The Forks river trail kaput for season

By: Malak Abas Posted: 2:37 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024

It was a valiant effort, but it was all for naught.

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It was a valiant effort, but it was all for naught.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/02/2024 (635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a valiant effort, but it was all for naught.

The Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks has closed for the season after being open for just nine days.

Unseasonably warm temperatures and high water levels caused by precipitation in the U.S. put a dent in its operation.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
After an open-close cycle amid a freeze-thaw cycle, the Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks is closed for the season. — MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

After an open-close cycle amid a freeze-thaw cycle, the Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks is closed for the season.

The trail opened Jan. 25, which was the latest launch in history. It closed five days later, then reopened Feb. 13, and closed again four days after that.

Organizers say they’re throwing in the towel.

“We’re already crossing our fingers for a better year next year,” Sara Stasiuk, president and CEO of The Forks North Portage, said in a news release Wednesday.

The winter that wasn’t broke just about every record in river trail history: this year had the fewest open days (except 2020, when the trail never opened), the shortest distance (600 metres, while other years ranged from six to 10 kilometres), and the earliest closure (beating 2017, when the trail closed Feb. 18).

In 2017, the trail was open 33 days, the second-shortest on record. It was open the longest in 2019: from Dec. 27 to March 12.

The river trail was open just nine days in 2024, the shortest season in a decade. It opened Jan. 25, which was the latest launch in history. It closed five days later, then reopened Feb. 13, and closed again four days after that.

The groomed trail typically brings out many thousands of visitors annually, and opens mid-January. Last year, it was open Jan. 1 to March 14 and had roughly 210,000 visits.

The Forks is no longer monitoring or maintaining any of the river ice, but on-land skating trails in the Winnipeg 150 Winter Park will remain open, weather permitting.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

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Malak Abas
Reporter