Asessippi Provincial Park

The Asessippi Ski Hill, the Asessippi Historic Village, the Lake of the Prairies and the Shellmouth Dam are all part of the Asessippi Provincial Park.

Asessippi Provincial Park

The Asessippi Provincial Park is located near the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border - situated west of the community of Inglis; south of the community of Roblin and north of the community of Russell, Manitoba, Canada.

The 23 square kilometre Asessippi Provincial Park is located on the southern end of a lake called the Lake of the Prairies. The lake is a man-made waterway measuring 67 kilometres long. It is one of the larger lakes in the western half of the province. However... only 6 kilometres of the lake, actually, falls within the park boundaries.

Lake of the Prairies was created in 1968 after the construction of the Shellmouth Dam on the Assiniboine River. The Assiniboine and Shell Rivers are the two rivers which are prominent in the region. 

Surrounding the park are prairie grasslands, aspen forests and rolling hills covered in flora and fauna particular to the region. The prairie grasslands and rolling hills are decorated in june grass and rough fescue. The wildflowers include plants like goldenrod, crocus and wild bergamot. The underlying brush consists of shrubs like wolf willow, chokeberry, saskatoon and wild rose.

The Asessippi Provincial Park includes a campground and a day use picnic area. The campground provides serviced and unserviced sites, as well as, tenting sites and yurts. There are onsite services like washrooms, showers, laundry, convenience store, park office and a sani dump.

Some of the other facilities in the park include a boat launch, sandy beach, playground, day use picnic area, supply shop, dock, baseball fields, mini golf, picnic shelters, pavilion, changing rooms, fish cleaning stations, viewpoints, washrooms, pit toilets, houseboat rentals and canoe rentals.

The Lake of the Prairies is the base for many of the summer activities enjoyed in the park. Some of the water activities include boating, water skiing, windsurfing, sunbathing, swimming and fishing. There is a boat launch in the park and a fishing dock. Fishing is for walleye, northern pike and perch.

There are canoe and boat rentals are available on the lake. Canoes come in handy for those who enjoy river paddle routes because, both, the Assiniboine and Shell Rivers are popular canoe paddle routes.

The recreation trails in the Asessippi Provincial Park are a great way to sightsee the area in the summer and winter. In the summer months the trails are busy with hiking and in the winter the trails are cross country ski routes.

The trails include the Shell River Loop (0.8 km), Chokecherry (1.6 km one-way), Aspen (2.2 km one-way), Cranberry (0.6 km one-way) and a large section of the TCT (Trans Canada Trail) which connects to the Asessippi Historic Townsite.

The Ancient Valley Trail is a popular route in the park for exploring because it leads to some viewpoints of the Shellmouth Dam. It is a 3 kilometre loop interpretive trail with signage which explores the canyons of the Assiniboine and Shell Rivers. Be aware the trail does have some steep sections and can be difficult for some.

The paved roads which surround the 67 kilometre long Lake of the Prairies are also very popular for cycling. So much so the cycle route has a name. The Four Valley Cycle Tour is a 100 kilometre multi-day cycle loop route which explores 4 valleys and connects to communities and campgrounds.

For those who like long haul snowmobile routes there are trails which connect the Asessippi Provincial Park with the communities of Roblin, Erikson and Swan River, Manitoba and connect with other parks like the Duck Mountain Provincial Park the the Porcupine Provincial Forests.

Birdwatching is more common in the park as there are many waterfowl, songbirds and predator birds in the area. Some of the birds sighted in the park include the sandhill crane, prairie horned lark, American white pelican, warbler, great blue heron, vireo, belted kingfisher, nighthawk, rose-breasted grosbeak, grebe and various species of owls and ducks.

Asessippi Ski Mountain

The Asessippi Ski Hill is located in the southeast corner of the park. The ski hill is the downhill skiing and snowboarding destination in the region.

There are over 25 runs, a tube park, night skiing, 2 terrain parks and a half pipe. The runs are serviced by one quad chair and two triple chairs. There is a ski patrol, ski school, day lodge and rental pro shop.

There are easy (green), moderate (blue) and difficult (black diamond) ski runs on the hill. Some of the runs include the Giant Panda(Black Diamond), Snow Bear(Black Diamond), Bear's Eye(Blue), Kodiak, Cinnamon(Blue), Berzerk(Blue), Bill's Way(Black Diamond), Roller Coaster(Black Diamond), Porcupine(Black Diamond), Action Alley(Black Diamond), Freeway(Green), Easy Street(Green), Robin's Run(Green) and the Jack Rabbit (Green).

The village provides services including a licensed pub, dining facilities, gift shop and cottage accommodations.

Asessippi Ski Hill, the Asessippi Historic Village, the Lake of the Prairies and the Shellmouth Dam are all part of the Asessippi Provincial Park.