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The Nestaweya River Trail has officially closed for the season after 68 days of winter fun.
Winnipeg's outdoor river skating and walking trail, which opened on Dec. 31, 2024, exceeded the average 56-day season and far outlasted last year’s record-low nine-day season.
This year, the trail was made possible through the Trail Together campaign, where winter enthusiasts “adopted” a metre of the trail to support The Forks Foundation. More than 985 metres were adopted, with donors adding their names or the names of loved ones to their sections.
“This winter, people truly showed us how much they love the river trail,” said Sara Stasiuk, Chief Executive Officer of The Forks. “They helped build it by adopting metres and got out there to use it – even on the coldest days. This beloved trail is built by people and for people. So, thank you for embracing and stewarding the trail this year.”
At its peak, the trail spanned six kilometres, stretching from Churchill Drive on the Red River to the Hugo Docks on the Assiniboine River. While it didn’t reach the record 76-day season set in 2019, this year’s trail remained open much longer than most.
With the closure, The Forks is no longer maintaining or monitoring any portions of the ice and advises people to stay off the rivers.
Fun facts from the 2024-25 season
The Forks provided some fun facts in a release sent out on Sunday morning:
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Recycled Christmas trees decorating the trail: 800 (now being chipped for spring use at The Forks)
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Nestaweya River Trail crew members: 10
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Cumulative years of experience among crew members: 79
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Litres of river water used to flood the trail: Over 1,500,000
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Warming huts along the trail: 18
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Litres of coffee consumed by the crew: 350
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Distance covered by the ice resurfacing machine: 3,600 km
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Thickest ice measurement on the trail: 28 inches
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Holes augured for measurement and flooding: 2,800
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Marriage proposals on the trail: 1 (that we know of!)