Trail Overview
Nopiming - MB 315
Provincial Road PR-315 is a scenic backcountry highway running east from PR 313 near Lac du Bonnet through the southern portion of Nopiming Provincial Park to the Ontario boundary. The route begins as pavement through cottage country before changing to maintained gravel east of the Bird River bridge. From there, it winds through rugged Canadian Shield terrain with exposed granite, dense boreal forest, wetlands, rivers, and frequent lake views.
The road is generally suitable for passenger vehicles in normal conditions and is not considered a technical off-road trail. However, drivers should expect washboard, loose gravel, potholes, dust, soft shoulders, and occasional rough or muddy sections after heavy rain. Blind curves and limited sightlines require caution, especially when meeting cottage, service, or resource traffic.
PR 315 provides access to Bird Lake, Tulabi Falls, the PR 314 junction, remote cottages, campgrounds, fishing areas, and the eastern reaches of Nopiming. Services are limited, cell coverage may be unreliable, and conditions can change quickly due to weather, wildfire activity, grading, or washouts. Carry adequate fuel, food, water, a spare tire, and basic recovery equipment when travelling beyond the main recreation areas.
A park pass/permit is required to travel through the Provincial Park.
The road officially ends at the Ontario border. Google Maps depicts Werner Lake Road as a continuous remote gravel route, but do not drive beyond the Ontario boundary: Ontario MNRF confirms the road is closed to motor vehicles without a resource-extraction travel permit. Closure signs or barriers may be absent because of the remote location and repeated vandalism, so the lack of signage does not mean recreational access is permitted. PR 315 officially ends at the provincial boundary.
History
MB-315 follows a historic access corridor into the Bird River region, where Indigenous peoples travelled the interconnected rivers, lakes and portages for thousands of years. Prospecting and mining expanded across the area during the early 1900s, creating a need for dependable overland access into the Canadian Shield wilderness.
The road’s eastern section became an important industrial route during the mid-1970s, when Falconbridge used it to haul nickel ore from Manitoba’s Maskwa Mine to the Werner Lake mill in Ontario, then transported concentrate back toward the Canadian Pacific rail line southeast of Lac du Bonnet. After Nopiming Provincial Park was established in 1976, MB-315 increasingly served cottagers, anglers, lodges and park visitors while continuing to support resource activity. Today, the maintained Manitoba road ends at the Ontario boundary; its historic continuation along Werner Lake Road is closed to recreational motor-vehicle travel without a permit.
