The Forks is still hopeful, but Winnipeg river trail has never opened this late

Who would have thought Winnipeg would have trouble getting an outdoor skating rink ready in January?

The popular river trail that typically stretches along the Assiniboine and Red rivers from The Forks port hasn't opened yet, passing the latest-ever opening date of Jan. 21 in 2016.

"We've been facing a multitude of challenges to get it up and running, and those include a mild start to winter, which some are thankful for here in Winnipeg," said Forks spokesperson Zach Peters.

"Even more crucially, there was that influx of water that came up from the United States earlier this month, and that caused over-ice flooding."

The ice was thick enough and ready for crews to clear and prepare the paths when the water came, he said.

"When there's already a set amount of ice on the river, instead of pushing ice up, [the influx of water] actually sort of comes around and over top from the edges," Peters said. "It created almost a second layer of ice … with a little bit of slush between them.

"So that set us back quite a ways, and now we're at the point of having done most of the mitigation on it, most of the work on it, but still need to finish that up and make sure it's safe before we can open any part of the trail."

There has only been one winter since 1990, when the river trail was first offered, that it did not open at all. That was in 2020 and caused by poor conditions.

After an extremely mild December 2023, in which there was some doubt Winnipeggers would see a white Christmas, the city just had its longest stretch of cold weather. But that was only nine days of below normal temperatures, a far cry from the usual two- or three-week blast of Arctic chill.

And now, with the trail once again on the cusp of opening, another warm shift is coming. Daytime high temperatures over the next seven days could range from just below freezing to a few degrees above.

The normal high for this time of year is –12 C.

Peters expects The Forks will be able to open a skating section around the port area, in spite of the January thaw.

"Our anticipation is it will not necessarily disturb the thickness of the ice but will cause issues with how skateable it is on top. It'll make it a little bit mushy," he said.

"Our crews are monitoring it daily. They do the work through the night and in the wee hours to get it up and running and maintain it once it is open. So that will be ongoing."

The upper trails, which meander through the on-land area of The Forks, have been open for a little while, but they will also suffer from milder temperatures.

The Forks posts the status of its trails on its website.

Peters couldn't say when the port rink would open.

"I would say it's rather imminent but not putting any date on it yet just because they need to do that testing."

After that, a decision will be made around if and where the trail might continue along the Assiniboine or Red.

"We'll only open the trail when it is safe to do so … only as nature allows," Peters said.

As for the annual warming huts that are placed along the trail system, Peters is still confident some will find their way down to the ice.

"We actually have the international teams and the local teams all gathering starting tomorrow here in Winnipeg to put some of the finishing touches on their warming huts, and there are a couple that are intended to be built right on the river," he said.

"The plan currently still holds that that will take place."

There are several other events that take place on the river through the winter. Most are still planned to go ahead, "but obviously we're getting closer to that time, and even the length of the trail may change how some of those events operate," Peters said.

The Forks is in regular contact with organizers and will make the necessary decisions when the time comes.

"We're at the beck and call of Mother Nature with how the trail goes each year."

These are the river trail records, which have only been kept since 2008:

• Earliest opening: Dec. 21, 2011.
• Latest opening: Jan. 21, 2016.
• Longest duration open: 76 days (Dec. 27, 2018-March 12, 2018).
• Shortest duration open: 33 days (Jan. 9, 2017-Feb. 18, 2017).

That data excludes the no-trail year of 2020.

Cathy Lakin took her sister, visiting from Edmonton, to The Forks on Tuesday, hoping to show her the trail because "they don't do that in Edmonton."

"I really wanted to show her how busy it was and how many people come down here," Lakin said.

Typically in winter, "it's just an exciting place to be," she said, adding she was a little disappointed there's no river trail, but happy to see the warming huts.

Heather Hinam uses the trail "pretty much every day I can" to skate or walk when it's open. She says it gives those without a boat an opportunity to see the city from a different perspective.

The lack of a trail right now is "definitely sad and I can't help but be worried long-term," she said, explaining her background is in ecology and climate change.

"This worries me that this might become a reality going into the future."

The Forks is still hopeful, but Winnipeg river trail has never opened this late

10 months ago

Duration 2:09

The Forks has faced challenges getting its annual winter river trail open, but staff are still optimistic parts of it can be opened and prevent 2024 from becoming only the second year since 1990 with no trail.