Birtle, Manitoba, an unincorporated urban community in the Prairie View Municipality, is a charming destination that offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty. Located at the junction of Highways 83 and 42, Birtle was once a town before 1 January 2015.
Birtle was originally incorporated in 1884 and lies in the Birdtail River valley. The community boasts a spacious park developed in the early years of the community, featuring a golf course designed to take advantage of the valley contours. The park has seen additions over the years, including modern amenities and tennis courts with modern plexipave surfaces, considered some of the best in western Manitoba.
One of the main attractions in Birtle is the Birdtail Country Museum, housed in a historic stone building on Main Street. This building, built in the early 1900s, was initially used as the Union Bank before being purchased by the Royal Bank of Canada. The museum, which opened on 24 May 1984, houses over 4,000 artifacts related to the area, including diaries of original settlers, button hooks for ladies' boots, and ice-saws and ice-tongs used for harvesting ice from the Birdtail River in the winter.
Birtle also offers a self-guided Heritage Walking Tour that describes the history of many of the buildings and sites in the community. The Municipality of Birtle History Committee has published two books documenting the history of the municipality and town.
The Birdtail River, a small slow-flowing river dammed just above the Birtle Park, creates a small lake suitable for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. The river flows into the Assiniboine just a few miles south of Birtle. The region is very scenic, with many tributaries, ravines, and valleys, providing ample habitat for a variety of wildlife and making it a popular area for birders. Fertile agricultural fields surround the community in all directions.
Birtle experiences warm summers with a mean temperature of 17.9 °C (64.2 °F) in July. Winters are long and cold, with a mean temperature of −18.3 °C (−0.9 °F) in January.
Birtle offers a range of facilities and attractions for both residents and tourists. The local high school, Birtle Collegiate Institute, draws students from surrounding communities and offers a construction technology program and a health care aide certificate.
The Birtle Riverside Park is a major outdoor community recreation development, featuring a golf course, licensed clubhouse restaurant, tennis courts, serviced campground, picnic area, a large playground, and the Birtle beach. Other recreation facilities include a skating arena, curling rink, a 24/7 fitness centre, baseball and soccer leagues, and trails for cross-country skiing and snowmobile trails.
The community is also known for its gardeners, having won National Communities in Bloom titles in 2000 and 2001. A biannual Gallery in the Garden event features art displayed in private and community gardens.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Birtle had a population of 625 living in 285 of its 324 total private dwellings, a change of -2.6% from its 2016 population of 642. With a land area of 9.26 km2 (3.58 sq mi), it had a population density of 67.5/km2 (174.8/sq mi) in 2021.
