‘Bigger and better’: Meet the architects behind Clear Lake’s giant snow pavilion

Visitors to Riding Mountain National Park have been able to take in a large pavilion made entirely out of snow. Joseph Bernacki reports.

On the frozen shores of Clear Lake, a giant structure watches over wildlife nestled inside Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park.

While it once stood 16 feet tall and 16 feet wide, Mother Nature has taken a slight toll on the build.

Despite the fluctuating weather, Clear Lake Country Destination Enrichment Organization chair Karly McRae said their snow pavilion is a must-see.

“It brings out the kid in me,” McRae said while looking at the Klar So Snow Pavilion.

“I think that’s where the idea came from. Every kid in Manitoba grew up building snow forts in our backyard.”

McRae said the snow pavilion isn’t your average backyard snow fort.

“It doesn’t get much better than an epic giant snow fort that you can play in and use your imagination,” she said.

The snow pavilion was built over a two-week period in late December.

“Each year it gets bigger and better,” said George Hartlen, CAO of Friends of Riding Mountain National Park.

“This year, it’s a totally enclosed structure. Ice walls that have been harvested from Clear Lake, and it’s just a great location for people to kind of retreat from the outdoors into an enclosed winter structure.”

Hartlen said it’s the second year in a row for the build. An arch stood in its place in 2025.

This year, the Klar So Snow Pavilion will be featured in the upcoming Fire and Frost Festival running March 13 to 15.

“Fire and Frost is really a celebration of winter,” McRae said.

“We are having all kinds of programming, from fire dancers, hula hoop demonstrations, sleigh rides, live music. It really is that fun way to lean into winter and not stay inside.”

Chris Pancoe, artistic director of the Winnipeg-based design company Anvil Tree, said they started designing the pavilion with a reusable steel frame. Snow was then packed onto the structure using snow blowers.

“We’re actually like piling snow on top of the form and then moving the form underneath the snow to create a tunnel,” Pancoe said.

“What a beautiful environment to be working on. It’s just a blast to go up there and work.”

Pancoe’s team will head back up to the park to touch it up based on the whim of Mother Nature.

He said snow is a challenging material. What started as an arch shape has now melted into a tentlike figure. Some of that snow has sunk.

“The thing with working with ice and snow is that it’s not a static material, so it moves,” Pancoe said.

“I’m sure all of those dimensions have changed. The potential that that material has to sculpt really, it’s just amazing.”

McRae hopes the snow pavilion will be an annual, returning feature inside Wasagaming.

“I think one of the fun things about this structure is that our plan for the future, now that we have all of the infrastructure pieces in place, we have the frames that, were used to build it, we can use them year after year,” she said.

“Visitors are going to see the design of the structure change. We’re working right now with Parks Canada to create more for people to do — extend the skating paths, maybe have snow arches that you can skate through. I think the evolution of it is what’s going to keep people coming back.”