By far one of the coolest places you can get to from Minot just by hopping in the car is Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We took a road trip to Winnipeg together in September and we had an unexpectedly great time! Every time we look at the pictures we just want to go back and do it all again!
Before you start reading, here's a link to the Google map we created for our trip to Winnipeg! View the locations of restaurants, breweries, and activities around the area.
From Minot, it was about a 5 hour drive to Winnipeg. The drive was pretty boring, driving down long country roads with no other cars in sight, but overall it wasn’t too bad. If you are driving from Minot to Winnipeg, make sure you stop into Bottineau to see the giant turtle riding a snowmobile. Also, check the times that the border crossings are open!
Exploring the City
Something we loved about Winnipeg was how walkable it is. We didn’t have to drive or take Ubers anywhere except to Cirque du Soleil and a few breweries. Winnipeg is also the closest IKEA to Minot, so of course we had to stop in for some Swedish meatballs and furniture. It was quite cold in September so make sure to bring the appropriate clothes if you plan to walk around a lot! We definitely had some numb fingers and noses, but they were totally worth it. We really enjoyed the riverside walk, the colorful skate park, sculptures, bridges, and more. It was beautiful and we had fun taking lots of pictures in the scenery!
Speaking of walkability, we have to address the underground tunnels in Winnipeg. This was something we never knew existed until we went, but they are pedestrian tunnels to avoid the heavy traffic. We had quite the adventure trying to figure out how to navigate the tunnels. It was hilarious since we couldn't figure out what street we needed to go, but they’re also an awesome feature of Winnipeg.
The Forks
We want to highlight The Forks first because it has a little bit of everything. This is a multipurpose space with places to eat, drink, local shops, and sometimes live entertainment. We grabbed a coffee in the morning and ended up going back several times for Sri Lankan food, drinks at night, and shopping for local honey and candy. Make sure you take the elevator in The Forks to the top floor for some awesome views of the Human Rights Museum.
Accommodations
We found the perfect AirBnB within walking distance of all of the places we wanted to visit, right across the street from the Winnipeg Jets stadium. On the top floor there was a rooftop deck with amazing views of the city, which made for great photo opportunities. There’s plenty of nice options in Winnipeg! The AirBnb cost about $250 for two nights, which was a middle-range price.
Activities
Cirque du Soliel- The whole reason we decided to go to Winnipeg was for Cirque du Soliel, and we were so happy we did! The event itself was so much fun and it was nice to have an event to be there for. We would definitely recommend seeing a show if you can catch it on tour sometime.
Nuit Blanche- We learned that we happened to visit Winnipeg on the weekend of an event, Nuit Blanche, which had a variety of activities happening on the streets in the evening. They closed down several streets which was the center of it all, but wherever you went you could find activities, most of them for free. We found a map online that helped us navigate the event. There were some cool interactive experiences to take part in like light shows and some crafts. We got to make postcards, which made a fun souvenir!
Places we didn’t have time to go:
Canadian Museum for Human Rights. It was about $30 CAD and the building itself was beautiful.
Assiniboine Park Zoo
An event at The Cube Stage
Urban Oasis Mineral Spa
Thermëa
Fort Whyte
New West Hotel
A Maze In Corn
Food, food, and more food!
For breakfast we tried two different donut shops, Oh Doughnuts and Bronuts. Both of them had freshly made donuts in many unique flavors.
Before we went to Cirque du Soleil we went to a restaurant called Enoteca. We wanted to go for a bit of a fancier dinner so we could get dressed up, and this place did not disappoint! Their menu is a series of small shared plates, so Amanda and I both ate vegetarian for this meal #veryveggie. We had the most delicious beets ever, a cauliflower steak with orange slices, and a delicious chocolate tart. We still talk about how amazing the food was here!
We were also excited to discover the restaurant Mon Ami Louis while we were out walking. This restaurant was on the bridge over the Red River, which meant it had really cool views. We shared the brie plate and the gnocchi, both of which were delicious. One thing to keep in mind is that you do have to park a little bit away from the restaurant, so beware of walking if you have heels on! This restaurant is closed for the winter season, and we just happened to get a reservation on the last weekend they were going to be open for the year!
For dessert we went to Chaeban Ice Cream. They had an ice cream tasting option so we were able to try some really fun flavors.
Breweries
When we first arrived in Winnipeg we went to Half Pints Brewing Company. They had some delicious sours which are our favorite! It was a cool place that would be fun to hang out.
The coolest brewery we went to was called Nonsuch Brewing Company. We got lucky arriving early on that particular day, as they were debuting a brand new room and having an all-day event. This brewery was super swanky and the room design did not disappoint! It was such a cool place with friendly staff and really strong beer.
The Forks is another great place to have a beer. We went on a very busy night because it was Nuit Blanche, but it is a nice place to go because they have beer from a bunch of local breweries.
On our way home we stopped by Trans Canada Brewing Company. We had a flight of sour beers in their industrial setting, where you can see all of the beer tanks.
Aside from these breweries there are many others, but some of them you would need to drive to. The ones we didn’t get to go to were:
Promenade Cafe and Wine
Torque Brewing
Fort Garry Brewing
Barn Hammer Brewing Company
Capital K Distillery
Kilter Brewing
Patent 5 Distillery and Tasting Room
Stone Angel Brewing Co.
One Great City Brewing Company
Close Company
By the end of the busy weekend we were exhausted, and we had the 5 hour drive back to Minot ahead. Unfortunately it was pouring rain, but at least it held off for our day walking around the city.
After this weekend, Winnipeg went from a place we never would have thought twice about to a place where we made the best memories. We would totally go back and would recommend it for a weekend trip!
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