North of town
Pinawa Suspension Bridge
54 metres long and one metre wide, hung across the Pinawa Channel. Volunteers finished it in 1998 and it opened in May 1999. It is the most photographed thing in town.
Visitor guide
Pinawa, Manitoba
A town of 1,558 people on the Winnipeg River, one hour northeast of Winnipeg. Here is what to see, where to eat and sleep, and what is open in each season.
- From Winnipeg
- 1 hour · 110 km
- Population
- 1,558
- Town built
- 1963
- Sits on
- The Winnipeg River
Where Pinawa is
Pinawa is in southeast Manitoba, about 110 km northeast of Winnipeg. Most people drive it in an hour. The last stretch into town is Provincial Road 211.
The town sits where the Pinawa Channel leaves the Winnipeg River. The channel is the reason people come in summer. It is slow, shallow and lined with granite and pine, and you can float the whole thing in an afternoon.
Pinawa is on the western edge of Whiteshell Provincial Park. The golf course runs right along the park boundary. Falcon Lake, West Hawk Lake and the rest of the park lakes are further east.
Two towns, sixty years apart
There have been two Pinawas, and they are 10 km apart down the same channel.
The first went up around a power station. The Winnipeg Electric Company needed electricity for its streetcars, so in 1906 it opened the first year round hydroelectric dam between the Rocky Mountains and Sault Ste. Marie. A town grew up beside it. The station ran until 1951, then closed, and the town emptied out. The concrete shell is still there, and in 2008 engineers put a bronze plaque on it naming it an engineering milestone.
The Pinawa people live in today was built from nothing starting in 1963. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited needed housing for the scientists at its new Whiteshell Laboratories, so it built a town: houses, a shopping mall, a gas station, schools, a hospital, a marina and a staff house. It became a Local Government District in July 1963, which makes it the second youngest town in Manitoba.
That staff house is this building. Wilderness Edge is 84,000 square feet of 1963 AECL residence, now a retreat centre. It is why a town of 1,558 people has a hospital, a pool, an arena and an 18 hole golf course.
The laboratory is being taken apart. The work is expected to run into the 2030s. The town it built stayed.
What to see
Six places worth the drive. All of them are free to walk up to.
By the marina
Pinawa Heritage Sundial
A working sundial, 10 metres across, with a 5 metre pointer. Twelve icons around the face tell the story of the area. The town built it to mark the year 2000.
8 km from Wilderness Edge
Pinawa Dam Provincial Heritage Park
The ruins of the 1906 power station, on Provincial Road 520. Bare concrete arches standing in the river, closer to a Roman ruin than a power plant. In summer the water running between the walls makes a natural slide that people ride over and over.
In town
Pinawa Beach and Pool
A sand beach on the river with an outdoor pool beside it. The pool runs swimming lessons through the summer. Both are town run and open in the warm months only.
5 minutes from Wilderness Edge
Pinawa Golf & Country Club
18 holes and about 6,600 yards, cut through pine and granite along the channel. The clubhouse restaurant is open to anyone, year round, with a patio in summer.
At Wilderness Edge
The marina and waterfront
A boat launch, docks, and the Pinawa Rowing and Sailing Club, which rents boats and teaches through the season. The waterfront path runs from here to the sundial.
Trails
Pinawa has more trail than a town this size has any right to. The Trans Canada Trail runs 28 km through it, in named sections you can pick and mix. The whole network is part of Manitoba's Pine to Prairie Birding Trail.
- Alice Chambers Trail, 2.9 km. The suspension bridge is on it. This is the one multi use trail in town: horses and off road vehicles are allowed, and machines are asked to keep to the west side.
- Ironwood Park and Trail, 4.0 km. Flat, wheelchair friendly, along the Winnipeg River, with picnic tables and signs. The winter perimeter loop is 9.6 km and gets groomed.
- Pinawa Channel Heritage Walk, 3.5 km. Across the suspension bridge on the far bank. Spring, summer and fall only.
- Old Pinawa Trail, 3.8 km. Follows the Winnipeg River toward the 1906 dam.
- Seven Sisters Trail, 8.5 km. Mixed boreal forest and granite ridges, heading east.
- Willis West, 2.1 km, and Westdal, 2.0 km. Short, level connectors.
It is about 17 km from our front door to the Seven Sisters dam along the trail, and about 8 km to the old dam. Every trail here is non motorized except Alice Chambers.
In winter the town grooms about 40 km of cross country ski trail, including a 7 km easy loop and a 7.5 km technique trail. The Manitoba Loppet and the 50 km Super Loppet are raced here in late January.
Where to eat
Pinawa is small. These are the places people actually use.
- The Pinawa Club restaurant at the golf course. Licensed, open to the public, open all year, patio in summer.
- Pinawa Solo Market in the Access Mall. A full grocery store with a deli counter, and the place to buy ice before a float.
- Seasonal spots near the water. A snack shack and an ice cream counter open through the summer.
If you are here with a group, most groups eat at Wilderness Edge. Our kitchen cooks for up to a few hundred people at a sitting, which is more than any restaurant in town can seat.
Where to stay
Wilderness Edge is the largest place to stay in Pinawa, and it is the old AECL staff house: 84,000 square feet, built in 1963, now 143 guest rooms at 32 Burrows Road. It sits on the river, five minutes from everything on this page. Rooms run from two bed standards to suites with kitchens.
There is also a small motel in town, and cabins and campsites out in the Whiteshell if you would rather be in the park.
Most people who book with us are here with a group: a family reunion, a church weekend, a company retreat, a wedding. We are set up for that. There is a dining room, meeting rooms, a hot tub over the river, and enough beds that nobody has to drive home.
What is open when
Summer, June to August
The busy season. The channel float runs daily, the beach and pool are open, the golf course is full, and the patio at the club is the place to be. Book a room early for July.
Fall, September and October
The best hiking of the year. Cool air, no bugs, and the poplar turning yellow along the trails. Fishing is good. Rooms are easy to get.
Winter, November to March
Skiing, snowshoeing, sledding and ice fishing. The Manitoba Loppet is in late January. Northern lights show up on clear cold nights.
Spring, April and May
Quiet. The ice goes out, the river comes up, and the birds come back. A good time to have the trails to yourself.
On the map
Common questions
About 110 km northeast, which is a one hour drive. The last stretch is Provincial Road 211.
Pinawa sits on the western edge of the park. The golf course runs along the park boundary, and most of the Whiteshell is a short drive east.
Yes. The town runs a public beach and an outdoor pool on the Winnipeg River, both open in summer.
Yes. The channel float is the most popular thing to do here in July and August. Wilderness Edge rents tubes, rafts and canoes, and they are free if you are staying the night. You arrange your own ride back from the take out.
Wilderness Edge is the largest place to stay, with 143 guest rooms at 32 Burrows Road. There is also a motel in town.
About 40 km of groomed ski trails, ice fishing on the river, snowshoeing and sledding. The Manitoba Loppet ski race runs here in late January.
Bringing a group to Pinawa?
Tell us the dates and how many people. You get a price back the same day, with rooms, meals and activities in one quote.
