Spruce Woods Provincial Park

This is one of my best-loved destinations in Manitoba. I go to this provincial park every chance I get, including on two of our most recent trips home. I can think of no better place for family hikes and milestone birthday celebrations (my 30th took place here!) This is Spruce Woods Provincial Park, and I love it!

Thought Riding Mountain National Park was the only forested place in the prairies? Think again! Spruce Woods Provincial Park also features a forest – as you can guess from its name! But my favorite feature of this park is actually not in the trees!

A vertical portrait of the author in Spruce Woods Provincial Park. She's got her back to the camera, and is looking out at the grass-topped dunes of the Spirit Sands.

Spirit Sands

Whether you’re driving across the prairies to get here or hiking through the surrounding forest, reaching the Spirit Sands is both a surprise and a treat. But these windswept sand dunes are not truly a desert. They’re the remains of an ancient delta, left behind by the altered course of the Assiniboine River.

On my birthday in 2015, I wanted to have an adventure. I hadn’t been to the Spirit Sands in years. But I remembered it, and I wanted to go back. So I recruited my two trustiest companions, and off we went!

It was a moody, late summer day. In the morning, Kent and I went on a long run on the mile roads west of town and gotten toasted by the sun blazing down on us from a big blue sky. But prairie weather is notoriously fickle. By the time Emma had joined us for our drive east to Spruce Woods Provincial Park, the sky was full of low-slung clouds and a strong wind blew in sudden, cold gusts.

A panoramic image of Spruce Woods Provincial Park, taken from a high points. The bottom half of the frame is filled with spruce trees popping up from a grassy plain. The top half is dominated by low grey clouds that fill the sky completely.

The afternoon’s altered temperament did nothing to change my excitement. In fact, I correctly guessed that, with rain threatening, we’d have the park to ourselves. This is another one of the joys of living outside of a major population center: peace and quiet in a provincial park!

A sandy trail stretches through an evergreen forest, under a sky full of low-slung, heavy grey clouds.

Once on the trail, I began to recall the park. To begin, you wind through a little of the Spruce Woods forest. The trail becomes more and more sandy as the size of the vegetation diminishes. You climb up a crest, and suddenly: the Spirit Sands!

The author and her sister pose on a set of sandy wooden steps above the forest. Both grin at the camera: the author with her characteristic head tilt.

It’s not all sand, though. Pincushion cacti, long grasses and other plants populate the delta – and trees surround it. But all this greenery serves to anchor these dunes in place.

A selfie featuring the Kent, Emma and Carrie. Kent is taking the photo, as usual, and Emma is smiling in the middle. The author stands a bit behind and has one first raised but hidden in her blue hoodie.

We wander through them; sometimes silently, and sometimes laughing or chatting. Our route is both familiar and brand new to me. We lay down among bright yellow flowers and look up at the sky. And then we wander some more.

The author and her sister lay prone in the sand, arms in front and feet kicked up behind. There are numerous yellow flowers around the pair, and it's a sweet image of sisterhood.

This trip to the Spirit Sands in Spruce Woods Provincial Park was the perfect choice for my birthday adventure. I feel connected to my roots, spending this birthday here at home. But I also feel like the adventurous, active person I’ve grown up to be on this little adventure.

One more selfie of Kent, Emma and Carrie. This time the trio pose in front of a giant sign announcing the entrance to the Spirit Sands.

An action shot of three of the author's family members hiking in the Spirit Sands. Sam leads, followed by Emma in the middle, and Kent pulls up the rear. All three have their backs to the camera and are headed down to a green, grassy area between the dunes.

Three years later, on a sunnier summer day, it was my sister Jil who suggested a return. This time, it was full-on family fun times. Sam backflipped from the dunes, egged on by Mike. Emma coordinated a group jump shot. Dad and Kent chatted about geology. And I was just happy to be back in one of my favorite places!