Adventure through Amisk Self Guiding Trail in Whiteshell

November, the transition to winter is well under way here in Manitoba, the leaves have fallen, the waterways are freezing and there is a light snow cover. Still, even with temperatures getting in the double digit under zero celsius and wind gusts of 30km an hour, Amisk Trail remains a comfortable trail to adventure in.

Amisk Trail is located in the Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba and is easily accessed from the paved highway 🛣 , the trail goes through a dense evergreen 🌲 forest, sheltering you from wind chill through most of the hike, making it an ideal location to spend time in nature without feeling the brutal cold that invades most of the province’s open prairies. 

So, it is on a brisk Saturday morning with a clear blue sky that my girlfriend and I started our hike, at -11C on a windy day, we didn’t stay too long beside the more open area of the parking lot, our bodies not yet generating heat from activity. The trail starts with a bit of a wider path, that can also be used by snowmobile once there is enough snow cover.

While we had not set an exercise goal, prefering to experience the trail by enjoying it’s beauty, we chose to set a bit of a faster pace at the beginning, letting our blood flow through our extremities and warming up our bodies until we feel more comfortable.

Shortly after, we enter a much denser forest of evergreen and the wind chill factor is no more, allowing us to unzip a bit and not needing that faster pace to keep us warm. The trail also become much narrower and darker, with the light of the sun 🌞 filtering through the boreal forest.

The trail also becomes rockier and features a good amount of small ups and down without being too challenging or putting you out of breath. It is a good trail to try even if you are not an experienced hiker and at 4.2km for the main trail, it would also be a nice trail to bring kids along. 

At maybe a third of the main trail in, you gradually make your way to the top of a panoramic viewpoint showing the Rennie River and a section of the highway. There is also some interpretive signs and a bench to sit down and enjoy the view. Being on top of the Canadian Shield rocky outcrop though, you are more exposed to the elements and so, at this time of the year, it is preferable to only keep a short break to take pictures rather than have a picnic in the wind. 

I will end the first part of this article here, I hope you enjoyed, please subscribe to my blog and leave a comment. Also please take the time to visit Marc Gilbert Photography on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MarcGilbertPhotography/ and Instagram where I post most of my pictures and events. Thank you and go enjoy nature!