First leg of river trail now open at The Forks

Forks river trail open The first leg of the Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks opened Sunday.

Winnipeggers are lacing up their skates and hitting the river trail at The Forks for the first time this winter.

The first leg of the Nestaweya River Trail is now open at The Forks Historic Port.

Communications and Marketing Manager Zach Peters said the trail is open earlier in the year than usual, "We just have the port section open at this point. We're excited for it to extend down the Red River and the Assiniboine River, but it's fantastic to get it open," said Peters.

In most years, the river trail stretches more than seven kilometres. Peters said additional sections of the river trail are expected to open as ice conditions allow.

And it's not just used for skating. Walkers, cross-country skiers, and even winter cyclists hop on, he said.

The river trail was re-named last year to honour the original Cree name used for the site of The Forks and the area now called Winnipeg. “Nestaweya” means “three points” and depicts how people have accessed the area by river coming from three directions.

This year marks the second season in a five-year sponsorship of the river trail from The Winnipeg Foundation. Peters said The Forks is grateful for their ongoing support.

"This is a meeting place for all of Winnipeg," said Peters. "Offering it for free is a big part of making it accessible for anybody and everybody to come down."

The forks is also offering free programming on Sundays at its Arctic Glacier Winter Park, including horse-drawn sleigh rides, storytelling with elder Barbara Nepinak, and DJs performing under the canopy.

Peters said it's a great time to visit The Forks, "This is the time of year our city really gets to show off how awesome of a winter city we are, and The Forks is one of those places that just does it right."