Wasagaming (also known as Clear Lake) is the main townsite in the popular tourist destination Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, Canada. It is located at the south gate of Riding Mountain National Park along

Highway 10 Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries: International * European route E10 * European route E010 Argentina * La Pampa Provincial Route 10 Australia Queensland * Smith Street Motorway (Queensland) * Scenic ...

. This townsite is north of Brandon. It lies on the south shores of Clear Lake which is the largest lake in Riding Mountain National Park.

Overview

Wasagaming is an unincorporated townsite. Because it is located within a

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, the population is seasonal and fluctuates drastically throughout the year. The only permanent year-round residents are mostly

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

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 Riding Mountain National Park Film Festival is a Canadian film festival held in Wasagaming, Manitoba, inside Riding Mountain National Park. Held in July each year, the event screens both short and feature films, concentrating especially on ...

."Riding Mountain’s new film festival celebrating the best of Manitoba cinema"
''MyWestman.ca'', July 25, 2013. Wasagaming is the only commercial centre within the Riding Mountain National Park boundaries, and all

offices are located there.

Demographics

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

Climate

Wasagaming has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

( Dfc) due to its northerly location and high elevation. Winters are extremely cold and relatively dry with little chance of a mid-winter thaw. The average annual temperature is . Annual precipitation is .

References

{{Coord, 50, 39, 30, N, 99, 58, 07, W, display=title, type:city_region:CA_source:GNS-enwiki Unincorporated communities in Manitoba Riding Mountain National Park