Forks river trail a hit for newcomers

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This article was published 05/03/2023 (1012 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The partial closure of The Forks’ river trail wasn’t stopping Oryna Bganka.

Her feet dangled off a bench, unlaced figure skates waiting to be tied. Nearby, a sign highlighted the off-limits skating, biking and walking area — from Hugo Docks to the Donald Street Bridge.

The Forks ended maintenance on that part of its Assiniboine River path, effectively closing it, Sunday. The stretch to Donald Street, plus the trail’s Red River portion, are still open.

The number of visitors could break records as final days approach, but it depends on river conditions, among other things, according to a spokesperson for The Forks.

Nestaweya River Trail had 210,000 visitors this winter, as of Sunday. It’s a spike from the 150,000 visitors of last year but down from the 236,000 that arrived during the same time period in 2019.

World events have impacted the trail and its visitors.

“We are over the moon to be here,” said Svitlana Bganka, Oryna’s mother.

The Ukrainian family visits The Forks weekly to skate. Oryna, 6, sports white figure skates bought second-hand.

She hasn’t had them a full year — her family landed in Winnipeg last April.

Many of this year’s river trail users are newcomers, according to Roy Laham, the owner of the skate rental shop at The Forks.

Behind his counter is a sheet comparing United Kingdom and Canadian shoe sizing. Ukrainians often come knowing their U.K. size, Laham said.

“We have to use those charts over and over and over again,” he noted.

With all the newcomers, he’s considering restarting a learn to skate program next year. He’d hired two instructors to run one for a couple years before the pandemic.

“Everything’s up this year. It’s good,” Laham said.

This year has been his best for sales, more than 33 years in — and though Ukrainians may have something to do with it, it’s largely been due to the weather and trail conditions, Laham said.

Nestaweya River Trail opened on Jan. 1 this year. As of Sunday, it had been open 64 days.

During 26 of those days, the temperature didn’t drop below -10 C, not including the windchill. March hadn’t brought any precipitation as of Sunday afternoon; The Forks tracked 11.5 mm of precipitation between January and February.

Spark Rentals Ice Cycles has benefited from the relatively warm weather, said Josh Pchajek, a company employee.

“When it’s a nice day outside, it’s not -40 C, we’ve had a ton of walk-ups,” Pchajek said.

A good day could draw 30 people to the ice-friendly bike rental on the side of the river trail, on top of pre-bookings.

Spark Rentals Ice Cycles is a pandemic baby. It held a pop-up at The Forks, beside the river trail, last year. It has a fleet of bikes equipped with wheels and skis.

“(We thought), ‘COVID is going on right now. We can only go outside — what can we do to get people out and active during the really cold Winnipeg winters?’” Pchajek said. “This seemed like a perfect fit.”

The company has become “more established” this year as Canada’s first company of its kind, growing by word of mouth, Pchajek said. The team is looking to expand to other provinces.

“Small, entrepreneurial businesses have definitely popped up,” said Clare MacKay, The Forks North Portage’s chief communities officer.

Nestaweya River Trail could “potentially” break a record for number of visitors to the site, but it’s dependent on trail conditions, MacKay said.

“Winter’s not done with us yet,” she added.

Still, a full river trail closure could be soon. The Forks closed its stretch from Hugo Docks to the Donald Street Bridge because of a swampy surface.

“That top layer of ice just becomes… a swimming pool on top of the skating trail,” MacKay said.

It happens with a lot of sunshine, she said. The Forks won’t maintain the closed stretch for the rest of the winter or test its ice fitness.

River users should be aware, she cautioned.

The portion on the Red River and from Donald Street to The Forks, plus one kilometre of on-land ice surfaces at The Forks, will be open as long as conditions allow, MacKay said.

“This is one of the few shining lights during the winter months,” said Shanae Blaquiere.

She was among the crowd to lace up her skates Sunday morning.

“There’s not a lot of activities you can do with friends… and families that you don’t have to pay money for.”

People have skated along the Red and Assiniboine rivers for at least 100 years, according to MacKay.

This year’s river trail spanned 6.2 kilometres. Before Sunday, the trail had access points at The Forks, Hugo Docks and Churchill Drive.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com