Border Crossing - I-29 in Manitoba

[MartyT]

I live in Kansas City and will be making the trek up to Wabaskang Lake this summer with the family.

On the way up, I think we'll take I-35 and cross at International Falls on Friday evening and stay in either Dryden or Vermillion Bay for the night.

But on the return, I'm considering heading west from Vermillion Bay toward Winnipeg, then back south on I-29. Partly to avoid the crush at Int'l Falls and partly to see "something else" on the way home. The total mileage is just about the same no matter which route I take, though Google says that it's actually a little bit faster to take the western route.

Curious what the border crossing is like coming south out of Winnipeg and (especially) if the drive south on I-29 is going to be as dull as I imagine it will be. Anyone familiar with that route care to comment?

[hawks_rule]

The border crossing will be smooth but the drive is a boring than when compared to coming from International Falls.

[Bill Krejca]

The border crossing, as noted, hardly takes any time, and the officials going both ways are friendly, while taking their job seriously.

Having never driven between Kenora and Winnipeg, I don't a have a feel for the scenery, but the trip from Winnipeg to the border(and south) is flatter than a pancake (that's really flat) and not very scenic, in my opinion.
Bill Krejca

[Flip Silverlake]

Haveing driven both I-29 into South Dakota and 53 into Wisconsin a number of time I can tell you it's a perty drive, but slower, on 53 lots of little towns and tourist traps. I-29 is not much for seanery but you can rocket right along. 4 lane and 75 mph. In fact you can run 80 in South Dakota becasue the speed limit is 75, that is if your not pulling a boat where you have to worry about speeds on your trailer tires. As far as gonig west out of Kenora it's really nice until your about 50 miles west of the Manitoba boarder when in a blink of an eye the trees are gone and it is really FLAT. South out of the "Peg" the road is good and wide open, but keep an eye on your speed. Lots of traps, at least it was that way a few years ago. The boarder crossing is new and very well set up. No tolls and very clean. Boarder agents are the same there as they are any place else.

You'll have a little traffic in Grand Forks and Fargo but other than that it's flat and straight. I will say you might, depending on the time of day, run into some of those afternoon thunder storms that pop up over the Dakotas, which can be very exciting to say the least.

[skindzier]

Having done both multiple times - the I 29 crossing has always been smoother with less traffic. Definitely less scenic, though things get interesting pretty soon after turning East at Winnipeg.

[MartyT]

Thanks all for the info. I'll probably make a last-minute decision on which route to take. We'll pull out of the camp on Saturday morning and either take our time getting down to International Falls or go west - whichever seems least likely to have us stuck in a long line.

I suspect my kids will be lost in their video games and DVDs after a week of total sensory deprivation, so even the most desolate scenery won't bother them much... :shocked:

[2 DOGS]

Having made the trip numerous times here's a suggestion: take the I-29 route going up to camp, it's the fastest and everybody's anxious to get fishing. About the only questions they ask are do you have handguns or booze. On the way back cross at Baudette, very easy crossing and you can see another part of MN and can angle back west or go east. Both crossings are better than I-Falls.

[Bill Krejca]

Marty,

Another thought might be to go through Rainy River/Baudette. Hardly any border waiting and, I think, some interesting scenery here and there. We head south towards Grand Rapids, but you'd want turn off somewhere else, I think.

Bill Krejca

[Backwater Eddy]

Best time is I-29 South.

If your hitting the duty free shop on the way back, they have a good selection there.

Pretty white and wide open for scenery. One can find scenery anywhere if your eye is up for it.

If you hit wind and weather...Mmmmm boy...that can be a long trip South on I-29.

[MartyT]

Having made the trip numerous times here's a suggestion: take the I-29 route going up to camp, it's the fastest and everybody's anxious to get fishing.

That's a good idea - I'll check it out. We're planning to stop on Friday night in either Dryden or Kenora so we can get to the camp early Saturday morning. Looks like it might be a bit faster to go to Kenora via Winnipeg.

[joeman79]

It's a long drive either way. The border crossing on I-29 was a breeze for us, compared to Int'l Falls. We went the I-29 route last year and It's like Steve Ediger's son told me the other day N.D. goes forever goin North. But so does Minneapolis to Int. falls. It is a neat drive on I-29 especially last year with all the rain all the prairie potholes were full and lots of ducks, and the land was so green. ON our way there there was a tornado east of interstate on on the way home west of interstate. We are gonna go I-35 this summer I think going to Sioux Lookout area. Going to try and drive in one shot to Int'l Falls 14 1/2 hours. according to mapquest.
Ready for spring
Joe