Crow Wing Trail, Manitoba
The Crow Wing Trail connects Emerson, Man., which sits on the Canada/u.s. border, to Winnipeg. Made up of gravel roads, trails and road allowances, the Crow Wing Trail is the result of collaboration of volunteers in communities along the 193-km route dedicated to reviving the Red River ox-cart trail from the mid-1800s. Today, Crow Wing is part of The Great Trail.
“Emerson is one of the oldest towns in Manitoba, and was an important trading town at one point,” says Pete Mcadams, who lives on the trail, and rides the route regularly. “There’s not much traffic, and the southern section can be especially remote.”
Mcadams especially enjoys the stretch of trail between St-pierre-jolys and the Senkiw suspension footbridge, across the Roseau River. The Roseau meanders in a tight series of oxbows, making for beautiful photos. Explore the trail on a dry day in September to enjoy fall foliage – probably the best time to ride the Crow Wing Trail.
While the gravel roads make for beautiful riding in the dry, they are notoriously challenging when wet. In fact, for many champions of the Crow Wing Trail, this route is best served cold. Mid-february in Manitoba is a remarkable time of year both for the frigid weather, and for the way in which Manitobans embrace the cold. On the Louis Riel weekend, a race known as the Actif Epica aims to celebrate human resilience. Participants can contest a choice of 60-, 115- or 200-km courses on foot or by bike. All routes finish at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers in Winnipeg, where Indigenous communities have been gathering for more than 6,000 years. The spot is now known as the Forks, which continues to be a meeting place shaping the culture of the region.
A new trail passport program has been created to encourage more users to experience the Crow Wing Trail. Rather than taking on large sections of the trail all at once, the route is split into 11 segments, the shortest measuring 7 km. These can be completed any time of the year. Once you’ve collected stamps from all the segments of the trail, you can get a Crow Wing Trail certificate of completion. ( crowwingtrail.ca)