Province opens six mini-cabins in St Malo, rest of Manitoba to follow

The province is in the process of completing construction of six mini-cabins in St Malo as part of a multi-phased approach to enhancing the lakeside experience in provincial parks.

On June 12, Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes was on hand to show off one of the cabins that was only awaiting beds to complete it.

“We know that Manitobans love our parks, and this is another way that Manitobans can enjoy it,” he said. “Our yurts have been very popular, but we wanted to do something that was Manitoba-designed and Manitoba-made, and so that’s what we’re doing with these mini cabins, putting them in some of the most beautiful parts of our parks.”

Moyes said St Malo was chosen as it’s a popular provincial park seeing more than 200,000 people annually. Its accessibility to Winnipeg and other areas of the province and the lakefront views also made it ideal.

Each 260 square-foot cabin is larger than the province’s 200 square-foot yurts and are located on the shores of Sunset Shores Beach. The Manitoba designed and made structures cost $115,000 each to construct and can sleep six with three bunk beds. Each bed will have an electrical outlet and there are mini-shelves on the wall to hold phones and other small items for visitors.

The cabins are environmentally friendly with two-by-six walls with R20 insulation so the building will stay warm in the fall and cool in the summer, according to Manitoba Parks landscape architect Ryan Wakshinski.

He said each cabin will have a ceiling fan and windows on two sides to create a cross breeze in the summer and a mini heater for the fall. They will also have an outdoor plug for an outdoor kitchen.

“(The space in the cabins) gives room for a wheelchair to turn around fully in two different spaces so that they’re fully accessible. All six cabins are fully accessible and the parking is close by so people can easily get to them,” said Wakshinski, noting the province is looking at allowing people to set up a tent outside the cabin if they wish.

Iris Construction Management was hired to build the cabins.

One thing that the cabins don’t have is plumbing. “One of the things that we did here in St Malo is we actually upgraded the washrooms (just outside the cabins)…But then there’s a modern facility just down (the road) within walking distance,” said Moyes.

Visitors to St Malo can rent the cabins later this summer when they open to the public for $90 a night.

Moyes said the province is currently looking at putting more mini-cabins in other park locations in the province. He said Camp Morton, just north of Gimli, will be the second phase of mini-cabin construction with more to follow in the future. Currently, Camp Morton has yurts at $72.80 a night.

“I’m just excited for Manitobans to get in here. We’re really hoping that they like them, that they can enjoy them for years to come. I can just imagine families getting in here and having kids and parents and grandparents overlooking the water and overlooking the sunsets and everything else,” said Moyes.