Every winter we snowshoe through the middle grasslands of Lac du Bois Protected Area.   We have several routes, but one of our favorites starts at the signed parking area for the Nature Trail.   We prefer to do this route later in winter each year when the snow settles a bit and the tracks are well-stomped in.   We have done this route many times, and in every season, so we know the options for each set of conditions.   On this particular day, established tracks were in place for much of our planned route.

We followed the main snowshoe track through the hills into the central basin.

At 1.0 km we passed the west side of Island Lake.   The surface was unbroken as we stomped past.

At 1.6 km we climbed onto the prominent Grasslands Esker, left as a deposit in the last Ice Age, forming a long sinuous ridge in the grasslands.

From a high point on the esker, we could look down to Island Lake and the hills surrounding it, under the winter sun.

We traversed over to the east and climbed a longer hill to the top of the ridge.

We continued south and at 3.0 km arrived at our viewpoint and lunch spot.   Below us was Long Lake at the bottom of the Lac du Bois trench.

We chose a 4.5 km loop route, crossing the hills back to our vehicles.

This is a special area for any hike or snowshoe, but on a sunny day it is one of the best loops in the whole area.   We will be back in the spring to see the wildflowers and the waterfowl on the ponds and lakes.