St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park

St. Ambroise Beach Campground is located on the southern shores of lake Manitoba. This campground offers 122 basic and electrical sited perfect for wilderness adventures. There are several picnic areas and a playground located within the park. You can take a boat or canoe from the nearby boat dock to the sand islets scaattered off the shore.

For an added adventure, the Sioux Pass Marsh boardwak is nearby and hikers can experience the scenic wetland first hand. There is a viewing tower for a bird's-eye view of the park. Birds are plentiful in the park, ranging from warblers to geese, to pelicans. You can listen for the songs of catbirds, American goldfinches and yellow-headed blackbirds. St. Ambroise is also home to the endangered piping plover.

Fishing and swimming are popular pastimes along the sandy southern shores. St. Amboise beach is unsupervised. There is a public beach in the day use area and a more private swimming area adjacent to the campsites.

The best part of this campground is the location of the campsites. They are literally steps from the water. There are the sites, then some bushes or trees, then the sandy beach. In rough weather, the waves are just feet from your tent.

The beach faces mostly west, so there are spectacular sunsets over the water.

The swimming area ranges from knee deep to approximately five feet deep, undulating in three sandbars from the shore to the outer markers. The bottom is mostly sandy, with a few mucky places.

Facilities are primitive. The washrooms have camping toilets and no sinks. There is running water nearby. The facilities claim to be wheelchair accessible, but whether they are or not is doubtful. There are showers. There are no baby-changing facilities.

There is no place in the park to buy snacks or supplies, however the nearby town of St. Ambroise has a general store with a good selection. The people in the area are very friendly. There is no free wood available, however a local man will sell firewood for $6.00 a box. He drives through the campground daily and delivers right to the campsites. Bring an axe, the wood is not split.

To get to St. Amboise Beach Campground, travel from Winnipeg on Highway 1 for 50 km to PTH 430, then travel another 50 km north. The park is just minutes north of the community of St. Ambroise.

All vehicles must display a park vehicle permit while in the park. These cost around $25.00 for a yearly pass and are good at all Manitoba Provincial Parks. Fees for camping are extra. Campsites can be booked on-line at www.manitobaparks.com, or at the park. The on-line booking is convenient and faster, plus you can pick your spot ahead of time.