through welcoming communities such as St. Adolphe, Niverville, and St. Pierre-Jolys, and linking naturally with the landscapes of St. Malo Provincial Park and the border town of Emerson.

 

Western Manitoba – Emerson to Saskatchewan

West of Emerson, the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba takes on a markedly different character, one largely defined by long rural distances and rural roads rather than purpose-built hiking paths.

Near the international border, the Boundary Commission Trail briefly traces the Canada–US line, though extensive gopher holes and the requirement to divert onto the Post Road Trail at the direction of border security limit its usefulness as a walking route. Beyond this point, the trail largely follows dusty concession roads, a pattern that continues northward for long stretches and underscores the improvised nature of much of the western route.

The Rossburn Subdivision Trail forms the most substantial continuous section in this part of the province and is best understood as a mixed-use corridor with widely varying conditions. While some segments are well maintained, the majority function primarily as ATV, snowmobile, and service routes rather than as pathways suited to walking, cycling, or horseback travel. Despite this, the surrounding landscapes are often striking, particularly in areas shaped by wetlands and conservation lands maintained by Ducks Unlimited in what is sometimes referred to as the “Duck Factory of Canada.” Communities along the route - including Neepawa, Clanwilliam, Erickson,  and Russell - were consistently welcoming and provided some of the most positive human encounters in western Manitoba. One notably refined stretch approaching Russell suggested what the trail could be when sustained effort is applied, even if challenges remained.

Beyond Russell, the route toward the Saskatchewan border continues to rely heavily on roads and concessions, passing landmarks such as the historic Inglis Grain Elevators and skirting areas like Asessippi Provincial Park, where motorized recreation dominates and dedicated hiking trails are limited. The final kilometres of the Crocus Trail, known as the Crocus North pathway, offer a striking contrast. This short but carefully developed section provides a glimpse of what a more cohesive, off-road trail experience in western Manitoba might look like, and stands as a reminder of the potential that exists when intention and infrastructure align.

Taken as a whole, Manitoba’s section of the Trans Canada Trail reflects both the ambition and the ongoing reality of the national network. It is a province where the idea of a coast-to-coast trail exists alongside local priorities, varied resources, and competing uses, reminding long-distance walkers that the Great Trail is not a single experience, but a collection of many.

What is a Trail?  The Prairie Question

 

Perhaps more than any other province or territory in Canada, our time walking across Manitoba forced us to confront what initially seems like a simple question: what actually constitutes a trail? In a province defined by agriculture, long distances, and widely spaced communities, the idea of a continuous pathway begins to stretch and blur. Is a trail meant to be a wilderness experience, an urban greenway, or a connective route between places? Is it designed for walking, cycling, paddling, or could it also allow motorized use? Does it require regular signage, amenities, and maintenance, or can it exist quietly for the few who might one day find their way along it? Each possible answer gives rise to examples - and just as many contradictions.

The prairies, more than most regions, expose the practical limits of a single definition as well the limits of expectation in terms of having a national off-road hiking trail from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic.  Population density, volunteer capacity, and funding bases are fundamentally different here than in Atlantic Canada, Québec, or southern Ontario. Distances between communities are vast, services are sparse, and exposure to weather and terrain is unavoidable. Under these conditions, the notion of a continuous, off-road hiking trail becomes difficult to sustain, regardless of intent or aspiration. In practice, most long-distance travellers we encountered across Manitoba were cyclists, and much of the existing infrastructure is better suited to cycling, or motorized ATV recreation than to long-distance hiking. From what we understand, only a handful of people have ever walked the Trans Canada Trail in its entirety across this region - an observation that says less about individual determination than about landscape, scale, and suitability.

 

All of this raises a larger and more uncomfortable question: whether the idea of a single, uniform national trail can - or should - mean the same thing everywhere. While the Trans Canada Trail is often described as a route for hikers, cyclists, and paddlers, the realities on the ground suggest that use and intention vary widely from region to region. On the prairies, the challenge may not be a lack of commitment or imagination, but the need for a different understanding altogether - one that accepts that trails in vast, exposed landscapes will necessarily look, function, and be used differently. What that understanding should be remains an open question, and likely one that will require voices far more innovative than our own to fully answer.

 

Final Thoughts on Hiking the TCT in Manitoba

As we noted at the outset, we never truly felt that we got a complete handle on Manitoba. More than any other province we crossed, it resisted easy summary. The sheer scale of the prairies is difficult to comprehend until one walks through them day after day, living the distances rather than measuring them on a map. There is no denying that the Trans Canada Trail here often becomes a long and demanding journey along exposed gravel roads, with little shade, shifting road conditions tied closely to weather, and traffic that moves quickly through open landscapes. In these conditions, cyclists clearly hold an advantage, able to transition between dirt concessions and paved roads as circumstances require - an adaptability that walking does not always afford.

And yet, despite these challenges, Manitoba revealed itself as anything but a flyover province. The prairie experience is rich, layered, and deeply instructive for those willing to engage with it at ground level. What lingered most from our time here was the sense that Manitoba sits at the crossroads of many of the debates and tensions that Canada as a nation has faced - and continues to face. Federal and provincial dynamics, urban and rural divides, liberal and conservative worldviews, individual freedoms and collective responsibility, tolerance and suspicion, historical realities and modern pressures all seemed to converge in tangible ways along our route. Encounters with the legacy of the reservation system and the enduring hardships faced by Indigenous communities further underscore how deeply history continues to shape the present.

To venture into the prairies is to step into a landscape that asks for patience, openness, and a willingness to sit with complexity. It is an experience that challenges assumptions, sharpens understanding, and, ultimately, offers insight into the country we share. And so we return to where we began this unintentionally long entry: Manitoba’s trails are difficult to define and harder still to summarize. Perhaps the best we can conclude is that, for us, our time here was both remarkable and demanding - a journey marked equally by beauty and difficulty, making our passage across the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba a series of trails and trials across the province.

See you on the Trail!