Headingley Grand Trunk Trail is a natural resource

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This article was published 12/05/2017 (3302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Grand Trunk Pacific Rail line that once carried passengers from Winnipeg west is now used year-round by Headingley residents for running, walking, cycling, snowshoeing  and skiing.

The 10-kilometre Headingley Grand Trunk Trail begins at the west Perimeter Highway and stretches along the RM of Headingley’s southern edge ending in the RM of Cartier and connecting with Beaudry Provincial Park. The Harte Trail starts on the east side of the Perimeter Highway across from the Grand Trunk Trail and runs through Charleswood.

Headingley Grand Trunk Trail Association chair Diana Juchnowski said the trail is a wonderful natural resource for the community.

“Our trail is very well-used,” she said, noting that it is part of the municipality’s active living network, connecting with residential streets and pathways.

A bridge was recently installed to ford a steep ravine near Beaudry Park so trail users can now remain on the pathway rather than having to use the gravel PR 241 to get to the park. A grand opening of the bridge is planned on Sat., June 3 at 2 p.m. as part of the association’s annual Wild Ride West event.

Juchnowski said the ride is starting at 1 p.m. at the Wescana Street trail kiosk. The event will also mark International Trails Day, as well as the municipality’s 25th anniversary and Canada’s sesquicentennial, and include children’s activities and geocaching.

The trail has many geocaches located along it thanks to the efforts of local residents with an interest in this hobby that involves seeking out caches using a computer app and online clues.

Association members are gathering more information in hopes of receiving municipal and provincial designation to preserve an untouched remnant of native tall grass prairie located close to the trail on a site that was set aside for a station ground in the late 1800s.

Juchnowski said the association is looking for sub-committee members with an interest in monitoring bluebird nesting boxes or trees planted along the trail in 2015, helping with trail maintenance and taking photos for the HGTTA’s Facebook page.

For more information, see the Headingley Grand Trunk Trail Facebook page.

— Staff