Spring on the Northeast Pioneers Greenway

Elmwood

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2025 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The people of northeast Winnipeg, like many others, must have felt like the subjects of a cruel joke when the last gasp of winter dumped snow on us a couple of weeks ago. On the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, however, the emerging spring has once again brought back the prospect of fun and learning.

As the Winnipeg Trails Association’s website notes, the Northeast Pioneers Greenway was once the Marconi Spur rail line, constructed in 1878 and owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Manitoba Historical Society notes that after the rail line was abandoned, businessman and philanthropist John Buhler acquired the property in 2006 for $1.5 million and then sold it to the City of Winnipeg, adding a further donation of $150,000 to build a trail connecting East Kildonan to North Kildonan.

By 2014, the trail ran 6.5 kilometres from Talbot Avenue to Glenway Avenue at the city limits, although “future plans are to connect this trail to pending and existing networks in East St. Paul, eventually creating a corridor to Birds Hill Provincial Park.” The trail is fully paved, allowing cyclists and other users a comfortable place to exercise and enjoy nature.

Bringing back the area’s original habitat is an additional purpose of the Northeast Pioneers Greenway. As the city’s Year of the Garden web page notes, one of the gardens established along the path includes wildflowers and prairie grasses, “adding to the naturalization and improvement of pollinator habitat.”

The coming of spring will bring more people to the Greenway, but the additional usage could bring back a problem that dominated discussions in 2023– coyotes, which may make some people reluctant to walk or cycle in the area.

Despite this the Northeast Pioneers Greenway remains a good place for people to visit for fresh air and exercise. It l features interpretive signs explaining some of the area’s flora and fauna, including needle grass, asters, and more. Magpies and other birds are among the animals that frequent the area around the active transportation path.

With the snow largely gone, summer activities are once again on people’s minds. For many Winnipeggers in Elmwood, East Kildonan, and North Kildonan, getting back to cycling or walking on the Northeast Pioneers Greenway will be near the top of the list.