When I visited my elderly father in Winnipeg last month, we went for a drive to enjoy the fall colors around the city.
There’s a nice deciduous forest in a small park just north of Winnipeg known as Birds Hill Provincial Park, which only covers about 8300 acres (3400 hectacres — tiny by Canadian standards). It’s rich in aspen and birch, and even has some oak trees, so when the leaves change color the scenery can be very nice. While it’s not nearly as dramatic as the colors one sees in eastern North America, where maple trees add beautiful shades of crimson and reds, the scenery is pretty nonetheless.
Birds Hill is a small park but because it’s so close to Winnipeg it’s quite popular, receiving about a million visitors a year. Besides a small lake, it has opportunities for camping, hiking, picnicing, horseback riding and in the winter snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing. The park is the site of the annual Winnipeg Folk festival and special gatherings like concerts or athletic events.
