Elk Island - Hike to the North Beach
B59 - Trail to Elk Island’s North Beach
by Lexi Verras
Manitoba has many hidden gems and Elk Island Provincial Park is definitely one of them! If you want to go on an adventure in the Beaches of 59 area, taking a hike on Elk Island is a great way to spend the day. The hike to North Beach is one route and is about 13 km long (from where you park your car and back) and is such a great way to reconnect with nature and explore a new place.
To get to Elk Island from Winnipeg take Highway 59 North to the very end when it turns into Highway 504. The hike will start with you parking at the end of Hwy 504 in the RM of Victoria Beach (you don’t need your Provincial Park pass to park here), but make sure you watch the signs which side of the highway you are allowed to park.
From there you will need to walk left or West on Olafsson Blvd until you reach the end of Olafsson. From here take the path around the lagoon and up the stairs to Sandy Bay Beach.
The Path at Olafsson Boulevard
Once you get to the beach, you will head north along the white sand and keep going until you hit some bushes. Depending on the weather you can walk into the water here and stick to the sand bars which are noteaable by the lighter colour of blue or the hint of sandy brown colours. The darker blue is deaper water. If it is windy or water is cold, you may want to continue on the narrow path through the bushes until you hit the water. This will be more sheltered and will amount to less time in the water. You will need to take off your shoes and walk through the lake to get to the island. The water depth changes from day to day so be prepared for deeper water or if you’re lucky, there will be no water at all. Generally speaking it is less than waist deep so you can keep your backpack and running shoes dry.
Crossing the water to Elk Island
Once you cross onto the island you will continue heading North along the beach. There will be a point where there is a little hidden path entrance at the beach. Before you go into the path, we highly recommend that you use bug spray and put on long pants. Depending on the season you may find that there are lots of bugs in the path. The path is somewhat narrow and a little overgrown in a couple of spots, so be prepared to run into a couple of down trees to step over or walk around and some low hanging trees.
Hidden path entrance to continue to the North Beach
You will follow the path until there is a fork in the road, this is the halfway point of the bush part of the trail. Once you get there you will go left and continue. As you keep going, you will start to hear the sound of waves crushing against rocks and that is when you know you are close to the North Beach.
Fork in the Road, Head North
Once you get to the North Beach it is a beautiful beach with big rocks everywhere, we recommend that you go swimming at your own risk because of the number of boulders lining the water. This is a great spot to have a picnic but remember to take out everything you bring and that no fires are allowed on Elk Island.
There is so much to see and lots of wildlife that can be spotted along the way. The hike to Elk Island might seem daunting but we promise that it is worth it for the views.
Key things to look for:
Poison Ivy - a very common poisonous plant that causes a itchy skin rash from the plants oils.
Mushrooms - there are many different kinds of mushrooms (10 varieties) but not all of them are edible.
Lady Slippers - a beautiful and rare orchid that is endangered, you cannot pick them but you can take as many pictures as you want of them.
Eagles - bald eagles are the most common but you might find some other breeds too.
Vultures - keep an eye out for these massive birds as they fly overhead.
Osprey - a fish eating bird with gorgeous colouring.
Pelicans - big white birds with massive orange beaks that fly in big groups.
Other Birds - plovers, cormorants, loons, geese, ruffed grouse.
Bears - black bears are what you will run into on the island.
Deer - whitetail deer are the only breed of deer that you will run into.
Skunks - although they might look friendly, stay away from these black and white striped creatures because if they feel threatened they will spray you.
What to bring:
Bug spray
Sunscreen
Water
Snacks
Long pants
Runners/hiking shoes
Sandals (optional)
Layers (depending on the weather)
Swimsuit (if you want to swim)
Once you finish at the North Beach you have two options. Turn around and go back the way you came or continue down the beach to complete the entire loop around the island.
If you continue walking East along to North Beach it becomes very very fine silica sand. You will hardly believe you are still in Manitoba. Past the next set of rocks is a hidden secluded beach.
The old car: a must see element that is hidden within the island and is known as “the landmark vehicle”.
The old tiny cottage is now upkept as a snowmobile warm up hut.
The old car on the island
If doing the whole loop you may wish to start on the East side and return on West side as then you are going down the one cliff verses climbing up. If you are doing the trail on a fat bike bring equipment to strap it on your back for this cliff and for some rocky terrain on the far North East corner.
In the middle of the island is a path that goes from East to West. this is where you get to decide which way you would like to travel and explore the island.
Elk Island is a great place to explore in every season and truly is one of Manitoba’s hidden gems.
We would like to give a huge thank you to Dean Kriellaars from Trails Manitoba for helping us with this blog and providing ongoing maintenance of the trails on Elk Island.
