The Back 40 Hideaway: A Peaceful Retreat in Boissevain

On a quiet stretch of prairie just outside Boissevain, there's a place where the sky feels a little bigger and time seems to move a little slower. The Back 40 Hideaway didn't begin as a grand plan—it started with family. When Jen Howarth and Ritchie Barwick opened the doors in September 2023, she was continuing a tradition that runs deep in her life. Her grandmother and mother owned the Trails West Motor Inn in Brandon, and those memories—warm welcomes, coffee on, beds turned down just right—never left. With a large blended family and friends who come from near and far, she wanted a place that felt like home, but with the quiet, open space you can only find in the country.

Ritchie, her partner, knows the land differently. With years of experience as a hunting guide, he's spent countless dawns watching birds rise from the fields and ponds, and countless evenings listening to the wind settle. When the right property came up, not far from the conveniences of town but firmly rooted in the rural landscape, they took it. They built a house, then a business that welcomes travellers, families, and folks chasing the kind of peace you can hear.

Today, The Back 40 Hideaway offers two comfortable suites that can host up to twelve guests. It's the kind of place where you wake to the soft hush of prairie morning, sip coffee while the horizon blushes, and step outside to a view that reminds you to breathe. Guests come for work assignments. They come to bird-watch, to visit family, to find quiet—and they see it, without giving up the convenience of being just minutes from Boissevain's shops and services.

From day one, the community showed up. Local businesses referred guests looking for longer stays, and when Jen launched a 10-day promotion to introduce the Hideaway, the business community didn’t just notice—they engaged. That early lift mattered. Starting something new while working full-time isn’t simple, and Jen will tell you that some things take longer than she’d like. But progress rooted in care has its own kind of momentum.

You can see what's coming next just by walking the property and listening to her talk about it. She's planning winding paths that invite guests to explore slowly, tucked-away spots for bird-watching, a dock where an early kayak glide becomes a memory, and fruit trees and berry bushes that turn a summer afternoon into a backyard harvest. The patio will grow, the experiences will deepen, and the Hideaway's rhythm will become even more its own. All the while, Jen is looking outward—imagining collaborations with local businesses to cross-promote, crafting ways to showcase the Turtle Mountain region together, and creating opportunities for business owners to meet, share, and learn from one another.

Even in its first chapters, The Back 40 Hideaway is part of the local economy. Jen calls on four casual cleaners as needed, and the guests who come here buy meals, groceries, fuel, and gifts in Boissevain. That ripple effect matters, especially in a place where community isn’t an abstract idea—it’s the people you wave to at the post office, the shop owner who remembers your name, the meeting where one good idea turns into three.

If you ask Jen what would help the Hideaway thrive, her answer is simple: keep promoting local businesses and amenities, and keep finding ways to work together. The more the community connects—through business meetups, conversations, and shared promotions—the more potent the whole story becomes. And if you ask her for advice on starting a business here, it's equally grounded: do your research, know your goals, build relationships, and learn to use social media well. In a small place, word of mouth is powerful; in the modern world, a good digital presence multiplies it.

What does she love most about being a business owner here? The place itself. The way birds gather and lift in the evening light. The feeling that every guest carries a bit of the prairie with them when they go. And the quiet satisfaction of making a difference—of turning an idea into a welcome, and a welcome into a stay that feels like it mattered.

If you’re planning a family visit, a hunting trip, a work assignment, or simply a few days to breathe, The Back 40 Hideaway is waiting. Out here, the days are unhurried, the views are generous, and the door opens with the kind of hospitality that’s been passed down for generations.