River Trail rebound: Portion of trail at The Forks now open, fifth time opening in December since 2008

The Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks on Dec. 31, 2024. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)

The first portion of the Nestaweya River Trail has opened.

The Forks announced on Tuesday the port rink on the Assiniboine River is good to go and people can start skating on it.

While this area has been tested and flooded, The Forks said this is the only area where people can currently skate on the river, and people are being reminded to stay in the marked areas.

"Additional sections of the Nestaweya River Trail will continue to open as nature allows," The Forks said in a news release.

Since 2008, the river trail has only opened in December five times, including this year, according to The Forks.

The earliest it was ever opened was Dec. 21, 2013.

"The trail generally reaches over six kilometres in length once fully complete and is open an average (of) 50+ days of the winter."

This early opening comes after last winter when it was only open for a total of nine days, making it the shortest river trail season ever.