Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve

The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is a nature reserve featuring grassland, wetlands, oak savannah, and aspen woodland near Gardenton and Vita. The area contains several connected ecosystems that shift and change throughout the seasons.

Before European settlement in the 1800s, tall grass prairies covered vast areas from Manitoba to Texas. Today, less than one percent of this original landscape survives.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada works with local farmers to maintain traditional land management practices such as controlled burns and rotational grazing. These methods help preserve the landscape as it has been used for generations.

Two main trails, the Aggassiz Trail and Prairie Orchid Trail, guide visitors through the landscape and showcase its plant and animal life. Both paths are accessible year-round and suitable for different experience levels.

The preserve protects more than half of Manitoba's population of the western prairie white-fringed orchid, a rare species found here. This endangered plant depends on the protection this reserve provides.