Winnipeg
Welcome to Winnipeg
Looking for Canadian winter? Manitoba’s capital and largest city, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in the southeast part of the province, has a reputation for being a bone-chilling place from October through February. It lies in an unprotected arctic trough which channels cold arctic air south, directly across the Canadian Shield and Canadian Prairie.
The city is also located near two huge lakes (Manitoba and Winnipeg) and numerous parks, so winter activities abound. While their toes thaw out, visitors to Winnipeg can take in historic attractions like Fort Gibraltar, Gabrielle Roy House, The Forks National Historic Site & Port, Upper Fort Garry Gate, as well as cultural events at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Manitoba Opera and the Manitoba Museum.
Winter activities
The Winnipeg area has many excellent cross-country skiing locations. Spruce Woods Provincial Park offers three different trail systems and staging areas, not to mention great views across a broad valley, especially along the Epinette trail system.
At Grand Beach Provincial Park, north of Winnipeg, the paths through pine forests offer incredible views of frozen Lake Winnipeg. Half of the park's 40 kilometres of trail are intermediate. Experts will love the five substantial descents along the 12-kilometre Squirrel Trail.
Snowshoeing, snowmobiling, tobogganing, dogsledding and ice-skating can also be enjoyed across the region, while local skiers and boarders like to head for the slopes at Springhill Winter Sports Park, only 15 minutes from downtown Winnipeg, and Stony Mountain Ski Area, 11 kilometres (7 miles) north of Winnipeg in the community of Stony Mountain.
Transportation
Air
Winnipeg International Airport, located 20 minutes northwest of downtown Winnipeg, serves a population area of over 2 million (west to Saskatoon, east to Thunder Bay, north to Nunavut and south to the U.S. border). Only two hours from Chicago, two and a half from Denver and a little over an hour from Minneapolis, Winnipeg is easily accessed from others cities in Canada and the United States. Air Canada is the carrier with the highest number of routes out of Winnipeg but WestJet and many US airlines operate to and from this airport too.
Rail
VIA Rail's Union Station is located in the heart of Winnipeg. Trains heading west leave three times a week for Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver. Eastbound trains depart three times a week for Toronto where connecting trains to Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara Falls and the Maritimes can be met.
Car
Winnipeg is located on the Trans Canada Highway, which links it with most major urban centres in Canada. From the United States, both U.S. Interstate No. 29 and Minnesota No. 94 (border crossing into Canada in Emerson) connect to Manitoba.
Bus
The Winnipeg Bus Terminal is located in downtown Winnipeg at 487 Portage Avenue. Greyhound Canada and a number of smaller bus lines offer daily transportation to and from Winnipeg and serve dozens of Manitoba's rural centres as well.
CW Says
It’s Winnipeg, it’s winter and the wind chill can intimidate even the bravest of souls, so why not head indoors and try the oh so Canadian game of curling at one of the city’s many curling clubs. Played on, what else, ice, the game is popular across Canada, especially in the Prairies. Some of Canada’s top curlers hail from Winnipeg.