Wasagaming

Clear Lake Main Beach

Wasagaming is an unincorporated townsite. Because it is located within a National Park, the population is seasonal and fluctuates drastically throughout the year. The only permanent year-round residents are mostly Parks Canada employees and their family members.

During the summer season, which generally runs from 18 May to 8 October, Riding Mountain National Park is a very popular tourist destination and in the past has seen well over 300,000 visitors in a season. In Wasagaming there are many restaurants, hotels, and other businesses and services which cater to the high number of visitors. There is a large, full service campground as well as 525 private cabins and 254 private cottages, almost all of which are only used in the summer months. Including the many cottage and cabin areas located outside of the National Park directly adjacent to park boundaries, the Wasagaming area is home to roughly 40,000 cottagers during the summer.

The community is also home to the annual Riding Mountain National Park Film Festival.[1]

Wasagaming is the only commercial centre within the Riding Mountain National Park boundaries, and all Parks Canada offices are located there.

In 2011, Wasagaming had a population of 33 year-round residents.[2]

Wasagaming has a subarctic climate (Dfc) due to its northerly location and high elevation. Summers in Wasagaming are cooler than many other locations in Southern Manitoba and very rainy. Winters are extremely cold and relatively dry with little chance of a mid-winter thaw. The average annual temperature is 0.1 °C (32.2 °F). Annual precipitation is 521 mm (20.5 in).