You may have heard of the Crow Wing Trail here in Niverville, but did you know the Crow Wing Trail is the longest section of the Trans-Canada Trail in Manitoba? The Crow Wing Trail is 191 kilometres and starts in the RM (Rural Municipality) of Emerson-Franklin, then runs through the Roseau River First Nation, the RM of De Salaberry, St-Pierre-Jolys, Niverville, and the RM of Ritchot to Winnipeg.
The trail, a main route in the 1800s, was used to transport goods to and from the Red River Settlement and the Crow Wing Settlement on the Mississippi. The trail connected Fort Garry, Manitoba to Saint Paul, Minnesota from the 1820s to 1870s, until a railway line was constructed.
In 2006, a dedicated team of volunteers revived the Crow Wing Trail for recreational use.
“I was involved from its beginning [in 1998] when Trails Manitoba was still in the process of encouraging communities to develop the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba,” says Murielle Bugera, President of the Crow Wing Trail Association. “I was the Economic Development Officer for the Village of
St-Pierre-Jolys and the RM of De Salaberry at that time and they were interested in developing trails to connect their communities. We felt the best approach was to work with our neighbours south of Winnipeg. The Crow Wing Trail was a common denominator amongst the RMs of Ritchot, the RM of De Salaberry, the Village of St-Pierre-Jolys, the RM of Franklin, and the Town of Emerson. These councils all passed a resolution supporting the re-creation of the Crow Wing Trail. The Town of Niverville and the Roseau River First Nation joined a few years later.”
Bugera sees a bright future for the Crow Wing Trail section in Niverville. “I applaud the Town of Niverville in the development of their interpretive centre in Hespeler Park, where they are decommissioning the old lagoon through wetlands. This is the type of initiative that trail users like to learn about. We hope to install a Crow Wing Trail trailhead map in this area and direct people to park and access the trail here.”
Some exciting features to see along the trail include the Senkiw suspension bridge. Emerson has Fort Duggerin, an abandoned cemetery, and another suspension bridge. Roseau River First Nation has beautiful ceremonial grounds. In St. Malo, you’ll find a list of donor names on the bridge to St. Malo Park. Also check out the Maison Goulet in St.-Pierre-Jolys. In the RM of Ritchot, you’ll find the Mennonite Memorial Landing Site.
