Grand Beach

Grand Beach runs about three kilometres along the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg with fine white sand that is almost pure quartz, backed by dunes reaching around eight metres, held by marram grass. The lake is large enough that the far shore is out of sight and the water shelves gradually and warms through summer, which is unusual this far north. A Canadian Pacific resort with a boardwalk and one of the largest dance halls in the region operated here from 1916 until the pavilion burned in 1950. The lagoon behind the dunes is a nesting area for the endangered piping plover, and sections are fenced in season.

What you actually see

• The white quartz sand - three kilometres of pale beach on a freshwater lake.
• The dunes - grass-held sand hills up to about eight metres.
• The lagoon - a sheltered wetland behind the beach with nesting birds.
• The piping plovers - an endangered species nesting in fenced sections.

When to go

June to August for warm water; the lake is cold outside that and the park is quiet. Summer weekends fill the car parks by late morning. Algae blooms affect some seasons.

Honest expectations

Blue-green algae blooms have closed the beach in some summers and warnings should be checked. Weekend crowds are heavy. Plover nesting closes parts of the dunes and beach.

Nearby

Winnipeg lies southwest; Hecla is across the lake.