Attracting more winter visitors goal for park staff

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This article was published 26/12/2010 (5610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s typically the place you think of as a nearby summer vacation spot. But Riding Mountain National Park is ramping up its image as a Christmas holiday destination.

And perhaps the biggest attraction for Brandonites whose outdoor skating plans were marred by the flooding of the Assiniboine River? A large-scale skating oval located in the Wasagaming town site.

Riding Mountain National Park visitor services officer Scott Shellborn says the oval has been a popular destination for park visitors.

"It’s fantastic, actually. It’s really beautiful," Shellborn said.

Attached to the oval is an outdoor rink surface, a skating trail through the trees, a warming shelter and washroom facilities. Everything is lit up with Christmas lights for optimal night skating.

Throughout the park, there are 400 kilometres of trails for hikers, snowshoers and skiers, including 20 tracked trails, six snowshoe trails and several wilderness trails that have been packed, but are not tracked.

The park also has interpretive events running throughout the winter season, including a murder mystery winter campfire and moonlight snowshoe walk on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Shellborn says park officials are trying to do a better job of promoting the events and winter activities for park visitors.

"We have people that actually think we close after summer. They think they can’t even come into the park. It’s kind of a barrier we’re trying to overcome. We are a 365-day park."

Shellborn estimates there would have been 500 to 1,000 people visiting the park in the days surrounding Christmas, including those who can access their cottages year-round and those staying at the Elkhorn Resort, Spa and Conference Centre.

Kris Jordan, conference sales manager at the Elkhorn Resort, says the resort’s 60 chalets and 57 guest rooms in the lodge are well booked throughout the winter.

"The weekends are quite busy with people coming out of Winnipeg to participate in some of the winter activities that they might not get in the city. During the week, we’ve got corporate clients in to do their retreats and conferences. They all make time to get outdoors," Jordan said.

On Christmas Day, there are a few more vacancies at the lodge. Jordan says it’s mostly families who come up together for a destination Christmas. But after Boxing Day, she says, things pick up again.

For guests not wanting to leave the resort, sleigh rides, a skating rink, a bonfire, a toboggan hill and slide are located on the property, and the spa is busy with people wanting to stay inside. One of the banquet rooms in the lodge has been turned into a kids centre, with games and crafts available for younger visitors.

"There’s lots of action around here. It’s a great family place to spend the holidays."