Day 19: Melville to Roblin
Church before Yorkton
Today you will make the transition from prairie to parkland as you cross from Saskatchewan into Manitoba. Parkland is generally covered with boreal forest and dotted with lakes, ponds and rivers.
Yorkton, population 15 038, gets its name from the group of settlers from York County, Ontario, that settled in this area in 1882. They came with hopes of farming the area’s fertile ground. If you need a bike store, check out Hometown Cycle & Sports. If you would like to spend the evening here, check out the city-run campground on the west end of the city on HWY 16. The Yorkton Library offers free internet to guests and is conveniently located on Broadway Street West / HWY 16.
Leave Yorkton and head east towards Manitoba. Soon after arriving in Manitoba, you will plunge dramatically into the Shell Valley, home to Lake of the Prairies, which is not a lake but the dammed Shellmouth River. This man-made reservoir was completed in 1972, as part of a strategy to reduce the risk of flooding on the Assiniboine River in the south of Manitoba. The Shellmouth Dam is located at the south end of Lake of the Prairies. It controls the quantity of water flowing south. Ricker’s Campground is located in the valley.
Climb out of the valley and cycle towards Roblin, population 964, which is also the Fly Fishing Capital of Manitoba. If you get into town early, check out the Roblin Leisure Aquatic Centre and enjoy the 112-foot water slide. Groceries are available in town.
Spend the night on the shores of Goose Lake at Roblin Kin Park and Campground. At $10.00 a night, the campground gets the nod as the most affordable on the trip.
Turn your clocks an hour forward when crossing the Manitoba border, unless you are crazy enough to be biking through this area between Fall and Spring!
Kilometre Log
0.0 Leave Melville Regional Park heading north on Prince Edward Street.
0.6 At the baseball diamond turn right on HWY 10.
36.1 Enter Yorkton on HWY 10.
38.0 Turn right on HWY 10 / Broadway Street West.
39.7 Yorkton Public Library in between Haultain Avenue and Laurier Avenue.
40.1 Broadway Street West turns into Broadway Street East.
40.4 Hometown Cycle off of 3rd Avenue North.
42.4 Exit Yorkton on HWY 10 / Broadway Street East.
80.1 Intersection of HWY 10 & HWY 8 (N) / HWY 80 (S). Exit to Wroxton.
101.9 Intersection of HWY 10 & HWY 369.
105.1 Border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Enter Manitoba on HWY 5.
106.3 Cross over Lake of the Prairies.
117.7 Enter Roblin.
118.6 Turn right at the intersection of HWY 5 & HWY 83.
118.9 Turn right onto Queen Street.
119.6 Turn right onto Goose Lake Drive.
119.7 Roblin Kin Park and Campground.
