from today's FREE PRESS
THE Red River has been named by the editors of Where Canada magazine as one of the top 10 destinations in Canada for the summer travel season.
The regional editors of the Canadian travel magazine bill the 10 sites in this year's list as the "must-see" locales "for anyone considering travel within Canada" this summer.
"There are a lot of great tourists attractions along the Red River and we wanted to draw attention to the Red because it was recently designated as a heritage river," said Jillian Brown, local Where editor.
Brown said choosing the Red was a collective decision of the local Winnipeg editorial office.
The Red River was designated as a heritage river last month by the Canadian Rivers Heritage Council (CRHC). There are 43 rivers in Canada with a heritage designation; and three others in Manitoba also have the designation -- the Seal, Hayes and Bloodvein rivers.
While there are several categories that rivers can be recognized for heritage status, including recreational use, the CRHC recognized the Red River because of its rich heritage value -- there are more than 20 heritage sites along the length of the river, including The Forks, the Trappists Monastery and grounds in St. Norbert, Lower Fort Garry, Seven Oaks House Museum, Fort Gibraltar, Riel House, Cooks Creek Heritage Museum, St. Peter Dynevor Church, Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Historic Village and Captain Kennedy House and Garden.
Brown said there are several local attractions tied to the Red River, including the River Walk, the Splash Dash water taxi, and the river cruise operators. Brown said there are also self-guided walking, paddling and driving tours along the Red River that tie in to other local attractions. These tours can be found at the website:
www.routesonthered.ca
The other Canadian locales named in this year's Where summer destinations list are: the Atlantic Jazz Festival (Halifax), Dynamic Earth at Science North (Sudbury, Ont.), Galaxy Orbiter roller coaster at Galaxyland (Edmonton), Jasper Discovery Trail (Alberta), the Rideau Canal (Ottawa), Royal BC Museum (Victoria), Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), Skyline ride at Canada Olympic Park (Calgary), and Vancouver Lookout.