Click on image for larger map

Land Designation

Provincial Park

Landscape Description

Pinawa Dam Provincial Park is located northwest of the community of Pinawa on the Winnipeg River.  Manitoba’s Parks and Natural Areas Branch worked with the Friends of Old Pinawa to expand the boundaries of the park to include the dam structure and some adjacent Crown land.  This new expansion increases the protected portion of the park by adding 87.5 hectares of Backcountry Land Use Category (LUC) bringing the total protected area in the park to 112.5 hectares.  An additional 80.5 hectares of unprotected Recreational Development LUC has also been added to the park.

Outstanding Features

Pinawa Dam, which started operations in 1906, was constructed to produce residential and commercial hydroelectric power for the city of Winnipeg, and became Manitoba's first year-round Hydro generating plant.  When the dam was operational, a townsite was built to provide the families of workers with homes and recreational facilities.  Traces of this former town still exist at the site even though all the buildings have been torn down.

In 1951, the Pinawa Power Plant was shut down so that the full flow of the Winnipeg River could be restored to the main channel for use by the Seven Sisters Dam.  In 1985 an area of 25 hectares, which included the old Hydro townsite, was designated as Pinawa Dam Heritage Park.  Since then, the partnership between Manitoba Conservation and the Friends of Old Pinawa has created an amphitheatre, interpretive signage, walking bridge, nature trail and picnic area.  The park is also a part of the Trans-Canada Trail and the addition of the Recreational Development LUC will allow for the expansion of existing trails.