Grand Beach is, arguably, one of the top Manitoba destinations and only a short 1-hour ride northeast of Winnipeg, just off Highway 59. This Lake Winnipeg beach is an award-winning travel destination ranked as world-class. A prestigious rank that it has certainly earned.

Silky smooth sand, a nice boardwalk, food, local vendors selling beach wares, and people creating a flurry of activity on the beach and the boardwalk. Kick-off your boots, peel off your leathers and let Grand Beach make it very, very easy to spend a day relaxing in the sand or splashing in the water.

There is more to Grand Beach than just an amazing beach though, for those looking to do more than bask in the sun. There is a great campground that is very well suited for motorcycles (most bays, but not all), with private sites and easy access to the beach or hiking trails. Lots of active campers on most weekends, if you like that, and plenty of quiet areas if you just need a night’s rest.

There are a couple of trails to hike if you want to stretch your legs with Ancient Beach Trail being the best one to hike if you have time and proper footwear (which riding boots are not). Good fishing areas if you can fit a rod in your saddlebag with the causeway being the most active fishing stop. There is a new campground opening up just outside the park that caters to ATV’s and dirt bike that is looking like it will be a great place to get dirty. I have not been to the new campground outside the park but there were a lot of quads and dirt bikes ripping around there on September long weekend.

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Cottage Community

Grand Beach has a large cottage community and is bordered by the town of Grand Marais. There are a couple of greasy spoon style eateries and a coffee shop to fuel your journey and even a bar to cap the night off if you must. Lanky’s is a top food stop for riders passing through craving a “Lanky Dog”.

Grand Beach is part of a larger beach community, including Victoria Beach, Patricia Beach, Albert Beach, Lester Beach, etc. Notice the trend? Highway 59 is an entry point to a lot of other travel destinations and Grand Beach is often a riders pit stop on a larger journey. A pit stop we come back to enjoy time and time again.

Though this is often just a short stop for riders, I highly recommend renting a cottage or camping for a few nights to really enjoy the full Grand Beach experience. Sunset on the causeway is one of my absolute favorites (bring strong bug spray). On some summer evenings, they have movies on the beach, which is pretty nice. Canada Day is enjoyable as you get to see fireworks from all the various beach communities at once. Every direction you look in the sky you will see fireworks lighting up the sky in celebration.