Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/514227
69 Manitoba Moments Share your photos with us on Instagram with #ExploreMB Pure MAGIC Head northeast of Steinbach on PR 311 toward Giroux and presto! The road reveals a magic castle. Named for 15-year- old Philip Hornan, whose parents made his dying wish a reality, Philip's Magical Paradise is a treasure trove of books, artifacts and tools of the trade donated by magicians and illusionists from all over the world — including a 50-cent piece owned by Harry Houdini and an RCMP jail cell that couldn't hold Winnipeg escape artist Dean Gunnarson. The museum is open from June to September. > philipsmagicalparadise.wordpress.com SANDY Shores Wriggle your toes in the fine white sand at one of North America's finest beaches — a three-kilometre stretch at Grand Beach, on the east shore of Lake Winnipeg, 80 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. In the 1920s, multiple daily trains from Winnipeg brought sun seekers to the beaches, boardwalks and dance halls. The park is home to snapping turtles and shore birds, including the endangered piping plover. Camp out under the stars or settle into a rental cottage for an idyllic summer getaway. In winter months, don snowshoes or cross-country skis to explore more than 37 kilometres of trails. > manitobaparks.com GoWest Devil's Punch Bowl Follow a self-guided trail to the oasis known as the Devil's Punch Bowl, an aquamarine pond formed by bubbling underground streams. Dig your toes into sand dunes up to 30 metres high in the four-square- kilometre Spirit Sands desert in Spruce Woods Provincial Park. Home to the small, harmless hognose snake and Manitoba's only native lizard, the northern prairie skink, the desert is one of only six sites in Canada designated as an Important Amphibian and Reptile Area. Just 30 kilometres south of the Trans- Canada Highway east of Brandon, the desert gives way to forests, lakeside beaches and canoe routes on the Assiniboine River. In winter, the park is a popular recreation area for tobogganing, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. > manitobaparks.com @saiora 69 suprising