[3] Consisting of a protected area of 2,969 km2 (1,146 sq mi),[1] the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding prairie farmland.

It was designated a national park because it protects three different ecosystems that converge in the area; grasslands, upland boreal and eastern deciduous forests.

[5][6][7] The Okanese Band, now called the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation, lived in the area around Wasagaming, in the valley of the Little Saskatchewan River.

[5] A trading post was first established on Lake Dauphin north of present-day Riding Mountain National Park by the Hudson Bay Company in 1741.

Pierre de la Verendrye and sons explored the region and traded with First Nations, who hunted and fished in the area for many years.

[11] In 1895, 3,975 square kilometres (1,535 sq mi) of land in Riding Mountain was designated as a timber reserve by the Department of the Interior.

[5] On October 27, 1927, a meeting of representatives from the surrounding communities were called to the Court House in Neepawa, Manitoba to discuss a proposal to designate the Riding Mountain Forest Reserve a national park.

[13] The park opened to visitors on July 26 of that year, with Manitoba Lieutenant-Governor James D. McGregor unveiling a cairn and giving a speech at a dedication ceremony.

[14][15] Much of the public infrastructure in Riding Mountain National Park was created during the 1930s by labourers participating in Canada's Great Depression relief programs.

The Department of Indian Affairs agreed because living in the rich wilderness was contrary to its concept of assimilation through farm labor.

On April 17, 1931, Grey Owl arrived with his two beavers at a secluded lake several kilometres north of Wasagaming which had been selected by the park staff.

[6] He spent six months living in a cabin in Riding Mountain National park studying and working with wildlife, including two beavers named Jelly Roll and Rawhide.

Riding Mountain National Park was found to be an unsuitable habitat for the beavers, as a summer drought resulted in the lake water level sinking, and becoming stagnant.

[19] He later relocated to Prince Albert National Park, where there was a greater sized waterway and a lower risk of the lakes freezing to the bottom in the winter.

[6] During World War II Riding Mountain National Park was home to the Whitewater labour camp for German prisoners-of-war.

[21] The decision to have a prisoner of war labour project in Riding Mountain National Park was the result of a fuelwood shortage in the winter of 1942 and 1943.

In 1896, land adjacent to Clear Lake known as IR 61A was given to the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation by the Canadian government to protect from encroaching settlement.

[24] In the Report On The Mediation Of The Keeseekoowenin First Nation 1906 Land Claim Negotiation a study by Stuart Davies of North/South Consultants Inc. is referenced to describe the experience of elders who were evicted.

Anniversary celebrations included a re-enactment of the official park opening ceremony, along with year-long arts, culture and wildlife programs.

During the last ice age most of the vegetation in the Riding Mountain region was eliminated, and it remained this way after the retreat of the glaciers 12,500 years ago.

[31] The Riding Mountain upland and surrounding plains and Manitoba Escarpment were mostly carved in the Tertiary era, but the ice sheets of the Pleistocene period modified the drainage and appearance of the land.

[29] About 11,500 years ago a spruce dominated forest began to emerge in its place, with some of the vegetation being ash, juniper, sedges, buffaloberry, and trembling aspen.

[31] Up to 2,500 years ago the amount of grassland species in general decreased and boreal forests migrated into the Riding Mountain region.

[31] The increased precipitation during the summer months is due to the large number of lakes and wetlands within the region as well as turbulence caused by the surrounding Manitoba escarpment.

[32] Elk, porcupines, coyotes, western moose, timber wolves, beavers, lynxes, white-tailed deer, snowshoe hares, and cougars are among the animals that roam around this park.

Riding Mountain National Park is also well known for its wildflowers and wide range of unique vegetation, most of which is not seen anywhere else in the prairie regions of Canada[citation needed].

[42]Community events held in Wasagaming include the Riding Mountain National Park Film Festival[43] and an annual LGBTQ Pride weekend.

Over the years an increased emphasis was placed on wilderness conservation and commercial expansion within Riding Mountain National Park was limited.

Eleven communities participated in a consultation process via The Riding Mountain Liaison Committee (RMNLC) prior to the UNESCO designation.

The coalition entered into an agreement with Parks Canada to share and put ideas into action, creating in 2006 the Riding Mountain Forum.