- Where
- South-east shore of Balsam Bay, Lake Winnipeg; 84 km north of Winnipeg off Highway 59
- Beach
- About 2.5 km of natural sand, backed by dunes
- Also
- Lagoon and marsh, scattered deciduous forest
- Facilities
- Picnic areas and washrooms
- Birds
- Wetland for water birds; piping plovers sometimes nest on the beach
- Permit
- Provincial park vehicle permit required
Why I like it as a first stop
- Arrival day
Rooms at the resort are guaranteed from 6 p.m. If you arrive in the early afternoon, a couple of hours at Patricia Beach is a better use of the wait than the lobby.
- Departure day
Check out at noon, swim on the way home. The province's Grand Beach handout puts Patricia Beach about twenty minutes' drive south of Grand Beach, so it is also the natural last stop after a Grand Beach weekend.
- Bird day
The marsh behind the beach is a place to look for wetland species. Bring binoculars.
What it is like, according to the sources
The province describes the park as a natural sand beach with shifting dunes, a lagoon and marsh, and stands of deciduous forest, in the Interlake Plain part of the Manitoba Lowlands. The main attraction is the beach, good for walks and for swimming in the lake, with picnic areas and washrooms in the park.
The resort's nearby-attractions page goes further, in a tourism voice: Patricia and Beaconia, at the south end of the lake, "left in a near-natural and unspoiled state", for families who want only sun and sand, windsurfers who want room, and anyone after a quieter alternative to Grand Beach. I take the point about quiet; I cannot measure the rest.
Beaconia
When I checked the route in Google Maps, the park's address showed as Beaconia, MB. The resort's page names Patricia and Beaconia together. Beyond that, I found no official description of Beaconia's beach for this guide, so I will not invent one.
Safety
Manitoba's Beach Safety Officers work at three park beaches, Grand Beach (West Beach), Birds Hill and Winnipeg Beach; the province does not list Patricia Beach among them, and mentions no lifeguards there. Swim within your depth, keep children within arm's reach, and leave the inflatables at the pool.