The Forks officially opened the Red River Mutual Trail on Thursday morning.
The river trail is a popular winter activities destination for thousands of Winnipegers looking to skate, walk or bike on the groomed skating trails.
Six new warming huts will be introduced this year. The 2016 Warming Hut competition winners were announced back in November. As many as 25 warming huts could be on this year’s river trail.
In addition to activities happening on the trail, there is a variety of FREE family programming taking place in Arctic Glacier Winter Park every Sunday until the end of February. Programming including: horse-drawn wagon rides, indigenous programming, and snowboarding instruction from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.
Access points are currently at The Forks and Queen Elizabeth Way with more to come as the trail extends. All rinks and trails are groomed daily and conditions can always be found at theforks.com/rivertrail or by following @RRMTrail on Twitter.
Skate rentals are available at Iceland Skate Rentals located adjacent to the skate changing area inside The Forks Market. Rates are $3 for children and seniors, and only $5 for adults. Skate trainers are also available for $2.
Due to mild winter weather in December, sections of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers were still not frozen over and sections of open water delayed the opening. Several events that normally take place on the Red River Mutual Trail have been moved or postponed due to the late opening.
The trail normally opens in early January and runs to the end of February or early March.