A cut above. The literal truth of this statement strikes visitors with forceful clarity as they approach Riding Mountain National Park from the east. Driving through the flat fields and pastures of the Manitoba lowlands, motorist see to the west a sudden rise in the land, a looming shale cliff that stands lie a rampart. This is the Manitoba Escarpment, which divides the lowlands from the Saskatchewan Plain.

The geographical location of the escarpment further enhances the exceptional nature of Riding Mountain. It sits at an uncommon confluence of three life zones and features tracts of fescue grassland, aspen-oak, and mixed-forest ecosystems.

It lies near the centre of the continent; as a result this prime location contains a tremendous diversity of flora and fauna. Supported in huge numbers by this lush park, those animals include some 4,000 elk, 4,000 moose, 1,000 black bears, and six or seven packs of wolves.