A river trail of their own: St. James neighbours skate, slide into winter thanks to community effort

Far from where Winnipeg has carved one of the world's longest river skating trails sits another path on afrozen tributary.

The etches from sharpened skates are fewerherethis ice usually welcomesdozens of skaters a day, versus the thousands who may travelthe well-worn, and more famous, path at The Forks on any given day.

"It's a St. James treasure," Susan Thurmeiersays happily, standing on the trailher neighbours built with sweat, shovels and snowblowers.

Behind the homes on Assiniboine Avenue in Winnipeg's St. James area, residents have come together for more than 20 years to clear an ice rink on the Assiniboine Riverand build toboggan slides.

More recently, volunteers have formed a nearly kilometre-longpath from one rink to another.

They've created theirownriver trail on the Assiniboine made by the community, for the community a curvypath wide enough that a duocould skate side by side.

Instead of a Zamboni, snowblowers and shovels brushthe snow away.

Rather than decorative warming huts actingas pit stops for skaters, there arelawn chairs and benchesdotting the path and some Christmas trees for esthetics and wind-blocking.

Thurmeiermotionsto a shovel resting in the snow.

"This one guy leaves shovels down," she explains. "If you're going to skate [and]you want to do a little shovelling, that's encouraged."

"It's a community effort,"said Thurmeier's daughter,Katy Abraham, who now lives in Fort Rouge.

Neighbourhood effort dates back decades

The origins of this venture dateback 23 or 24 years,when Rob Dorbolo, new to the Bourkevaleneighbourhood,built a toboggan slide to the river below as a source of amusement.

A neighbour then builtthe ice rink, and before long the slide and rink werea chilly recreational hot spot.

It was used most by people in the area,but everyone was welcome to take the public paths onto the riverbank.

"He had his stag [party]here tobogganing and playing hockey," Dorbolo's now-wife, MarliesDyck, said. "A nice, wholesome Canadian stag."

Together, the slides and rinkwere soon as eagerly anticipated in the wintertime as a white Christmas.

Lucas Schulz grew up here, with skates on his feet andinnumerable runsdown theslides.

"It's home," he said."It's a nice thing to call home."

He was on the trail with his parents, Donna and Ric, on a recent afternoon, looking up at the sky for his brother, an air force pilot-in-training.

The neighbourhood's been lucky to have this playground every winter, he says but it only exists because of the people in the neighbourhood.

"You throw otherpeople in all of these houses and maybe none of this is here."

New Year's Eve celebrations

His mother remembers getting the house ready for a Christmas function one year, while everyone else was more concerned with the state of the rink.

"All the neighbours had the snowblowers ready. That was important," Donna saidhaving a place to play.

"If we can all do our part, then we can all enjoy it," said Lucas.

Take every New Year's Eve, whenneighbours congregate to skate, hostbonfires, shoot off fireworks and pop bottles of champagne. The winter hub is busiest on those days, but it can be a happening place allwinter.

Dyckremembers one nightso entertaining thatsitting on the middle of the river with their lawn chairs, she forgot all about the concert they had tickets for.

Their friendliness of people in the neighbourhood stood out when she moved to the area more than two decades ago, Dyck said.

"We see our neighbours more in the winter than we do in the summer," she said.

She says the children who grew up using the trail are now in their 20s or early 30s, and will soon have kids of their own, if they don't already.

"Once they have their own little ones, it would be great for them to come here and continue on."

River winter playground created by residents in St. James

6 years ago

Duration 1:31

Residents come together to build toboggan slides, rinks, skating trail on Winnipeg's Assiniboine River.