Big Whiteshell Lake

{{Short description|Lake in Manitoba, Canada}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Big Whiteshell Lake

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| location = Manitoba, Canada

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| coordinates = {{coord |50.0862|N|95.3385|W|region:CA_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}

| type = lake

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| pushpin_map_caption = Location of lake in Manitoba, Canada

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Big Whiteshell Lake is located within the Whiteshell Provincial Park in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. The lake is about {{convert|162|km}} east of Winnipeg at the terminus of Provincial Road 309.

The route from Rennie to Big Whiteshell Lake was originally constructed in the thirties, when workers from the Manitoba Home for Boys at Portage Le. Prairie attempted to cut a road through the Whiteshell Forest Reserve from Rennie to Green Lake.{{cite book |last=Kuryk |first=Bohdan |editor-last=Cott |editor-first=Ann |title=History and Folklore of the Whiteshell Park North |publisher=Book Publishers |date=August 1, 1991 |pages=155–156 |chapter=Chapter 13: Big Whiteshell Lake|isbn=1-55099-004-7}} Further development of the lake and surrounding shoreline began in 1957, when the Manitoba Scout Association began looking for a larger campsite to accommodate their growing number of scouts. The provincial government offered a {{convert|118|acre}} tract of land at the southern end of Big Whiteshell Lake, and Camp Alloway was established.{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Mary |editor-last=Cott |editor-first=Ann |title=History and Folklore of the Whiteshell Park North |publisher=Book Publishers |date=August 1, 1991 |pages=159–160 |chapter=Chapter 13: Big Whiteshell Lake|isbn=1-55099-004-7}} The lake is a popular local tourist destination for fishing, hiking, and other summer activities. Manitoba entertainer Larry Clark, better known under his pseudonym Uncle Smokey, composed several novelty campfire songs while working in a fire lookout tower on Big Whiteshell Lake.{{cite web |url=http://www.hillmanweb.com/book/gigs/03.html/ |title=03. Gigs: Sue-On Arrives on Stage |last=Hillman |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Hillman |publisher=Open Publishing |date=June 7, 2013 |website=www.Hillmanweb.com |access-date=February 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008045618/http://www.hillmanweb.com/book/gigs/03.html |archive-date=October 8, 2017 |url-status=dead }}