A blanket of clean white snow under an endless blue sky: Manitoba winters invite one and all to get outside and explore the season of sparkle.

Catch some air.

You don't have to head to the Rockies for great downhill skiing! Make this winter the season you swoosh the slopes in your own backyard.

With 26 runs, two terrain parks and a beginners' zone, Asessippi Ski Area & Resort, north of Russell, is the province's largest downhill destination. (And CAA Members save on lift tickets and ski lessons.) There's also a food court and bar, plus at least a dozen options for accommodations. Downhill not your thing? Try tubing, snowshoeing or snow biking.

The province's first ski resort is still the coolest destination in southwestern Manitoba. Opened 60 years ago, Holiday Mountain offers everything in one place, including chalet dining and accommodations in fabulously vintage A-frame cabins. Warm up with a Toque Remover shot in the lounge during après-ski time.

Other snowy destinations include Ski Valley outside of Minnedosa, Thunderhill near Swan Valley, Stony Mountain Ski Area, Falcon Ridge Ski Slopes and the picturesque Mystery Mountain near Thompson.

Lay your head down.

Take a deep dive into coziness at Manitoba lodges.

Book the Fiddlehead cabin at Crooked Mountain Cabinsnear Riding Mountain National Park. The log abode comes with a private sauna shaped like a forest gnome home.

With hot tubs and saunas in most cabins, it's adults-only at Tallpine Lodges on West Hawk Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park. Resident deer keep you company during morning coffee.

Embrace the great outdoors on a guided snowmobile tour before bunking in your cozy cabin in the woods at Bakers Narrows Lodge, an idyllic retreat near Flin Flon.

 

Slip-slide staycation.

Escape the cold to get wet and wild with a stayat a waterpark hotel.

Zip down the tunnel water slide, float around the swirl pool or simply park under the raining umbrella at Lakeview Hecla Resort. The hotel also features spacious family rooms, pet-friendly facilities and a pizza oven for delicious pies.

Adults will love the posh rooms and vibrant art at the Best Western Premier Winnipeg East. And kids will have plenty of splash room in the spacious pool, with its swirling red waterslide. Best of all, CAA Members save up to 15% at Best Western hotels. Post-swim, shopping at Kildonan Place is only two kilometres away.