My son (age 46) and I (age 75) visited Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge for the second time this past…read moreweek. This is my 33rd fishing trip to Manitoba and 18th lodge visited. We were the first group in for this season. Other than being very cold and rainy it was a great trip. Nothing has changed since our first visit in 2019. In my opinion this is the best overall lodge in Manitoba. There are so many different ways that this lodge is superior to others but let me try and highlight a few. Let's start with the booking process. Pit, the owner and General Manager, appears to sit at his computer 24 hours a day. When you contact him, you get an almost immediate response. His communication is clear and to the point. When you book you get a provisional slot hold until you make your deposit. You can send in a check or use a credit card. Once you book his wife, Julie, takes over and contacts you about any special requests you may have. If you have any special dietary requests, booze orders or the like she makes sure it happens. Next are the lodge facilities. The cabins are immaculate and appear brand new. Ours had two bedrooms each with a mini split heater and AC and a living room with a fireplace. There was also a screened in porch. A short walk to the main lodge itself which houses the dining room and "Big Mollys Bar". The bar is unusual in that it includes a happy hour before dinner where the drinks are free. At most lodges I have fished the groups tend to keep to themselves. One impact of the happy hour is that most groups become very friendly. Secret spots and lures are shared freely and you make new friends. We have already made contact we people we met at the lodge and are making plans to met again next year. On to the food. Most lodges have a fixed breakfast. At Aikens you can order whatever you want for breakfast. I had asked Julie to have some hot peppers for my omelet and they sure were hot! The shore lunches were also unique. The lodge has prepared several sites throughout the lake with picnic benches, metal roofing to protect from the rain, propane cook tops and chopped wood for the open firs. This not only keeps you dry and comfortable but dramatically reduced the food preparation and cooking time. The lunches themselves are not just the old fried fish but included different variety of batters and baked fish. Dinner at the lodge was also special every night. Julie cooked for us a few nights and she is the best chef in Canada. One night we had a pork chop that must have been 2 inched thick but was still moist and tender. Steak night riveled any steak house in Winnipeg, The staff were also exceptional. Pit, Julie and Patrick are all co-owners and unlike many other lodges are on site. This ensures that if any issues arise, they are dealt with quickly and properly, They have hired a great group of young ladies to work the dining room and cabins. They are friendly and hard working. The guides are also good. They tend to hire young men in college who work there for4 to 6 years so you always have an experienced guide who knows the lake in your group. The newer ones receive formal training from Pit and Pat and also learn from the more experienced guides. The fishing is also good. The boats are newer 18-foot Lunds powered by 60HP Yamaha motors. They have very comfortable cushioned chairs, depth finders, live wells and trolling motors. Most lodges have. 16-foot boats and 20 or 30HP engines, benches and no electronics You can really cover a lot of ground quickly with these 60 HP motors! It was very cold (low 40's) and rainy during our trip which impacted the fishing. However we still managed to catch several pike on the low 40s and had an afternoon during which we caught walleye over 22 inches for 3 hours straight. I made the "century club" by catching 4 walleyes totaling over 100 inches in the same day. We can't wait to return next year!

Keeping it Reel This was our second time at Aikens Lake…read moreWilderness Lodge. It's the place to go for great fishing, professional, yet warm, fun and friendly outstanding staff and delish food! It's all you'll need for your fishing adventure! Our guide was knowledgeable, professional, kind and patient. His shore lunches were superb! Many thanks to Pat, Pit and the whole crew who made our stay remarkable. I can't say it enough times, all the staff at Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge are exceptional!

Fun tour that's about 30 minutes. Adults $11, kids are $9, and children under 3 are free. There's…read moretours that go about every 15 minutes. The kiosk is right by the dock that you can easily find once you go down the stairs from the forks main area. The guide gives you a very quick run down of local history and some facts. It's fun for locals, out of towers and kids. The guide we got kinda mumbled and went a bit fast as I am sure he's said the same stuff hundreds of time. But overall it's a nice way to enjoy the city from a different perspective. You go to the legislative building then back up past Alexander docks to where Cibo restaurant is or just past where MTC is. The boat seats about 14 people and is covered from the elements but open ok the sides. You won't get wet and kids get life jackets.

Best park I have been in north of the USA. This is a beautiful place with nice ambience from the…read morestaff to the wildlife and views. Lakes to swim in with showers and beaches to be lazy on. Lots of space everywhere. Really a nice change for US parks. This park seems very lightly used and I appreciate they follow the leave no trace guidance. There are places to camp, get fresh ice cream, do laundry and get a hot shower.

So since it's been two years and I've been back twice two this lovely campground it's definitely…read moretime for an update. Last year I was so pregnant and this year I was there with the kiddo! One thing you know for sure, I got to be intimately familiar with the services. We took advantage of the awesome and gorgeously designed and sustainable comfort station. It's a lot of concrete, clean lines, and natural light. Lovely. We unfortunately couldn't find a family shower or wheelchair accessible shower in the main comfort station so we all had to pile in to do the kids bath but it was spacious and alright! We did laundry and explored the take a book leave a book library and had so much fun. The actual campsites are pretty big and open, it's the prairies after all, but there are also lovely trees here. And tons of cute prairie dogs. And also tons of poison ivy so watch out!

Tips: - Print out your train ticket…read more - There's a washroom in the train station by the ticketing area. There are more washrooms behind the train station, closer to the parking area. - The train museum is worth dropping by, especially to see Thomas the train. I recently did a train experience from Prairie Dog Central Railway. It provides train excursions between Inkster Junction Station, which is in Rosser, just north of Winnipeg, and Grosse Isle, an hour north of Rosser. The train ride to and from both places is on a heritage train. Each excursion takes a few hours, and only occurs on Saturdays and Sundays, with the occasional holiday Monday trip here and there. I booked a ticket online for a Saturday in early July. I was able to select the train car and seat that I wanted. The departure time was 11 am. However, it recommends that you get there thirty minutes early to park and check in. The online ticket had a QR code. It also recommended that you print your ticket out. I thought that I'd be fine with the QR code. I later found out that it wasn't. Getting to this station was straightforward. The backroads to get to this station are dirt roads. Expect your vehicle to look dusty and dirty, depending on whether rain has fallen hours earlier. A friendly male staffer gave me a tip on where to park. He was helpful. I backed into a spot and headed over to the station. There are washrooms behind the station. I used the sole washroom in the station next to ticketing. It was clean. I used it after the excursion, too. There's a gift shop. I used it to get a cold drink after I returned to Rosser. It hit the spot. It accepts cash, and credit and debit cards. You can also get souvenirs, from toy trains, to t-shirts. You board the train roughly fifteen minutes before the departure time. I found the car number that I needed to board. I presented my ticket's QR code on my phone to the woman helping with boarding. She said to go to ticketing and get a physical ticket. Nowhere on my online ticket did it say that you must have a physical ticket. It recommended to print it out, but it didn't indicate that a conductor comes around to each passenger to punch your physical ticket. It was a bit archaic, but more clarity beforehand would have been better. The lineup at ticketing took a while. I wasn't the only one who needed a paper one. I eventually got one. During the trip up to Grosse Isle, the conductor punched it. Maybe it was for the full old-school experience. I headed back to board the train. The woman placed a square box to make boarding easier. It would be a challenge to board this train if you require a walker or wheelchair. It's an old train, which has cons: - If you're tall, there isn't a whole lot of leg room when you are seated. - You will die if it's a scorching-hot day. There is no air conditioning. You open the windows with the two clamps on either side of each window. - There are washrooms on the train, but they are only for emergencies. The train ride isn't fast. It takes an hour between Rosser and Grosse Isle. I got to see a lot of canola and cars stopped as we crossed. It was fun waving to folks who didn't seem annoyed. The windows being open helped keep everyone cool. There was entertainment on the train. A man played his guitar and sang. We also got some facts about where we were going from another man. The train museum at Inkster wasn't open when I got there. It was when we returned to this station. I loved it. The WinNtrak Model Railway Group runs the train museum. It was cool seeing model trains in action. I got to see a train setup in Dauphin, with the grain elevator and everything. The most popular train was Thomas. It was a treat seeing Thomas the train travel around a prairie farm setting. I also enjoyed chatting with a few folks from the railway group who were so friendly and knowledgeable. I'm glad that I gave this train excursion a try. There's some room for improvement as far as ticketing goes. I would return to check out the museum again. I liked it more than the train ride to and from Grosse Isle! (277)

I went to the corn maze with a group of friends and it was SOO much fun! The art, the maze, the…read moretubing! Wow! So much fun!! The only problem I had was that they charged $25 per person and online it showed $8....so I was a little taken back when our 2 tickets was over $50.

I'd heard about the Snow Maze last month and it was something I wanted to do during my time in…read moreWinnipeg. It is in St. Adolphe, about 25 kms south of Winnipeg. It is a km-long labyrinth of snow and they hope it will officially be recognized as the world's largest snow maze (the record is currently held by the Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay, ON). The walls are hard-packed snow that are nearly two metres tall. Admittance was $12. There are five fire pits and I found them all. It's estimated that it will take about 45 minutes to find your way out. I will admit that I didn't keep going to find my way out via the exit. I was really really cold so snuck out one of the escape exits on the side. There was a big snow hill you could climb up and slide down on your bum ... I didn't. You could buy a hot chocolate to warm up. There is also a building you could warm up in ... it was nice to be able to thaw out :) They are open from Thursdays to Sundays.

Cleanliness: 5 Variety of shops: 5…read moreVariety of restaurants: 5 TSA: 5 Check in: 5 Baggage claim: 5 We flew into the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport for a few days. The airport is a medium size airport, flights to domestic and international destinations available. Everything from the ticketing, check in, TSA, and Baggage claim was very easy and stress free. This airport has plenty of options when it comes to shopping and restaurants.

Undoubtably one of the best smaller airports I have been to in North America. Winnipeg is a midsize…read morecity, and you wouldn't expect this airport to be such a wonderful venue. Clean, spacious, and extremely modern. The wide aisles, the glass everywhere, it all gives the place a contemporary and welcoming look. We arrived here after an almost full day of traveling from New England. The Canadian customs and immigration systems are extremely efficient; long gone are the days of filling out customs paperwork by hand. You sit in front of a kiosk, and you compose your customs, declaration form, scan your passport, have your picture taken, and then you go greet a customs Inspector who asked me just a couple of questions about my length of travel, etc., and off I went. Outside, the wide open space of the Canadian plains was evident. No traffic, jams, no cars honking, just a pleasant day, waiting for a shuttle to a hotel, which came quickly. Definitely a very good airport experience.

I last rented a car from National Car Rental at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG)…read morenearly 7.5 years ago. This review is long overdue. I recently flew into YWG because my round-trip plane ticket was cheaper ($301) versus flying in and out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ($1200). My plan was to fly into YWG and do a seven-hour road trip down to the Twin Cities, similar to what I did when I lived in Minnesota, but shaving off an hour from what I used to do going home to Rochester. With gas fill-ups, it was still cheaper. It was a time-money tradeoff. YWG is a small airport. Most National Car Rentals at airports have Emerald and Executive sets of lanes where you select your car, do a quick registration check-in, and leave. It's not the case here. You need to visit the car rental counter first. National, Alamo, and Enterprise are under the same Enterprise umbrella. I managed to get Jamar at the Alamo counter. He was personable, helpful, and friendly. He found my reservation. He let me know that Winnipeg has even more speed traps and photo radar cameras these days. His mom recently went over the speed limit by 10 km. A camera caught her speed and she had to pay $380. Yikes! We discussed what vehicles were available. I went with an SUV because I like sitting up high, which is a change from driving my beloved Toyota Corolla liftback. I rented a Volkswagen Taos, which I hadn't driven before. I got my keys and headed to the rental lot. I got another nice man there who directed me to aisle 4. I found my rental vehicle. I was pleased with its condition. I put my luggage, backpack, and me into the car. I was off and running. I drove a lot. My final mileage was 2,283 km. I absolutely enjoyed driving this vehicle. It was smooth and quiet. Android Auto worked well with my phone. What do I miss about this vehicle? The heated steering wheel. It's a luxury feature, but it means a lot when the temperature dips and you have a warm, hands-on driving experience. I fuelled this car a number of times. It was straightforward popping the gas panel with a button on the driver side and fuelling on the right side of this vehicle. Returning this vehicle was a breeze. You make a right turn just before the Courtyard Hotel. I got the nicest woman who made sure that I was happy with my rental experience. I returned this vehicle with a full tank of gas. I am fortunate to get a corporate discount renting vehicles with National. I had an excellent experience and am thrilled that my rental had unlimited mileage! (78)

My Experience at the Winnipeg Airport location was positive. Not being familiar with the city the…read morestaff were very helpful providing guidance and traffic recommendations to the locations I needed to visit. Car was great, clean and new. Will recommend my colleagues to use this National location. Dan

I booked AAA based on the quick replies from Ajit who answered my many emails and was not…read moredisappointed with the fun two hour ride to Lockport with my family of 10. I would highly recommend AAA over other services.