There are many Manitoba Provincial Parks on both sides of the lake, mostly in the southern basin. The largest two parks are Grand Beach (
visit link) and Hecla / Grindstone (
visit link) There are many other great recreational beaches (
visit link)
~ from wikipedia (visit link) ~ Lake Winnipeg is a large, 24,514 sq km (9,465 sq mi) lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of the city of Winnipeg. It is the largest lake within the borders of southern Canada, and it is part of the most undeveloped large watershed of southern Canada.
Lake Winnipeg is the sixth-largest freshwater lake in Canada, but it is relatively shallow (mean depth of 12 m (39 ft)) excluding a narrow 36 m (118 ft) deep channel between the northern and southern basins. It is the eleventh-largest freshwater lake on Earth. The east side of the lake has pristine boreal forests and rivers that are being promoted as a potential United Nations World Heritage Park. The lake is elongated in shape and is 416 km (258 mi) from north to south, with remote sandy beaches, large limestone cliffs, and many bat caves in some areas. Manitoba Hydro uses the lake as one of the largest reservoirs in the world. There are many islands in the lake, most of them undeveloped.
The lake's watershed measures about 984,200 sq km (380,000 sq mi), and covers much of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, northwestern Ontario, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Some of its tributaries include:
Saskatchewan River (through Cedar Lake)
Red River (including Assiniboine River)
Winnipeg River (draining Lake of the Woods, Rainy River and Rainy Lake)
Dauphin River, (draining Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis)
Bloodvein River (on the East side, draining from the Canadian Shield)
Poplar River
Manigotagan River
Lake Winnipeg drains northward into the Nelson River at an average annual rate of 2,066 cubic metres per second (72,960 cu ft/s), and forms part of the Hudson Bay watershed, which is one of the largest in the world. This watershed area was historically known as Rupert's Land when the Hudson's Bay Company was chartered in 1670.
Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba are remnants of prehistoric Glacial Lake Agassiz. The area between the lakes is called the Interlake Region, and the whole region is called the Manitoba Lowlands.
~ some quick facts from the Province of Manitoba (visit link) ~ With its many bays, harbours, and points, the shoreline of Lake Winnipeg is about 1,750 km long.
Beach safety staff estimate that 395,100 people visited Grand Beach during the summer of 2002 while 87,800 made the trip to Winnipeg Beach.
In 2001 - 2002, 1,073 licensed fishers and their helpers were employed in the commercial fishery on Lake Winnipeg.
During the 2002 - 2003 season, 3,212,700 kg (round weight) of pickerel were caught by commercial fishers on Lake Winnipeg. Harvest of whitefish and sauger were also high at 1,597,700 and 739,000 kg (round weight), respectively.
In 2001 - 2002, the total value of commercial fish production of Lake Winnipeg was $20,380,350.
Lake Winnipeg was used as a set for the movie K19 starring Harrison Ford.
~ from The Canadian Encyclopedia (visit link) ~ On long and relatively narrow lakes such as Lake Winnipeg, interesting wind and wave effects occasionally take place. When prevailing northerly winds blow along the length of Lake Winnipeg, they exert a horizontal stress on its surface. Surface waters move in the direction of the wind and pile up along the windward south shores - a phenomenon known as a setup or wind tide. Setups greater than 1 m above normal lake levels have been recorded along many of southern Lake Winnipeg's recreational beaches, and the associated high waves with their uprush effects have caused considerable storm damage, backshore flooding and shoreline erosion. The highest setups occur in the fall, when the northerly winds are strongest. If the winds die down suddenly, the waters rush northward, then slosh back and forth in a process called seiching.