It flows south from its source in Duck Mountain Provincial Park at the confluence of the East Shell River and West Shell River, to its mouth in Asessippi Provincial Park at the Lake of the Prairies where it joins the Assiniboine River.

[1] The river was originally a meltwater channel resulting from the melting of the Keewatin Ice Flow, part of Laurentide Ice Sheet more than ten thousand years ago.

[3] The modern day Shell River is much smaller and meanders within the large valley created by its glacier fed predecessor.

[1] The Shell River Valley trail in Duck Mountain Provincial Park explores the forested areas of the river's source.

[4][5] The Shell River Loop in Asessippi Provincial Park explores the valley bottom near its mouth.