Manitoba Provincial Road 503

Provincial Road 503 (PR 503) is a 34.6-kilometre-long (21.5 mi) east–west highway in the Eastman Region of Manitoba. Travelling through both the Sandilands and Northwest Angle Provincial Forests, it serves as the designation for a portion of the historic Old Dawson Trail (a.k.a. Dawson Road).

Provincial Road 503
Old Dawson Trail
Route information
Maintained by Department of Infrastructure
Length	34.6 km (21.5 mi)
Existed	1966–present
Major junctions
West end	PTH 1 (TCH) near Hadashville
Major intersections	PR 505 in Sandilands Provincial Forest
East end	PR 308 near East Braintree
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Manitoba
Rural municipalities	Reynolds
Highway system
Provincial highways in Manitoba Winnipeg City Routes
← PR 502 → PR 504

Route description

PR 503 begins just across the Whitemouth River from Hadashville at an intersection with the Trans-Canada Highway (PTH 1), heading southwest along the banks of the river for a few kilometres to enter the Sandilands Provincial Forest, coming to an intersection with its spur PR 505, where the highway turns east along the Old Dawson Trail. The highway winds its way through remote woodlands for several kilometres, temporarily entering the Northwest Angle Provincial Forest and crossing the Birch River before coming to an end at a junction with PR 308 just south of East Braintree. The entire length of PR 503 is a two-lane gravel road, lying with the Rural Municipality of Reynolds in its entirety.^[1][2]

Major intersections

Division	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Reynolds	​	0.0	0.0	PR 308 – East Braintree, Sprague	Eastern terminus
	Northwest Angle Provincial Forest	4.3	2.7	Bridge over the Birch River
		4.9	3.0	East Braintree Road – East Braintree
	Sandilands Provincial Forest	25.7	16.0	PR 505 west (Old Dawson Trail west)	Eastern terminus of PR 505; Old Dawson Trail continues along PR 505 west
	​	34.6	21.5	PTH 1 (TCH) – Winnipeg, Kenora	Western terminus; road continues north as Spur Road 69E
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related route

Provincial Road 505
Old Dawson Trail
Location	Sandilands Provincial Forest
Length	5.2 km (3.2 mi)
Existed	1966–present

Provincial Road 505 (PR 505) is a 5.2-kilometre-long (3.2 mi) east–west spur of PR 503 in the Sandilands Provincial Forest. Comprising a segment of the historic Old Dawson Trail, it runs from PR 503 to a dead end along the banks of the Whitemouth River. It is entirely a two-lane gravel road.^[1][3]

On the other side of the river, Dawson Road begins again and travels through the Eastman ATV Park towards Richer.

Division	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Reynolds	Sandilands Provincial Forest	0.0	0.0	Dead end at the Whitemouth River	Western terminus
		5.2	3.2	PR 503 (Old Dawson Trail east) – Hadashville, East Braintree	Eastern terminus; Old Dawson Trail follows PR 503 east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Government of Manitoba. "Official Highway Map of Manitoba section 3" (PDF). Retrieved February 20, 2025.
2. "Map of Manitoba Provincial Road 503" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
3. "Map of Manitoba Provincial Road 505" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved February 20, 2025.