Winter fun a 'long-standing tradition' on frozen rivers in Winnipeg

Several people skate on a rink cleared on a frozen river in Winnipeg. The photo is believed to have been taken between 1900 and 1920. (Source: Martin Berman Postcard Collection/ Winnipeg Past Forward)

Countless Winnipeggers have laced up their skates and hit the river trail at The Forks – it is a long-standing tradition in a city that has learned to thrive on winter activities all centred on its frozen rivers.

"During the fur trade and during the Red River settlement days, winter was really a time of community and a time of sort of get together," said Winnipeg historian Murray Peterson.

"That just moved forward as technology improved and as the population increased, and so you got large, which looked like incredibly fun, wooden slides for toboggan slides. There was lots of river cleared for skating and snowshoeing and all sorts of activities along the river."

Historic photos give a glimpse at what winter was like at the turn of the century in Winnipeg, from tobogganing runs that operated on the river as early as the 1890s, to a ski jumping hill on the bank of the Red River in River Park.

"I mean one of the things that we always laugh about is how high those toboggan runs are, and that, probably wouldn't be allowed by bylaw now to build something that massive," Peterson said.

"It was a very busy time on the river for sure. And then they would have winter carnivals that spilled out from the banks onto the river and it was very well used," Peterson said.

Among the photos of those winter carnivals – one man wearing ice skates tries his hand at barrel jumping on the frozen river during the 1924 Winnipeg Winter Carnival.

After nearly a century, some of those winter activities continue on Winnipeg's frozen rivers.

"We've obviously not been the first to think about how great our winters are and how people have been enjoying them for a very long time," said Clare MacKay, the executive director of The Forks Foundation, and vice president of strategic initiatives.

"We are really thrilled to be able to see that we're carrying on a long-standing tradition of Winnipeggers getting outside and enjoying their winters."

How those winter activities have evolved over the years has been really interesting for MacKay.

She said while there have always been activities on the frozen rivers – Winnipeg really gained international attention for its winter recreation when in 2008 The Forks set a Guinness World Record for the longest naturally frozen skating surface (about 8.5 kilometres) along the Assiniboine River.

"That kind of really changed the game for us. It gave us some international recognition," she said.

This year, the Nestaweya River Trail stretches just over six kilometres.

READ MORE: Nestaweya River Trail at the Forks opens

While Winnipeg no longer boasts that world record – a title now held by Lake Windermere Whiteway's skating trail in B.C. which measured 29.98 kilometres long in 2014 – the winter activities at The Forks have continued to expand.

Other events, including The Forks' international art and architecture warming huts competition, have caught the eyes of countries around the world including China, Brazil, Mexico, Finland, and the Czech Republic.

This year, MacKay said The Forks has also added a cross-country ski path. However, it is not just The Forks taking advantage of the frozen rivers.

All sorts of activities have hit the ice in recent months. Take for example ice bikes – a new winter activity Winnipeggers can rent to cycle along the Assiniboine River.

Or the team of dragon boat paddlers who showed Manitoba it is possible to paddle on ice.

Art too has been added to the river – one artist Kal Barteskiis showed off her love of winter, ice and the river trail with a display of frozen flowers.

Another group of artists and architects took to the ice to reclaim an age-old tradition of harvesting ice blocks from the river to be used for ice sculptures throughout Winnipeg's Downtown.

"We've sort of always apologized for (our winters) before," said MacKay. "Now with things like warming huts with the international and national attention that we gain from this the way a river trail, I think people are starting to take pride more in it and in our winters."

As for Peterson, it is not just the activities that drive Winnipeggers to bundle up and get outside despite the winter cold.

"You got a real community down there," he said. "There's a lot of stuff to do down there, just like it was back in the 1900s."