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The great slice of Manitoban wilderness that extends north from the Trans-Canada Highway between Lake Winnipeg and the Ontario border is set on the rock of the Canadian Shield, an inhospitable and sparsely inhabited region of lake, river and forest that's home to three of the province's largest parks. The most southern, Whiteshell Park is the oldest and most developed, with a relatively extensive road system, fifteen campsites and one-quarter of Manitoba's holiday and fishing lodges. Just north of Whiteshell Park, Nopiming Park is more isolated, with a handful of lakeside campsites that can be reached along two bumpy gravel roads. North of Nopiming Park, the Atikaki Wilderness Park is the most remote of the three, accessible only by canoe or float plane. The Atikaki's mile upon mile of rugged forest and granite outcrop are connected to the east shore of Lake Winnipeg by the Bloodvein and Leyond rivers, two of Manitoba's wildest white-water canoe routes. The Canadian Shield ends at Lake Winnipeg , a giant finger of water some 400km long that connects the Red River with the Nelson River and subsequently Hudson Bay to the north. It's a shallow lake, subject to violent squalls, and, apart from the odd aboriginal reservation, the only settlement has been around its southern rim. Here, on the east shore, Winnipeg's wealthy have built their cottages in and around Victoria Beach and Hillside Beach , but Grand Beach Provincial Park still has the lake's finest bathing and long lines of sand dune stretching as far as the eye can see. The beaches of the west shore are poor by comparison, and the old fishing and farming villages that trail up the coast from Winnipeg Beach to Riverton are not of major interest. Immediately to the north of Riverton, Hecla Provincial Park is slightly more agreeable, the developed facilities of Gull Harbour Resort supplemented by unspoilt marsh and forest. Known as the Interlake , the marginal farmland that lies between Lake Winnipeg to the east and lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis to the west is as flat as a pancake and one of the most boring parts of the prairies. The only significant attraction is at the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area , 90km north of Winnipeg on Hwy 17, where thousands of red-sided garter snakes gather to mate in April and May, writhing around the bottom of a series of shallow pits in slithering heaps. It's not for the squeamish. From Winnipeg, there's a twice-weekly Greyhound bus service (Tues & Wed) to Rennie and West Hawk Lake in the Whiteshell; one Grey Goose bus a day to Lac du Bonnet, the nearest point to Nopiming Park; a Grey Goose service to Grand Beach on Thursdays and Fridays; and one Grey Goose bus daily, except Saturdays, to Gimli , on Hecla Island in Hecla Park.
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