Watchable Wildlife Manitoba

Riding Mountain National Park

Site Services
	Drinking Water
	Restrooms
	Marked Trails
	Boardwalk
	Viewing Tower
	Picnic Shelter
	Camping
	Concession
	Visitor Centre
	Interpretive Signs/brochures
	Primitive Site

Description:

Riding Mountain is one of our spectacular national parks. Its 297,300 hectares are a combination of boreal and deciduous forests, rough fescue grassland, lakes and marshes, perched on a dramatic rise of land called the Manitoba Escarpment.

Start your wildlife watching adventure at the park’s visitor centre where you can pick up information on the best wildlife viewing areas, the 400 kilometres of trails, and even rent a Marsh Kit to explore Ominnik Marsh. The park is home to lynx, moose, elk, black bears, wolves, coyotes, plenty of beaver and a captive bison herd. Be sure to visit the bison at Lake Audy where there is an exhibit and viewing platform. Look for moose in the early morning, foraging in wetlands. In autumn, listen for elk bugling. You can also hear wolves howling and coyotes yipping in the backcountry at night. The park’s diverse habitats make it a popular spot for birders. There is a rich variety of breeding warblers, including the Connecticut, Mourning, Golden-winged and Canada Warblers. In the boreal forest look for the Great Grey Owl, Philadelphia Vireo and the boreal woodpeckers – Pileated, Black-backed and American Three-toed. The graceful Trumpeter Swan, rarely seen in Manitoba, nests here. Riding Mountain National Park has some of our most diverse wildlife watching opportunities.

Don’t Miss:

The Lake Audy bison enclosure, also a great place for elk bugling in the fall.

Habitats:

boreal forest, eastern deciduous forest, rough fescue grasslands, lake, marsh, riverbottom wetland

Site Specialties:

elk, moose, black bear, bison, warblers, Great Gray Owl

Directions:

1. Highway 10 in western Manitoba bisects Riding Mountain National Park. You can enter from the south or north end of the park. The park can also be accessed by Highway 19 off Highway 5.

Latitude & Longitude:

south park gate – 50°39’02N and 99°58’17W

Cautionary Notes:

You are in black bear country . See the Parks Canada website (link) for restrictions.

Admission:

Park entry fee – daily or seasonal passes available at the park gate.

More about Riding Mountain National Park:

• Parks Canada
• Manitoba Museum birders’ checklist