Manitoba

Warm weather closes sections of Winnipeg river trail

A stretch of Winnipeg's river trail system is closed Tuesday following several days of unseasonably warm February weather.

Centennial River Trail closed from Osborne to Hugo, Churchill Drive to St. Vital Bridge amid warm temperatures

Sections of Winnipeg's river skating trail system are closed as of Tuesday due to poor conditions. (Jonathan Ventura/CBC)

The kilometres-long skating trail on Winnipeg's Red and Assiniboine rivers has shortened as The Forks announced the closure of some sections on Tuesday due to unseasonably warm February weather.

The Forks confirmed the closure of the Centennial River Trail from Osborne Street to the Hugo Street docks on the Assiniboine River due to poor conditions.

The Forks also lists the stretch on the Red River from Churchill Drive to the St. Vital Bridge as closed, and the sections that remain open are listed as having "variable" conditions.

Since the beginning of the month, Winnipeg has gone from a nearly two-week cold snap to a stretch of days near or above 0 C. The quality of the ice has suffered as a result.

The trail officially opened for the season with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 12, though the trails had already been in use for several days before then.

In the past six weeks the trail was extended several kilometres, from The Forks west down the Assiniboine River to Hugo, and south down the Red River.

The network of skating trails at The Forks' Arctic Glacier Park is still open.