The Town of Grand Rapids is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Winnipeg, at the mouth of the Saskatchewan River. Just over 400 kilometres from Winnipeg (Manitoba's Capital) along Provincial Trunk Highway 6, Grand Rapids is part of the Norman Region of the province. At one time the community was an important hub of activity for many northern settlements. Today, Grand Rapids is an enterprising community, making its living off the abundant natural resources and tourist activities the area has to offer.
History
For many years, Grand Rapids was a very busy trading centre serving as the gateway to Manitoba's north. Many of the major fur trade routes in the north converged here. In the early days of explorers and fur traders, the Saskatchewan River (one of the longest in Canada, stretching from the Rockies to Central Manitoba) served as a major water-highway, facilitating relatively easy east-west travel. Experts believe that the first white man to travel the river did so in 1690.
York boats and river-steamers carried goods from Fort Garry and Winnipeg as far west as Edmonton and Lethbridge, Alberta. Portaging the 5-kilometres of rapids just west of the town posed great difficulty to transport, and in 1877 the Hudson's Bay Company built a horse drawn tramway to get past the Rapids. The tramway was effectively the first railway constructed in Western Canada.
The construction of the Trans Canada Railway brought an end to Grand Rapids'glory days as a transportation hub. The cheaper freight of railway transport rendered the waterway obsolete, and Grand Rapids fell from its once popular status. Today, the beautiful and rugged landscape of the Grand Rapids area draws hundreds of tourists each year to take in all the area has to offer.
Economic Base
The economy of the area is based on tourism, commercial fishing, a forest products operation and trapping. A hydro electric generating plant located adjacent to the Town of Grand Rapids on the Saskatchewan River, is the largest employer.
Tourist related occupations also provide employment for many residents of the town and surrounding area. The area is known for having some of the finest master angler fishing lakes in the province, and many tourists arrive each year to lodges and outposts, looking for guides and other services.
