Magnet Hill in Swan Valley area becomes popular tourist attraction

Swan Valley, Man. -

A natural wonder in western Manitoba has become a popular tourist attraction.

Located in the Municipality of Swan Valley, the Magnet Hill allows people to place their car in neutral while releasing the brake in order to experience their vehicle going backwards up the hill.

Bill Gade, president of the Regional Initiative for Strong Economy (RISE), also known as the area’s economic development committee, explained the local attraction.

“The Magnet Hill is a project we did. We put the signs up, we didn’t build the hill, there’s a bit of magic behind that,” he said, smiling.

"Surprising enough, we’re from here. We’re used to it all the time we see it, but people from far away think it’s amazing.”

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RISE is made up of four municipalities which includes Swan Valley, the Town of Swan River, the municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman and the rural municipality (RM) of Mountain.

Gade said the group wanted to promote the local attraction in hopes of showing others what the region has to offer.

"We have a lot of people that stop their trip and go for a drive to Magnet Hill, and by the time they do that, they're an hour or two into sightseeing,” he said.

“Maybe they go see the top of Thunderhill as well, and they start to form a connection with the valley."

The hill is fairly short with a distance of 200 feet to 300 feet long. However, despite its length, Gade said families find it unique.

"We had a family come here from out of province last year, and the little girl came with her parents and they wanted to see Magnet Hill,” he explained.

“They all looked at it, came back to town and she said, ‘I cannot believe my parents made me go see that,’ but the parents loved it."

The natural attraction is one of the various projects RISE has been working on in the region. Others include the Thunderhill Ski Area, which is the largest ski hill in Manitoba with a 450 foot drop.

"I do think that (the magnet hill) is a very popular attraction that gets people to (Thunderhill),” expressed Jason Galbraith, president of Thunderhill Ski Club.

“In the summertime, you'll hear a lot of people will come out. They'll take a look at the Magnet Hill, and then they'll also journey to the top of the ski hill where you get a nice big open view of the valley."

Galbraith said the club built a new chalet for the ski hill back in 2021. He said any site that brings people to the Swan Valley area helps the community.

“I think anything that brings people to the valley is a good thing,” he expressed. “If they’re coming here to support businesses, to see the nature, to visit any of the lakes, local attractions that we have, I’m all for it,” he said.

“Thunderhill is not really on the way to anywhere. If you're coming to Thunderhill, this is your destination. I think that the more things that we can have at or near Thunderhill that gets people out here.” 

How does the Magnet Hill work?

There are various versions to how the “magic” Magnet Hill works, explained Gade.

“One story, of course, is that it's magnetic. If you put the car there, the magnet’s going to pull you back up the hill, and once you're there, it'll let you go down into the valley,” he told CTV News.

“Now, around Halloween we tell a different story. We tell a story of a horrible car crash. Once there was a young girl who was killed in the car crash. She’s very fearful that people will come back and there might be another accident. So you stop there and she pushes the car back up the hill, but we only tell that at Halloween to freak out the kids.”

The hill’s magnetic properties work all-year-round during the summer and winter months.