Winnipeg has emerged as a much greener city than it was in the 1990s, with a wealth of hiking trails across and around the city. Many of them were reclaimed from old rail lines and roads, while others saw enhancement from their old status as informal trails through bush and meadows. Some are new, a concession by developers as they built new communities in Winnipeg.
Some are parts of the TransCanada trail (https://tctrail.ca/explore-the-map/) that stretches from the east to the west coast, and northward. This trail, at over 28,000 kilometers, is the longest recreational trail in the world and connects three oceans: Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific.
But, since Covid-19, the trails throughout the city and surrounding area have seen a huge increase in usage, a testament to their popularity and accessibility.
We will be exploring many of these trails in this series (https://legacy.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/parks/default.stm), with the first part covering the Esprits du bois (Spirit of the Woods), St. Vital Park, Harbourview, Bunn’s Creek, Kildonan Park, Assiniboine Forest, Assiniboine Park and Labarriere Park locations.
The Esprits du bois trails are possibly the most ethereal, with numerous carvings on trees along the wooded trails. None of these carvings are to be made in living trees. But in this forested area along the Seine River, you can get lost in magical thoughts. The trail entrances are along Abinoji Mikinaw Boulevard and off John Bruce Road and St Anne’s. Most of the trees are deciduous, lending a truly solitary air to your walk. It is common to observe deer, coyotes, foxes, rabbits, muskrat, an occasional badger and lots of birds here. Sapsuckers and woodpeckers love to leave their marks on the trees that hold sap, insects and larvae.
The next set of trails are in St. Vital Park, off River Road and Abinoji Mikinaw. This park is sizeable, with lots of space for frisbee, soccer, impromptu volleyball and baseball games and, of course, barbeques. Year-round, for the barbeques. Manitobans are a hardy lot. Almost inevitably, you will see people skating on the frozen duck pond in winter, walk a few hundred meters and spot a family barbequing! The park and trails run along the shore of the Red River. There is a trail for exercise enthusiasts, with an assortment of physical challenge stations along the route. A toboggan slide offers fun for all ages. Like most of our larger parks, wildlife abounds.
Harbourview, located on Springfield Road off Lagimodiere Boulevard, is one of two oddities in the city. They both offer recreation areas built on reclaimed garbage dumps! Harbourview, though, is more peculiar than the hill off Sargent Avenue, affectionately know as “garbage hill.” It offers tennis and pickleball courts, golf, lawn bowling, a restaurant, hiking trails and a small man-made lake. What it doesn’t have is a real harbour! It is a little out of the way, so has far less foot traffic than most of the trails and parks. Some days after a snowfall, the only tracks you see are animal tracks.
Bunn’s Creek is another out-of-the-way park. It, too, has a toboggan slide and even skating, but its major attraction is the long pathway along Bunn’s Creek that stretches from McIvor and Uxbridge to Henderson Highway. It cuts through a residential area, but you never feel like you are leaving the forest. It is well-used, though, and locals in the community love it.
Across the Red River from McIvor Avenue, another substantial park sees tens of thousands of visitors, mostly in the summer. This is Kildonan Park, located just south of Chief Peguis Boulevard and Main Street.
Its main attraction in summer is Rainbow Stage, an open air (with dome) theatre that hosts two or three productions during the summer, drawing thousands to each show. Although there are long hiking and biking pathways, they are asphalt, rather than the more benign wood chip pathways in many of the smaller parks.
Along with Rainbow Stage, people flock to the open-air swimming pool and to the beautiful gardens blooming from June to September. Adjacent to the park is Kildonan Golf course (owned by the city).
Kids love the witches hut, while old-timers stand on the shore of the Red River to reminisce about the old pivoting rail bridge that still stands, open, but in disuse for many decades. At one time, investors seriously considered building a restaurant on the deck of the bridge.
Unlike Bunn’s and Esprits du bois, most of the trees here are stately and the grass groomed, instead of existing in its wild state. There are relatively few bushy areas, replaced by meadows for recreation.
We now move to the Charleswood area, in the southwest part of the city. Two sites—Assiniboine Park and Assiniboine Forest dominate this very green part of Winnipeg. Assiniboine Park is 450 hectares in size, Assiniboine Forest 290 hectares.
Assiniboine Park is home to the Assiniboine Zoo, Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, English Garden, Duck Pond, Leaf botanical display, Conservatory and Park Café. In summer, Aunt Sally’s Farm entertains kids, Lyric Theatre presents Ballet in the Park and movie nights, teams and leagues play cricket and soccer, and hundreds of waterfowl fill the Duck Pond. In winter, people hike along 3.9 km of white paved pathways or double that many in impromptu paths in the bush and along the Assiniboine River.
Assiniboine Forest nearly wasn’t. In the 1920s, civic authorities zoned the area and began developing roadways. Then the crash of 1929 halted plans and, decades later, the city chose to preserve it as a natural forest. It is home to numerous deer herds, coyotes, foxes and myriad other animals and birds.
At one time, it was home to an airplane that crashed on its approach to Winnipeg International Airport. In spite of the park being 85% bush and trees, no one was killed in the crash.
The 3.5 km of groomed hiking trails are only part of the opportunities for hiking and exploring, with triple that amount in almost-indistinguishable paths through sloughs, ponds, grassy areas and even thick undergrowth. The Harte Trail, running through Headingley, starts on the south edge of the forest.
Yet, Assiniboine Forest is surrounded by urban development, making this park on Grant Avenue a North American rarity.
The last park in this part of our Trails & Parks series is Labarriere Park. It is a provincial park but sees mostly urban visitors. It has a vast meadow that borders on sections of farmland, a sizeable bush offering and about 4 km of mountain biking and hiking trails. Ideal for picnics or just strolling in the sun, it borders the La Salle River to its north, along which a wide swath of trees and shrubs grow, largely naturally. It also has a Frisbee route, where dedicated Frisbee players compete like golfers through a winding route through bush and field.
Next in our series, we will look at Birds Hill Park, The Floodway, Beaudry Park, Little Mountain Park, Sage Creek trails, Fort Whyte Centre, Living Prairie Museum, Oak Hammock Marsh and Quarry Park in Stonewall.