Sure, Winnipeg can occasionally be cold in the winter.
But we assure you, you’ll be cool with that as this city always rises to the occasion when the temperature drops.
Here’s just a few of our top winter offerings that will see you and your crew celebrating our snow and ice just as much as the locals.
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The Forks
Manitoba’s most-visited tourism destination is also its most robust winter wonderland. Once winter hits The Forks immediately opens the Winnipeg 150 Winter Park, featuring a one-kilometre skating trail that curves around trees on its grounds, all lit by a galaxy of overhead lights that are strung from above. With skate rentals available on site in The Forks Market, you can twirl underneath the Canopy Rink to tunes by Manitoban musicians before making your way through the trails to the CN Stage Rink, where a game of shiny is often being played against a backdrop that includes the WINNIPEG sign and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Once you’ve had your fill, head inside The Market for an après-skate at The Common, which provides a unique selection of wines and beers by the glass. In fact, the whole Forks Market is a hotbed for culinary creativity, with kiosks slinging everything from tacos to farm-to-table Neapolitan pizza, local walleye fish and chips, Filipino, Argentinean, Sri Lankan, Japanese and Greek cuisine, along with craft cocktails and tapas from Passerby bar.
Nestaweya River Trail
Connecting The Forks to Saint-Boniface, South Osborne, River Heights and sometimes even Wolseley, is our famed Nestaweya River Trail. Once the ice is thick enough, this trail encompasses both the Red and Assiniboine Rivers downtown, offering a groomed-daily skating surface that allows you to glide past (and often enter) all the whimsical warming huts that dot the ice.
These “huts” are sometimes temporary ice sculptures, mini snow mazes and towering art installations, and are the result of annual design competitions that are entered by architects and design firms form across the globe. Luminaries like architects Frank Gehry and Anish Kapoor and celebrated Inuit musician Tanya Tagaq have all created warming huts for the trail, while its parallel running path can be traversed by foot, on cross-country skis, or by fat tire bike (learn more about rentals here). If you’re not one for skating, you can also rent fun things like ice bikes on several points of the trail, which also has multiple points of entry throughout the Red and Assiniboine Rivers outside of the main entrance via The Forks Harbour.
Festival du Voyageur
Giant snow sculptures, historical re-enactments and maple syrup on everything (including snow!). These are just a couple of the things that make Festival du Voyageur so great. Western Canada’s largest winter festival celebrates the region’s fur-trading, Métis and Francophone history with huge tents where live music plays day and night and the French food flows like fiddle solos during the jigging contests. There’s also contests for beard-growing, wood carving, cheese carving and the marquee pea soup contest. Group rates are often available too, while private tours will introduce you to the costumed interpreters and see you embracing the joie de vivre of it all with interactive activities like voyageur games. The festival takes place in February each year. Learn more here.
FortWhyte Alive
Tramp along seven kilometres of softly groomed trails past frozen lakes where you can catch a fish (just borrow a pole, tackle box and ice auger from the Interpretive Centre) at FortWhyte Alive. This huge 640-acre area features picturesque aspen forests that are home to winter birds, deer, and the Sod House, where interpreters often spin yarns about the lives of early settlers. Bonfires can be found throughout FortWhyte Alive’s grounds, allowing you to bake bannock on a stick or roast marshmallows over the flames.
Catch some speed on its Richardson Rrrun toboggan slide (toboggans are free onsite) which will shoot you right out onto the ice of Lake Devonian, then grab a pair of snowshoes to go see North America’s largest urban bison herd. To warm up, the Interpretive Centre boasts farm-to-table dining (including some ingredients that are grown right onsite at FortWhyte Farms) and views of Lake Devonian.
Saint-Boniface Ice Climbing Tower
Winnipeg may not boast any mountains, but that doesn’t mean adventure can’t reach lofty heights in winter. The ice tower at Club de Escalade de St. Boniface rises 20 metres high, providing clear views of the downtown skyline as you attempt an icy ascent. It is North America's original free-standing ice climbing tower, looking like a frozen waterfall on the banks of the Red River. The experience is suitable for both beginner and advanced climbers.
The world’s largest snow maze at Amaze in Corn
The world’s largest snow maze can be found just outside of Winnipeg in St. Adolphe, MB. The 2023 maze at A Maze in Corn was 53 per cent larger than 2022’s Guinness World Record holder, and it featured a huge 20-foot-tall snow cathedral in the middle with 20,000 lbs of carved ice. You will also find snow sculptures and firepits throughout this maze that takes approximately 45 min to navigate. For a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience, you can also eat dinner within The Den, with its all-snow-and-ice dining room, ice tables cut from the Red River and menu by celebrated local francophone celebrity chef Luc Jean of WOW Hospitality.
Windsor Park Nordic Centre
For more than 30 years cross-country enthusiasts have enjoyed the 15 km of groomed trails—fit for both classic and skate technique—at Windsor Park Nordic Centre. If you’re new to ski trails, the recreational facility offers ski rentals and instructions to suit all skill levels. Night skiers will relish the illuminated trails while the rustic clubhouse always beckons with hot chocolate and camaraderie around the fireplace.
Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature
In Winnipeg, we don’t just get active outdoors in the winter, we also embrace the cold for tranquility. At Thermëa, relax in thermal pools as snow gently falls over this gorgeous outdoor facility. When it comes to total relaxation and rejuvenation, this place has thought of it all. It features steam rooms, Finnish saunas, relaxation chambers, heated hammocks and numerous fire pits. Plus, the Rësto’s farm-to-table holistic fare (along with a great wine, craft cocktail and local beer list) can be enjoyed in your robe! Be sure to utilize the Icebër waterfall in between sauna sessions that can include a signature Aufguss ritual.
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If you’re looking for activities outside of Winnipeg, Travel Manitoba has some great ideas that you can find here.
