Culture, Museums and historic sites, Park, trails and beaches, Shop local
The Winnipeg River Heritage Museum is a must-see in St. Georges. It replaces the former museum, destroyed by fire in May 2014. From the first steps, it’s wow: the wooden architecture, the blue sky, the rusty old boats that were used to transport wood, the river that can be seen are unexpected elements that nevertheless blend perfectly into the scenery.
Visiting the Winnipeg River Museum is exciting. The latter includes several exhibitions, temporary or permanent. You will be able to learn, among other things, the history of the people of the region, the splendours of the paper mill, daily life in the village and reflect on reconciliation. A second building pays tribute to the adventurers of the region and features a vintage ferry – perhaps the one that made the last crossing in 1974?
Also, be sure to stop by the museum shop. I left with coffee, wild rice from the region and peas from St. George.
A path starts to the right of the museum and runs along the river to a giant red chair. It’s just so quiet, perfect for reflecting a little on the beauty of what surrounds us.
Visits make you hungry. In St. Georges, your culinary destination will be the Rapid Water Market Deli. Open from Tuesday to Sunday, you can pick up the necessary ingredients to make a picnic, a cold drink, cinnamon rolls (but only on Thursday!) or ice cream. I chose the latter, and simply crossed the street to taste it on the beach. The beach of St. Georges is a beautiful sandy beach, really inviting.
In the exhibits at the Winnipeg River Museum, you can learn the story of the construction of the dam that destroyed half the village and raised the lake’s water 27 feet. There is a viewpoint at the bottom of the dam before the bridge. It is a popular fishing spot, and birds are also at the rendezvous.
Powerview-Pine Falls was famous for its paper mill, which closed in 2009. Once unemployed, Jim Niedermayer began carving wood. His creations made with the chainsaw are scattered all over the city and his workshop can be visited: it is located a little south of Silver Falls.
You can also see it in action at the 4P (peas, pickerel, power, and paper) festival that takes place every year on Labour Day weekend.
To finish this beautiful day around Saint-Georges, we stay in the bilingual municipality of Alexander to see the Coca-Cola Falls. They are about a twenty-minute gravel drive from Powerview-Pine Falls.
Why are they called Coca-Cola Falls? Their name comes from the brown colour of the water… which actually looks like the famous soda. The four-kilometre round trip ride is really pleasant, the landscape is beautiful and it’s an opportunity to take some original photos!
A visit to Manitoba means travelling through Treaty 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 territory and communities signatory to Treaties 6 and 10, the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anish-Ininiwak, Dakota, Dené, Iiniwak, and Nehethowuk and the homeland of the Métis Nation. Its ongoing existence is thanks to these ancestors and their present day relatives who continue to love and care for the land.
