Road Trip Thompson to Pisew Falls – Northern Cascades & Paint Lake

Thompson Pisew Falls
75
km
1h
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

Thompson, nicknamed "Hub of the North" and Manitoba's official wolf capital, is the province's third city (13,000 inhabitants) — founded in 1956 around the Inco nickel mine (now Vale, one of the world's largest). 740 km north of Winnipeg on Highway 6, it's a last major road access before Churchill, reachable only by train.

Thompson's Spirit Way, a 25 km urban trail, features Robert Bateman's wolf mural (the artist's largest public work, 36 m) and 7 life-size wolf statues. The Heritage North Museum traces mining, Indigenous Cree (Pimicikamak Cree Nation) and northern history.

80 km south, Pisew Falls Provincial Park holds a 13 m falls on the Grass River — Manitoba's second-highest — accessible by platform 50 m from the falls, in jack-pine and Precambrian Shield setting. A 22 km trail (Kwasitchewan Falls Trail) leads to Manitoba's highest waterfall (14 m). Paint Lake Provincial Park (camping, swimming, walleye fishing) 30 km from Thompson rounds out the excursion.

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    Pisew Falls PP
    MB's 2nd-highest falls, 13 m on Grass River.
  • ✦
    Spirit Way Wolf Murals
    36 m Bateman mural + 7 wolf statues Thompson.
  • ✦
    Kwasitchewan Falls
    MB's highest 14 m falls, 22 km trail.
  • ✦
    Paint Lake PP
    Camping, swimming, walleye fishing.
Practical info
  • Departure Thompson
  • Destination Pisew Falls
  • Distance 75 km
  • Duration 1h
  • Category Short (< 100 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
north Mining falls wolf shield Indigenous Hiking adventure

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