Camping in Riding Mountain National Park

Jyles and I were looking for a May Long outdoor adventure and since he lives in Winnipeg and I'm in Saskatoon, we decided to meet in the "middle" of our two homes for a camping trip in Riding Mountain National Park.

The parkland in Treaty 2 Territory is a mix of boreal forest and grasslands located just northeast of an imaginary middle-point between Yorkton and Brandon (that kind of made sense... look at a map).  We met up at Lake Audy Campground in the south-centre of the park late Friday afternoon and wandered the area before picking a site, setting up camp, and cooking dinner.  

Right next to Lake Audy is an animal enclosure home to a heard of wild bison.  The area is vast and you're not always guaranteed to spot the herd, but we took a drive through the enclosure our first evening and were pleased to see a mama and her calf strolling along the road. 

Lake Audy Campground has 32 unserviced sites for tents and RV's with firepits and picnic tables.  The sites along the water have less privacy but make up for it with green grass and sunset views, while on the other side of the road the sites are carved out from the bushes and trees.  The area is well maintained with bear safe garbage bins, multiple outhouses, a fish cleaning shack, boat launch and dock, group picnic shelters, and a playground.  Though we were one of only a couple tenters that weekend, I would say the campground was about ⅓ full, which are nice odds for a first-come first-serve self-registration system.  We picked a grassy spot overlooking the water with a couple of the only trees and bushes providing us with a nice buffer between the large group of men on a fishing trip next door.  Their generators ran a bit more than we would have liked but all in all everyone around was respectful of their fellow campers.    

It was frigid our first night but the sun shone bright in the morning and our oatmeal breakfast warmed us up.  There is no cell service near Lake Audy and we didn't know much about the hiking trails in the area so we drove the 30 minutes over to the Visitor Centre in Wasagaming.  The townsite is located on popular Clear Lake and reminded me greatly of Waskesiu in PA National Park.  It's a quaint tourist town with rows of cabins, a shop-lined main street, and beautiful waterfront.  We spent a few hours getting info on the trails, wandering the shops, picnicking in the park,  playing horse shoes, and being entertained by a brass cover band busking on the grass.     

Next it was time to get hiking.  We drove along Highway 10 and turned off onto the currently un-maintained Highway 19 which leads to the historic East Gate of the park.  The more popular Whirlpool Lake Campground is also on this road but it is temporary closed for construction.  We took the gravel road for only a couple km's before reaching the parking lot and trail head to Grey Owl's Cabin (his brief home before he moved to PANP).

We weren't quite up for an 18K hike to the cabin that afternoon, so on the advice of a park staff member we took the winding 2km Brûlé trail to Kinosao Lake which connected to the Grey Owl Trail via Kinosao trail. There we turned back to the parking lot along a wider cleared path to make for a nice 6km loop. I really enjoyed this area as it was mostly forested with towering aspens and jack pines, reminiscent of my old summer home at Christopher Lake.    

It was warm in the late afternoon sun, but with the risk of ticks very high this time of year we wore long pants and sleeves in the back country.  Style comes second when blood-sucking parasites are on the loose, as seen by our pants tucked cooly into our socks (our shirts were also tucked but we made adjustments for the photo).

We decided to enjoy a dinner out that evening and visited Foxtail Cafe just south of the park for some delicious fire oven pizza.  Following more advice from park staff we took an evening drive north along Highway 10 to see if we could spot some wildlife before taking Lake Audy Road back to camp.  We ended up seeing a number of deer along with 2 bears in different locations - one a ways off in the bushes from the highway and another curious fellow in the bison enclosure not far from our campground.

Exhausted from little sleep in the cold the night before and a long day in the sun, we were zipped into our mummy bags almost immediately after our arrival back at the campsite and quickly called it a night. 

Sunday morning was spent slowly.  We took our time climbing out from our tent and enjoyed cinnamon buns purchased the day before at the White House Bakery in Wasagaming.  While we were packing our lunch and prepping for our afternoon hike I noticed the first tick of the weekend hanging out on my sneaker sitting in the grass.  This was a good reminder to dress appropriately and a strong foreshadowing of the harsh reality that was to come.   

Around noon we set off on the 20km Grasshopper Valley loop which started off north along the lake, followed the edge of the bison enclosure, and then wrapped through the trees to grasslands on the west side of Lake Audy before returning past the dam on the south.  With the sun high in the sky and the path wide enough to walk side by side, the trees provided little protection from the heat.  We distracted one another with good conversation and were feeling confident when we stopped for lunch at the Minnedosa River Backcountry Campground and had only seen 2 ticks so far.  

We passed a couple small groups of hikers on the trail that day, one of witch warned us of fresh bear tracks ahead.  Though most of the trail was dry, this muddy spot was perfect for documenting the presence of a young bear in the neighbourhood.   

It would have been about 3 in the afternoon when we left the trees behind and found ourselves in the middle of open grasslands for 8 kilometres or so.  It was very hot in the direct sun and we were already beginning to run low on water.  Our feet were starting to get sore but these was the least of our worries when we noticed the ticks crawling up our legs. So. Many. Ticks.  It seemed they couldn't climb up Jyles' boots quite as well as mine, but every time we stopped we were both busy flicking them off our socks.  It was at least comforting to know that we were catching them (for the most part) below our knees and they hadn't made it up to our open collars.  I regret it now, not taking a photo, but at the time I just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible.

As soon as we made it to the gravel road at the dam, now out of the grass and back in the trees, we sat down in the middle of the road to empty our boots of any remaining hitch hikers.  Jyles had 1 or 2 inside his boots but mine were amazingly empty.  We followed the road the remaining 2k back to camp and debated cooling down with a swim in the lake but opted for a foot bath instead.  It wasn't long after sitting down in our lawn-chairs with a cold drink in hand and feet in the water that we noticed yet another creature wanting to suck our blood - leeches!  We ripped a couple off our feet and got out of there asap.  Back on dry land we did find one tick attached to Jyles' scalp, which was a bit unsettling, but it was very small and didn't seem to have been there long, so we removed it and moved on to making dinner.  

The remainder of our last evening was spent enjoying dinner and snacks by the fire while watching the sun set over the lake - at least there were no mosquitos out to ruin this for us too.          

After packing up camp on Victoria Day we took another drive through the bison enclosure.  We were delighted to find the herd immediately upon entering the north part of the enclosure and couldn't believe how close they were to the road. 

We spent some time capturing photos of these amazing mammals before driving to Wasagaming for the afternoon.

Back in town we layed out a blanket on the mowed lawn (little fear of ticks here) and enjoyed the last bits of our weekend getaway.  We played crib (I would brag that I won but it was only thanks to Jyles helping me count a couple hands) and enjoyed a late lunch before our drives back to the city were no longer avoidable.  Despite a few uninvited pests, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Riding Mountain.  I'm already making plans for another visit (date tbd) where I'll stay at Moon Lake Campground with easier access to Clear Lake and more forested trails.

Growing up in Saskatoon, with Waskesiu so close, you don't often think to head next door to explore what Manitoba has to offer, but I'm so glad I did!  With hiking trails of all levels, back and front country camping, oTENTiks and cabins for rent, a beautiful townsite with all sorts of activities, daily wildlife spottings, and even a luxury resort, there really is something for everyone in Riding Mountain.