Freeze, please Relationship with city’s icy waterways warms many a Winnipegger’s heart
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In summer, a screened porch or gazebo adds another room to Winnipeg houses, full of light and fresh air.
A balcony in a high-rise apartment seems to double the horizon available to residents: it feels like you could step out into the branches of a big old elm or a cottonwood, full of birds.
In the same way, the frozen Assiniboine, Red and Seine rivers add concert hall- and football stadium-sized swathes of space to the city.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Kids hitch a ride along the Nestaweya River Trail near the Redboine Boat Club last week.
The iced-over rivers provide new ways of seeing and understanding this place we call home.
When you spend time on the riverbank, among the riverbank trees, you might catch sight of an eagle or pelican soaring or spot a deer approaching open water for an icy sip.
You are far away from the straight lines and intersections of roads: the river curves and meanders and is divided by bridges, 49 across the city.
Becoming intimate with these new trails allows you to eavesdrop on the backs of buildings you’ve only seen from the front.
And suddenly you are alone in the middle of the bustling urban landscape.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
A family enjoys some time together on a makeshift rink on the Assiniboine River earlier this month.
Now, every Canadian child should know how to swim and skate, especially if they live in river cities, in lake-studded provinces. But you have to be from Manitoba to feel the energy of gathering at The Forks, echoing the past and present gatherings of the Cree, Anishinaabe and Métis peoples.
You can descend to the rivers almost anywhere along their lengths, stepping down from the sidewalks onto the riverside trails and then onto the river.
Where with some effort, you can break snowy trails or clear snow off the ice so others can hike or skate, ski or sled.
The crunch of boots on snow! The rasp of skate blades on ice!
It just depends if you want to go for a lonely snowshoe, out of sight of your neighbours, the winter sun on your shoulders, or if you want to be one of a thousand bodies, whizzing back and forth, playing shinny or exploring the warming huts.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Alex and William Sinclair lace up with their dad Chris before hitting the Assiniboine River ice.
But one thing is clear: there is nothing more loving, during a Winnipeg winter, than someone who devotes themselves to clearing a sheet of ice for the neighbourhood kids.
And there is nothing more romantic than commuting by skate, gliding down the river at twilight.
ariel.gordon@freepress.mb.ca
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Skiers take advantage of swarm weather to stride along the Assiniboine River on Feb. 8.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Hayley Cressall (left) and Avi Meher of the team Sweep Caroline compete in the Rock the River curling bonspiel held on the Red River near the Redboine Boat Club last week.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
The fifth annual Catfish Cup shinny tournament — involving Dirty Catfish Brass Band members, their friends and fellow musicians — took place Feb. 8 on the Assiniboine River in Wolseley.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Marty plays fetch on the Assiniboine River near Dominion Street.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Skaters skate the Nestaweya River Trail along the Red River near Redboine Boat Club Sunday afternoon February 8, 2026
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Alex and William Sinclair enjoy some nighttime skating on the Assiniboine River with their friend’s dog Blue Tuesday.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Thirty-two teams competed in the Rock the River curling bonspiel held at the Redboine Boat Club along Churchill Drive on Feb. 8.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
A pop-up rink on the Assiniboine River in the Wolseley neighbourhood is now home to an annual shinny tournament between local musicians and their friends.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Alex and William Sinclair enjoy an evening skate on an Assiniboine River rink last week.
