Manitoba Weather, climate and geography

Weather and climate

Best time to visit

A winter visit to Manitoba will give you a true Arctic winter experience complete with doses of icy winds, driving snow storms and cool, calm starry nights (not to mention periodic displays of the northern lights). July or August is the ideal time to visit for warm, sunny days and pleasantly cool nights.

The scenery and tourist opportunities are at their best in the summer months. This is also the best time for walking, canoeing, fishing or even hunting in the vast tracts of Manitoba wilderness. Festival season is in full swing through the summer with almost endless quirky and more mainstream events, from the Boissevain Turtle Derby, the Morris Stampede and the Morden Corn and Apple festival to the Winnipeg Fringe and Folk festivals.

Required clothing

Light- to medium-weight clothing during warmer months, heavy-weight clothing in winter. Waterproofing is advisable throughout the year.

Geography

Manitoba is bordered by the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south, Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east, and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to the north. It is the easternmost of Canada's three Prairie Provinces, and also known as Heartland Canada as well as the 'Land of 100,000 Lakes'. The landscape is diverse, ranging from rolling farmland to sandy beaches on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, and from the desert landscape in a small corner of the south to northern parkland covered by lakes, forests and sub-Arctic tundra.