The best, little-known summer staycation spots in Manitoba – according to 680 CJOB’s Greg Mackling

This is the summer of staying at home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t explore your own backyard.

Manitoba has a beauty that few people who drive the TransCanada Highway ever see. And we’re going to share some of our favourite, more out-of-the-way spots.

We will add to our map regularly as Global News and CJOB’s hosts and personalities weigh in. This week, here are some suggestions courtesy of Greg Mackling, one of the hosts of 680 CJOB’s The Start.

1. Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon
   It’s on the grounds of the Brandon airport, and it’s got some incredible hidden gems. It tells the story of all the men and women who trained all across the prairies as fighter pilots for World War II. They have a chalkboard from Greenway School in Winnipeg, that was in a classroom during World War II… on part of this chalkboard, there’s a tote board that keeps track of the money the students at Greenway School raised for the war effort by doing chores in their neighbourhood in the West End.
2. Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, Morden
   You would think that Manitoba’s baseball history would be a little boring — not at all. We must have spent close to an hour there, looking at all the different displays, visiting the curator there, and getting all the stories. It’s really well-done.
3. A drive all the way through Riding Mountain National Park
   A lot of people go to Riding Mountain, but what a lot of people from Winnipeg don’t do is take the 45 minutes to an hour and drive all the way through the park. It’s absolutely breathtaking and you get a real sense of how high up you are — and how this park sort of juts out from the middle of nowhere.
4. Whiteshell Fish Hatchery
   It walks you all the way through the process of growing these fish and stocking the different lakes from the little fingerlings all the way to full-grown fish. It’s been there for almost 100 years, and it’s really a trip back through time, but also it’s a testament to conservation in Manitoba and what’s done to preserve the fisheries in the province.
5. Birch Ski Area, Roseisle
   If you’re into mountain biking, that’s where they did the mountain biking for the Pan Am Games in 1999. What you say when it takes your breath away as an attraction is ‘oh, I don’t feel like I’m in Manitoba’. You definitely don’t feel like you’re in Manitoba at the Birch Ski Area.