On Canada Day (July 1), I did a day trip from Thompson (what passes for the "big city" in northern Manitoba) to Lynn Lake and back on Provincial Road (secondary highway) MB 391. That was about a 600 km round trip, to clinch the route and two of the province's northernmost and more isolated municipalities. The holiday complicated my trip, since some of the few gas stations along the way were closed or had reduced hours that day, but I was able to refuel in Leaf Rapids and get back to Thompson with plenty of gas left in my tank.
The road is a mix of pavement with gravel breaks (from Thompson to the turnoff for First Nations settlement Nelson House, and west of the Suwannee River south of Leaf Rapids to Lynn Lake), and gravel with no pavement breaks (the rest of the route). The pavement between the gravel breaks and stretches gets rougher as you get farther away from Thompson. But my car was unscathed, other than a rear window, licence plate, and bumper getting completely covered by mud since the unpaved parts were damp. The posted speed limit for all of MB 391 (except in Thompson and Lynn Lake) is 80 km/h, but I drove only about 60-70 km/h on the gravel segments.
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^ This sign, after the intersection for MB 280 northeast to Gillam, underscores how limited are traveler services along MB 391 once you've left Thompson. Nelson House is the first community along the highway, but there were no signs at that turnoff indicating service availability; you have to keep going to Leaf Rapids for gas or other services.
The only gas station in Leaf Rapids is a cardlock pump at the Co-op store, but since the store was open when I needed to refuel, I was able to get help with the pump rather than figure out on my own how to get it to take my U.S.-issue credit card (that's an issue with some cardlock pumps throughout Canada). That was fortunate, since the conventional gas station in Lynn Lake that was supposed to be open on Canada Day turned out to be closed for the holiday.
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^ Among the few significant bridges on MB 391 is this fugly yellow bridge over the Footprint River, on the unpaved segment between Nelson House and Leaf Rapids. Since the biting black flies were out in force that day, I was selective about taking pictures.
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^ The Churchill River bridge, on the more or less paved stretch of MB 391 between Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake.
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^ The municipal office in downtown Lynn Lake. (Leaf Rapids' municipal office is inside a small shopping mall anchored by the Co-op store there, so no photo of that office.) The blue recycle bin in front of the office (northern Manitoba seems pretty good about recycling) is bear-proof, like most trash containers in the region.
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^ MB 391 ends (apparently -- the route signage is inconsistent) at this intersection with MB 394 and MB 397 west of downtown Lynn Lake. Paved roads continue at least a few km southwest and northwest of Lynn Lake (MB 394 to the northwest continues beyond pavement's end to the Saskatchewan border), but time constraints and fuel worries limited my exploration of the greater Lynn Lake area.
I've never been that far north; looks rugged for sure. I only have this. Thanks for posting.
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Lac Brochet is waaay farther north than I've driven within Manitoba. But the winter road that seems to be the only way to drive there from the highway system (via Lynn Lake) was, IIRC, featured on an "Ice Road Truckers" episode.
Lac Brochet vs Brochet (two separate localities) were featured on Ice Road Truckers just last Sunday.
Thanks for the report. Apparently it's not as common for Canadians to travel north. I follow this guy Trucker Josh on Youtube and he's a Canadian trucker from Winnipeg and travels all across the United States and the Canadian provinces, but said he has never been to the territories.
I've heard that too. A friend of mine went up to Churchill a couple of years ago to see the polar bears, and was told by the guide that very few Canadian's make the trek, but it's very popular among international tourists.
Canadian's seem to have more of an affinity for points south (which likely has a lot to do with our climate).
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on August 12, 2015, 01:00:37 PM
Canadian's seem to have more of an affinity for points south (which likely has a lot to do with our climate).
South Florida thanks you.
Old. Orchard. Beach.