West Hawk Main Beach

Whiteshell, Manitoba

Supposedly formed by a meteor impact into the ancient granite rock bed, the lake goes down for nearly 400 feet, making West Hawk the deepest lake in Manitoba and a popular scuba diving site. The beach is known to be sandy and the water to be clean and clear in the summer months, ideal for swimming and diving. It is a quiet and scenic location, with granite cliffs, extensive undeveloped shoreline and a number of hiking trails around the lake. It is also popular for boating, sailing, and wakeboarding in the summer months; skating, snowshoeing and ice fishing in the winter months. Nearby, West Hawk Lake Resort offers cabins, a playground, and other amenities. Main Beach, towards the southwest border of the lake, provides shore access for what has become known as Cat's Ass, the most heavily dived area in the lake. Entering the water directly off the point, a wall takes divers further into the lake.

Photo Credit: Shahnoor Habib Munmun / Wikimedia

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality
  • Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time

  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on July 24th, 2022. North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 28th, 2022 at 5:23 PM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  
Current Weather
-6°C
Mostly clear
Monitoring Frequency

West Hawk Main Beach is sampled from May 1st to September 1st.

Source Information

Sites in Manitoba are monitored by the Province of Manitoba, Agriculture and Resource Development in cooperation with Manitoba Health.

Visit Manitoba.ca/beaches for the most up-to-date information about Manitoba beach water quality.

Report algal blooms in Manitoba at forms.gov.mb.ca/algal_report/index.html.


If the geometric mean of E. coli samples exceeds Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL and/or when a single sample contains more than 400 bacteria/100 mL the beach is re-sampled.

A beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is below Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is above Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Grey when reliable or up-to-date information is not available.

Read more
Water Quality Graph

West Hawk Main Beach

Whiteshell, Manitoba

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality
  • Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on July 24th, 2022. North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 28th, 2022 at 5:23 PM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  
Current Weather
-6°C
Mostly clear

Supposedly formed by a meteor impact into the ancient granite rock bed, the lake goes down for nearly 400 feet, making West Hawk the deepest lake in Manitoba and a popular scuba diving site. The beach is known to be sandy and the water to be clean and clear in the summer months, ideal for swimming and diving. It is a quiet and scenic location, with granite cliffs, extensive undeveloped shoreline and a number of hiking trails around the lake. It is also popular for boating, sailing, and wakeboarding in the summer months; skating, snowshoeing and ice fishing in the winter months. Nearby, West Hawk Lake Resort offers cabins, a playground, and other amenities. Main Beach, towards the southwest border of the lake, provides shore access for what has become known as Cat's Ass, the most heavily dived area in the lake. Entering the water directly off the point, a wall takes divers further into the lake.

Photo Credit: Shahnoor Habib Munmun / Wikimedia

Monitoring Frequency

West Hawk Main Beach is sampled from May 1st to September 1st.

Source Information

Sites in Manitoba are monitored by the Province of Manitoba, Agriculture and Resource Development in cooperation with Manitoba Health.

Visit Manitoba.ca/beaches for the most up-to-date information about Manitoba beach water quality.

Report algal blooms in Manitoba at forms.gov.mb.ca/algal_report/index.html.


If the geometric mean of E. coli samples exceeds Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL and/or when a single sample contains more than 400 bacteria/100 mL the beach is re-sampled.

A beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is below Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is above Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Grey when reliable or up-to-date information is not available.

Read more
Water Quality Graph

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