Winter in Manitoba

Manitoba's lakes freeze hard, and winter is when a lot of the province gets used: fishing shelters go up on Lake Winnipeg and the stocked trout lakes of the west, snowmobile trails link towns from the US border to Thompson, and provincial parks groom ski and snowshoe trails close to Winnipeg and Brandon. This section gathers the rules and the places: the angling rules for each fishing division in winter, the trails, the parks to head for, and how much snow is on the ground right now.

Ice fishing by division
Seasons, shelter removal dates and live bait rules for the 4 fishing divisions, 98 waters with rules of their own and 94 stocked trout waters open all year.
Snowmobile and ski trails
About 10,400 km of snowmobile trails mapped on OpenStreetMap, the Snopass and registration rules, and 129 designated winter trails in provincial parks (582 km): 74 for classic skiing, 81 for snowshoeing, 38 for fat bikes.
Parks in winter
14 provincial parks with designated winter trails, from Birds Hill and Whiteshell to Paint Lake near Thompson, with the trails, the lakes nearby and the nearest snow report for each.

Guides

Ice fishing in Manitoba: seasons, shelters, trout lakes and the last winter of live bait What the 2026 Anglers' Guide means on the ice: which seasons run through the winter in each division, the two-line and 50 m rules, shelter marking and removal dates, the stocked trout lakes open all year, closures that start before breakup, live bait for the last winter before the ban, the ice-season AIS steps, the Red River ice cutting and how thick the ice needs to be.
Winter on Manitoba Crown land: snowmobiles, Snopass, ice travel, winter roads and camping What changes on Manitoba Crown land in winter: registering a snowmobile and buying a Snopass, the Off-Road Vehicles Act rules on helmets, lights, age and road crossings, ice thickness for sleds and trucks, the winter roads to northern communities, winter camping and fires after November 15, traplines and hunters in the bush, and getting home safe.

Fishing divisions

Southern Division Shelters off by March 31
Northwest Division Shelters off by April 15
North Central Division Shelters off by April 15
Northeast Division Shelters off by April 15

Parks with winter trails

Whiteshell Provincial Park 30 winter trails, 194 km
Spruce Woods Provincial Park 18 winter trails, 90 km
Birds Hill Provincial Park 15 winter trails, 78 km
Turtle Mountain Provincial Park 11 winter trails, 35 km
Camp Morton Provincial Park 10 winter trails, 21 km
Grand Beach Provincial Park 9 winter trails, 30 km
Duck Mountain Provincial Park 8 winter trails, 33 km
Beaudry Provincial Park 6 winter trails, 17 km
Clearwater Lake Provincial Park 6 winter trails, 19 km

All 14 parks →

Snow on the ground

33 Environment and Climate Change Canada climate stations in Manitoba reported snow on the ground recently. The most is at Tadoule Lake Cs, with 13 cm on October 31. Each park and division page shows the nearest stations, and the map has them all as a layer.

Winter layers on the map

The Manitoba Crown land map has a Winter panel: snowmobile trails, park winter trails, snow on the ground at climate stations and the fishing division boundaries. The snowmobile layer shows where trails run, not whether they are open: Snoman's own map has the grooming status, and a Snopass is required on Snoman trails from December 1 to April 30.

Data: Manitoba Anglers' Guide 2026; Manitoba Waterbody Data, Manitoba Parks winter trails and fishing divisions (Manitoba Open Data Licence); Environment and Climate Change Canada daily climate data (Open Government Licence – Canada); snowmobile trails © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).