The Local Urban District (L.U.D.) of Cranberry Portage is located in the RM of Kelsey. Cranberry Portage is located 48 kilometers south of the City of Flin Flon and 695 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Other neighbouring communities to the south include The Town of The Pas, 100 kilometers away and the Village of Wanless, 50 kilometers away.

Situated along the southern shores of Lake Athapapuskow, Cranberry Portage is surrounded by lakes, rivers and streams. The community is located in the western portion of the Grass River Provincial Park on a beautiful strip of land about 2.5 kilometers in width. The community is on a glacier ridge that separates Athapapuskow Lake on the west and First Cranberry Lake on the east, which provides access to both the Saskatchewan River and the Nelson River systems. Cranberry Portage was formed in 1928 as an Unincorporated Village District (UVD) within the Local Government District of Consol (now known as the Rural Municipality of Kelsey). As of January 1, 1997, the UVD is now referred to as the Local Urban District (LUD) of Cranberry Portage. The local elected Council consists of 5 members, two of which represent Cranberry Portage on the Rural Municipality of Kelsey Council.

Prior to 1928, Cranberry Portage was little more than its name implied a portage in the route used by fur traders and Native people. The year 1928 saw the coming of the railway to Cranberry Portage. Since this time, Cranberry Portage has experienced population increases and decreases, a tragedy of fire, a radar site opening and closing, and the opening of Frontier Collegiate Residential School in 1965. Today, Cranberry Portage, a community of 615 (Statistics Canada, 2001 Census), continues as a northern educational hub with a large residential education site servicing many northern rural communities. Cranberry Portage is known for its abundance of beautiful lakes with excellent fishing and scenic landscapes.

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