Every December, at the meeting point of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, Winnipeggers transform the frozen waterways into a vibrant winter destination. Crews create a nearly seven-kilometer skating trail, grooming nearby paths for walking and cross-country skiing. They enhance the area with benches, trees, signs, and innovative warming huts that blend artistry with practicality, even as temperatures plummet from 0 to -30 C.
A Unique Perspective on the City
Residents embrace the cold, venturing onto the ice to enjoy views inaccessible during warmer months. From the river’s center, the landscape reveals riverbanks, green spaces, and wildlife tracks in a serene setting. Paul Simpson, a frequent skater and runner on the trails, describes the experience: “It’s a totally different perspective of the city, where you’ve got the riverbanks and some green spaces. You can see animal tracks cutting across. It’s just so quiet … you just hear the, like, swoosh of the blade back and forth.”
Simpson also commutes to work using the paths, bundling up in warm clothing and running shoes. The Nestaweya river trail, located in central Winnipeg, supports skating, walking, cycling, and skiing. While shorter than Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, it stands out for its playful charm.
Artistic Warming Huts Add Whimsy
Each year, a contest selects fresh designs for warming huts, supplementing favorites from previous seasons. This winter drew over 200 submissions, with a select few chosen. Highlights include an A-frame resembling an open book with its spine upward, interactive spinning blocks featuring wildlife images, and a 30-meter corridor of aligned snow arches.
These structures serve primarily as windbreaks rather than heated shelters. Dave Pancoe, manager of placemaking and sustainability with The Forks Renewal Corporation, explains: “They’re basically a windbreak. We always say they warm your heart more than they’re actually warm.”
On milder winter days and weekends, families and individuals of all ages crowd the trails. Visitors can rent skates and snowshoes at The Forks, a bustling hub with shops, restaurants, a hotel, a large skating rink, and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The warming huts, scattered along the route, provide brief respites to admire the creative designs.
Community Involvement and Seasonal Cycle
During quieter weekday mornings, especially in colder weather, the trails offer a peaceful escape near downtown’s energy. The huts’ popularity extends beyond the river; neighborhoods request installations for local use. One favorite, a wood-framed hut with interior benches and fir branch coverings, draws residents from areas like Lyndale Drive and Riverview.
Community support sustains the trail through adoptions—$50 secures a meter of the path. Hundreds of individuals and businesses have participated this season. A standout hut, Huttie, mimics a colorful cartoon character from a psychedelic era, inviting visitors inside its open mouth to relax on benches around a small table.
The installations last only a few weeks, weather permitting, before removal ahead of the spring thaw. Pancoe notes: “The window’s pretty small to use it.” Planning for the next season starts soon after, ensuring the tradition continues.
