Page 2 - The Brandon Sun - Lake Life 2019

2 THE BRANDON SUN • LAKE LIFE • THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019
Plenty of lakes to explore in Westman

By Melissa Verge

It’s the perfect time of
year to grab a book, a glass of
wine — or maybe apple juice if
you’re under 18 — soak up the
sun and relax by the water. The
days of bundling up in layers of
winter gear to survive the cold
Manitoba winters are gone for
the next few months, and there
are a number of lakes around
the Westman area where you
can make the most of it.
Here are five lakes in the
area worth checking out this
summer.

LAKE WAHTOPANAH
Located in Rivers Provincial
Park, Lake Wahtopanah is less
than a 40-minute drive from Cynthia Sanderson and Abby Swain enjoy tubing on Minnedosa Lake. (File)
Brandon. It’s a big lake with
plenty of room for a variety of LAKE MINNEDOSA
activities, Rivers Mayor Todd Later this month, Lake
Gill said. Minnedosa will become home
“Anglers, boaters, water ski- to the province’s first inflat-
ers, tubers, kayakers, canoers, able water park, making it a
swimmers — there’s adequate must-visit destination in West-
space for everybody on Lake man this summer. It’s locat-
Wahtopanah,” Gill said. ed less than 40 minutes from
Brandon, and is set to open lat-
For people who enjoy fish- er this month.
ing, there are walleye, northern “It’s super unique,” said
pike and perch in the lake. If Chantelle Parrott, economic
you’re looking to get some ex- development officer for Minne-
ercise, there are a number of dosa. “Obviously there’s eight or
walking trails that surround the so across Canada, (with) some
lake. In the early parts of the in Alberta, British Columbia
summer, water quality tends to and Ontario, but nothing right
be quite good, he said. And al- now in the Prairie provinces
though they’ve had some prob- (so) it’s definitely a huge tour-
ism draw.”
lems with algae, there are still The inflatable water park
activities to do as water quality floats on the water and features
starts to drop off later in the a series of bouncy castle obsta-
summer. cle courses that are all inter-
“It’s a typical Prairie lake, connected. There is a capacity
but there’s still an abundance of 100 people at a time, and
of areas on Lake Wahtopanah kids must by six yea rs of age or
that will provide a source of older to go on it. There is also
recreation regardless of the al- space for other water activities
gae.” on the lake, including swim-
The Rivers Wetland Centre ming, canoeing, paddleboard-
of Excellence is located close ing and kayaking, with kayak
rentals available on site.
by, and there’s mini golf and a Zach McCulloch, 14, and Koden Menard, 11, fish in Souris. (Chelsea Kemp/The
snack shack right by the beach. » Continued on Page 4 Brandon Sun)