May
2022
Going glamping: A weekend away at Wild Skies Resort in Manitoba
It’s finally the May long weekend. This weekend is often known as the unofficial start of summer and the camping season. It’s usually when cottage owners head out to their country getaways for the first time of the year, and when people book their camping trips to take in the great outdoors.
With the weather that Manitoba has been getting over the past few weeks (okay, let’s be real here, more like months), this weekend is looking a little different with lots of campground closures and the potential for rain, and dare I say it, snow!
I’ll be staying in the city this long weekend, however, I got my first taste of 2022 camping a couple weeks ago at Wild Skies Resort.
Wild Skies Resort is located around an hour away from Winnipeg, near Beausejour and Lac du Bonnie and opened last year. I first came across this resort last year on social media when I saw photos of their glamping domes. Now I have always wanted to stay in a glamping dome since a) it makes for super cute photos, and b) it’s a really fun way to get away from the city and is more elevated than camping and more unique than a cottage.
Wild Skies Resort is technically located in River Hills, Manitoba and is situated on the banks of the Whitemouth River. They own 10 acres of land and housed on there are seven domes/tents, as well as a cabin to rent (they also host weddings as well!).
My friends and I booked their Solstice Dome, which is the largest of their glamping domes they have on site. The price starts at $225 a night and can accommodate 4-5 people. This dome includes a queen bed, as well as a bunk bed with a double on the bottom and a twin on the top. There is also a wood stove and solar fan, a kitchenette with mini fridge, kettle, microwave, hot plate, tableware, utensils, and basic cooking utensils. Outdoor there is a BBQ and patio furniture which is for exclusive use to your dome. We also had a private outdoor shower (only available in the summer months) and our own private outhouse.
Now I know outhouses are so not luxurious, but to be honest, we were all very impressed with the outhouse situation since each dome had their own exclusive one, and it was kept very clean and did not smell at all.
On site there is also fire pits available, saunas (these are brand new and weren’t open yet when we stayed there), as well as a welcome centre (it was literally a shed) that had games, books, more kitchen stuff, sporting stuff, life jackets, etc. that guests can also use. Wild Skies also has canoes and paddle boards to use, however, since the river was so high, these were not available due to safety concerns.
As far as the domes go, the Solstice is the largest one, followed by the Aurora and Eclipse, which both can accommodate two people. The other accommodations are canvas tents and then there is one cabin, the Milky Way Cabin.
Now from the moment we walked into the tent for the first time to the point where we left, we were all just in awe in the hospitality and just sheer cool factor that this is here in Manitoba. Since I spend a lot of time in Montreal, I see online all the cool places there is to visit in Quebec, and I’m often finding myself saying, “I wish we had that in Manitoba!”. Just the fact that Wild Skies exists here is so cool and it’s the perfect getaway from the city for a weekend trip in the country (seriously, the fact that it’s only an hour from the perimeter is a huge selling factor for me).
The first night we arrived we were greeted by the owners’ dog Josie, who is such a sweet little girl and totally made us all miss our dogs. I also want to note that Wild Skies is pet friendly, it’s just an extra $30 per stay for your furry friend. We unloaded the car (they have little carts to haul your stuff in) and went to the little welcome centre where we got our key from the lockbox. From there, we found the Solstice dome and unpacked our stuff. The dome was very spacious and featured a beautiful panoramic window that you could unzip to let in fresh air (there is also curtains to close it at night), as well as a skylight. The dome overlooked the river, so it gives you a really scenic view.
We had brought all our food, so we made a little fire indoors and just ate and chatted. It was a very cozy Friday night and later on when we went to bed it did rain, so it was very peaceful to sleep with the fresh air and the sound of rain. I also want to note that the beds all have heaters on them, so if you do get too cold you can turn those on to warm you up (the mattresses were also very comfortable).
The next day we had a slow morning, read in bed, slept in, and then made breakfast on the little hot plate. We then decided to go on a hike at Seven Sisters Falls, which is about a 10-minute drive away. After the hike we came back to take a nap and relax (honestly, taking a nap in nature is the best and it’s so relaxing!). My friend was really excited to try out Colins’ House in Beausejour so we got in the car and drove the 20 minutes or so to town for dinner. After, we drove back and then just played Scrabble around the fire.
The next morning we made breakfast, cleaned up and then were on our way.
Since the domes have everything you pretty much need, all you have to bring is your food (bring all the condiments you need though since all they had in the dome was oil), as well as paper towels, foil, etc. There is water on site that is safe to drink, so just bring a water bottle (or you can bring bottled water but we wanted to be more environmentally conscious). I also want to note that there are tons of plugs in the domes to plug in your phone, however, there is no WiFi, so you’ll have to use the LTE network.
Ever since we returned I have had so many people mention that they want to stay here (one of my TikTok videos blew up and currently has over 200K viewers). My recommendation would be to follow them on Instagram and sign up for their newsletters since I believe they are all full for the summer season (and if they aren’t there is very limited availability). We had actually booked this the moment their summer available was open to the public, so it does take some planning to get a booking here.
If you can’t get into Wild Skies this summer, take a look at Travel Manitoba’s website for other recommendations on where to stay in Manitoba.
This trip was sponsored by Travel Manitoba, however, all opinions are my own.
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