Rides

Explore Winnipeg by bike!

Bike Winnipeg put together a number of guided bike tours between April and October each year, as well as a few select winter rides. These 2-3 hour tours are interpreted by lively and knowledgeable experts and guided through the city by ride marshals to help ensure your comfort and safety. All tours travel at a leisurely pace with plenty of stops along the way.

We offer a mix of free and paid rides. Space on the rides is limited, so register early to reserve your spot!

If you can’t fit one of these rides into your schedule, please take a look at some of the self-guided tours we and other organizations are offering.

ArtRides

Join Bike Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Arts Council on an informative ride and get to know the artwork that punctuates and brightens your city!

Rides run 2 to 2 1/2 hours, and are always at a casual pace, with lots of stops along the way where you’ll have the opportunity to learn a bit more about some of our favourite public art works.

Cost: Free

Bike Week ArtRide – South Winnipeg (June 11th)

Discover public art in south Winnipeg! We’ll explore several artworks during this approximately 16km art ride including:

Écobuage by Plain Projects + Urbanink
Watershed by Collin Zipp
Land/mark by Jacqueline Metz & Nancy Chew
Tributaries by Simon Hughes

Blue Rapid Transitway – Thursday, June 30th

Starting Location: Seel Station (1550 Seel Ave)

Start Time: 7:00 pm

End Time: 9:30 pm

Distance: 13kms

Rooster Town Kettle is one of many public art works we’ll visit on this tour.

This 13km tour will start and end at Seel Station Park & Ride. Artworks we will visit include:

Rooster Town Kettle & Fetching Water by Ian August
テンサイ (TENSAI) by Kelty McKinnon and Cindy Mochizuki
(Un)Still Life with Spoked Wheels by Warren Carther
Métis Land Use by Tiffany Shaw-Collinge
Salt Fat Sugar & Your Water is Safe by Bill Burns
ROW ROW ROW by Public City Architecture and Urban Ink
Furrows on the Land (The Field) / Furrows in the Land (The Wheel) by Jeanette Johns

Tour participants are responsible to provide a bike and helmet. Ask us for bike rental recommendations!

Tours will run as scheduled rain or shine but will be cancelled in the event of a thunderstorm.

Please respect physical distancing and stay home if you feel unwell. Face masks are encouraged.

North Winnipeg (July 30th)

Starting Location: Kildonan Park Duck Pond

Start Time: 2:00 pm

End Time: 4:00 pm

Length: km

This tour will start in Kildonan Park near the Duck Pond (just behind the Prairie Edge Restaurant). We will visit collaboratively-created artworks including:

Bokeh by Takashi Iwasaki and Nadi Design
Along the Creek by youth from Knowles Centre with Becky Thiessen
Life Journey by Kildonan-East Collegiate Girls’ Club with Denise Préfontaine
Reconciliation Mosaic by École Luxton School with Ursula Neufeld

St. Boniface & Downtown (August 13th)

Starting Location: Jardin de sculptures (219 Provencher)

Start Time: 2pm

End Time: 4 pm

Length: 7 km

Bloody Saturday is just one of the art works you’ll learn about on the Our Stories ride.

This 7km tour will start at the fountain behind the Manitoba Legislative Building. We will visit public artworks including:

Monument by Michel de Broin
Louis Riel by Marcien Lemay
Phare Ouest ( Far West) by Marcel Gosselin
High Five by Jennifer Stillwell
Bloody Saturday by Bernie Miller and Noam Gonick
Louis Riel by Miguel Joyal (Manitoba Legislative Building)

Tour participants are responsible to provide a bike and helmet. Ask us for bike rental recommendations!

Tours will run as scheduled rain or shine but will be cancelled in the event of a thunderstorm.

Please respect physical distancing and stay home if you feel unwell. Face masks are encouraged.

BLUE Rapid Transitway (August 25th)

Starting Location: Seel Station (1550 Seel Ave)

Start Time: 7:00 pm

End Time: 9:00 pm

Length: 13 km

This 13km tour will start and end at Seel Station Park & Ride. Artworks we will visit include:

Rooster Town Kettle & Fetching Water by Ian August
テンサイ (TENSAI) by Kelty McKinnon and Cindy Mochizuki
(Un)Still Life with Spoked Wheels by Warren Carther
Métis Land Use by Tiffany Shaw-Collinge
Salt Fat Sugar & Your Water is Safe by Bill Burns
ROW ROW ROW by Public City Architecture and Urban Ink
Furrows on the Land (The Field) / Furrows in the Land (The Wheel) by Jeanette Johns

Tour participants are responsible to provide a bike and helmet. Ask us for bike rental recommendations!

Tours will run as scheduled rain or shine but will be cancelled in the event of a thunderstorm.

Please respect physical distancing and stay home if you feel unwell. Face masks are encouraged.

South Winnipeg (September 4th)

Watershed, one of the public art works we’ll discuss on this tour.

Start Location: St. Vital Park Duck Pond (190 River Rd)

Start Time: 2:00 pm

End Time: 4:00 pm

Length: 18 km

Discover public art in South Winnipeg! We’ll explore several artworks during this 20km art ride including:

Écobuage by Plain Projects + Urbanink
Watershed by Collin Zipp
Tributaries by Simon Hughes
Land/mark by Jacqueline Metz & Nancy Chew

Tour participants are responsible to provide a bike and helmet. Ask us for bike rental recommendations!

Tours will run as scheduled rain or shine but will be cancelled in the event of a thunderstorm.

Please respect physical distancing and stay home if you feel unwell. Face masks are encouraged.

Pedal into History

Curator of Seven Oaks House Museum, Eric Napier Strong, has drawn deeply on his historical expertise to develop this series of rides exploring different areas of Manitoba’s early history.

Ride participants are guided between historic sites by bicycle, and treated to in-person interpretation relating to the history of each site, local community and early Manitoba.

Cost: $12 + Fees

Power & Politics (June 26th)

Start Location: Balmoral High School (630 Westminster Ave)

Start Time: 1:30 pm

End Time: 3:30 pm

Length: Approximately 9km return

This casually-paced tour will take us into the lap of luxury, exploring the beautiful old buildings in Old Winnipeg’s most exclusive neighbourhoods.

It’s no coincidence that many of Winnipeg’s most remarkable mansions are clustered along the Assiniboine River. From Armstrong’s Point to Wellington Crescent, we’ll be tracing the development of this area from backwoods bush to the seat of political and economic power.

Winnipeg was once known as the “Chicago of the North”, and our historic architecture reflects that rich past. At the same time we developed a reputation as a wild west town, filled with outrageous characters who made their own rules.

We’ll be tracing the history of our city’s early elites: Visiting corrupt land barons, abusive mayors, and a wealthy Metis woman who taught racist writers what “respect” means on the prairies.

Some of the sights we’ll visit along our way include:

Balmoral High
Ralph Conor House
Cornish Library
Gilchrist House
Pioneer Lodge/Omand’s Creek
Rumford House
Nellie McClung House
Woodsworth House
Wolseley School

Birth of a Province Tour – Multiple Dates

We all know this year marks Manitoba’s 150th birthday, but how many of us really know the people and places that led to our province’s foundation?

This family-friendly ride along the scenic Red & Assiniboine Rivers will introduce you to the remarkable characters and exciting events that helped our home take shape.

The tour will help you better understand:

Our local history before we became Manitoba
The historical architecture of our downtown
The differing cultures and perspectives of English and French Metis communities
The impact of Canadian colonialism on local ways of life

Follow the links below to register now!

Sunday, July 17th – 9:30 am – 11:00 am
Thursday, August 18th – 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Ride the Red (August 6th)

Start Location: Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (494 Tache)

Start Time: 1:30 pm

End Time: 3:30 pm

Length: 11 km (19 km return)

St. Boniface, Point Douglas, and (West) Kildonan were perhaps the three most important settlement areas during the early Red River Settlement period, and offer many of the remaining examples of historic locations and architecture from the time.

Although their histories are deeply intertwined, each area had its own ethnic, cultural and political dynamics, and the people of each shaped the development of early Winnipeg in distinct ways.

Wrong Side of the Tracks (September 18th)

Start Location: St. John’s Park

Start Time: 1:30 pm

End Time: 3:30 pm

Length: 10 km

Winnipeg’s North End has a reputation for being tough, but it’s also home to a fierce community pride. This area was literally on the wrong side of the tracks from our urban core, and the symbolic barrier created major social divides that are still felt today.

The North End has also been a mosaic of cultural diversity from its earliest days. Out of the early foundations laid by Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian immigrants, the community has developed a unique identity that has given birth to strong political and social movements. The area’s historic architecture will help us trace the evolution of this identity as the community changed and spread north into the affluent suburb of St. John’s.

Across the Assiniboine (September 21)

Start Location: St. James Anglican Church (540 Tylehurst Street)

Start Time: 6:30 pm

End Time: 9:00 pm

Length: 10 km

Winnipeg’s role as “Gateway to the West” made us more than just a metropolis: Our city became a model for Canada’s west-ward expansion, settlement, and colonization. What did that process really mean for the people of Manitoba, and what lessons can we learn from our rich architectural heritage?

This 10km tour will take you through the most historic neighbourhoods along the Assiniboine river. Along the way we’ll talk about the history of our city’s western expansion, and the impact colonization left on the prairies.

The tour will help you better understand:

The development of West Winnipeg
Evolving architectural styles from the 1850s to the 1930s
Indigenous history along the Assiniboine River
The role of city planning in colonization

Beyond la Barriere (October 1st)

Start Location: St. John’s Park

Start Time: 1:30 pm

End Time: 4:00 pm

Length: 20-25 km

Winnipeg is made up of a diverse collection of communities, and their early histories often reflect very different cultural backgrounds. While the northern areas were largely settled by English and Scottish immigrants, the south end of our city’s roots are primarily Metis and French. As we travel south we’ll be following the Red and La Salle rivers, which both played a pivotal role in the development of our city.

St. Vital was first settled in an organized way in the mid 1820s. The first to settle here were Metis families who had previously lived south, near Pembina, North Dakota. Many of these people moved north following conflicts with the Sioux (Lakota) people, and the early success of the Red River Settlement.

Bike for the Future

Walking and cycling are the two most environmentally friendly modes of transportation and need to play a key role in our greenhouse gas reductions. Transportation makes up 50% of Winnipeg’s emissions (https://winnipeg.ca/sustainability/ClimateChange.stm).

Bike for the Future rides are mass rides we use to advocate for safe spaces for our friends and families to actively commute by bike so that our community can help tackle the climate crisis.

Our Bike for the Future rides are designed with riders of all types in mind.

We ride along calm streets in a large group with the help of our ride marshals.
We ride at a speed that allows people of all ages and abilities to participate.
Everyone is welcome!
Group gathering restrictions may force delays, so please check this page or our Facebook page for current ride status.

Earth Day Ride (May 15th)

Date: Sunday, May 15th

Start Time: 1:00 pm

Start Location: Variety Heritage Adventure Park (Children’s Museum at The Forks)

End Location: Same

We will be riding a downtown loop from the the Variety Heritage Adventure Park at The Forks. Check out the Green Action Centre Earth Day activities before or after the ride. Our ride is open to people of all ages and abilities and will roll at a pace that allows everyone to keep up!

The ride should take us about 1 1/2 hours.

Powers Park Ride (June 25th)

Date: Saturday, June 25th

Start Time: 1:00 pm

Start/End Location: Powers Park – Selkirk Ave @ Powers St (The Bell Tower)

This is a rescheduling of our Bike Week ride that was postponed due to inclement weather.

This will be an easy peasy, no drop ride leaving from Powers Park, touring north up to Hartford St and then back down Scotia St to show off some of the better streets for riding your bike through the North End. We will return to Powers Park to complete the loop.

Other Rides

We typically offer a number of rides that fall outside the above. These include rides that help explore some of the city’s festivals (Doors Open, Folklorama, …) or learn about the city through partner organizations such as Save Our Seine, Green Buildings Council, or the MB Master Gardeners Association.

Parks & Trails of South St. Vital (September 17th)

Start Location: Henteleff Park (1964 St. Mary’s Rd)

Starting Time: 1:30 pm

End Time: 4:00 pm

Length: 20 km

Cost: $10 plus fees

Join former Bike Winnipeg Director Denis De Pape on Saturday, June 17th for Parks & Trails of South St. Vital, a leisurely bike ride through St. Vital’s finest natural settings and most enjoyable trails. As part of Bike Week Winnipeg’s celebrations of biking in Winnipeg, Bike Winnipeg is presenting a guided bike tour of the trails and parks of South St. Vital.

This 20 km ride will take you through and along the magical Bois-des-Esprits, Louis Riel Sr. Trail, Bishop Grandin Greenway, St. Vital Park, Henteleff Park, and South St. Vital Trail.

Denis DePape is a former Board Member of Bike Winnipeg and of Save Our Seine. He is an avid cyclist, frequent user of the trails and forest along the Seine River in St, Vital and Manitoba history buff.

StrikeBike! (Date TBA)

Start Location: Parking lot at 529 Wllington Cr.

Starting Times: TBA

Duration: 2 hours

Cost: $20 plus fees

We are thrilled to be able to offer this tour once again!

Stand! producer/General Strike Historian Danny Schur will be our guide on this casually paced tour that winds its way from River Heights into the Downtown and the Exchange Districts.

Relive the events of the General Strike as we stop at many of the sites where history unfolded during the spring of 1919; events that eventually became the platform for future labour reforms across Canada.

StrikeBike! tours start in the parking lot of 529 Wellington and run for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Tours end at City Hall. Continue your day from there, or ride back with us to 529 Wellington following the tour.

Tour Dates and times TBA

Proceeds from the StrikeBike! rides will go towards Bike Winnipeg to support of our ongoing advocacy and education efforts.

About Danny Schur

Danny Schur is a Juno- and Multi-Platinum-Album-recipient composer/producer/writer best known for the “Stand!” film adaptation of his successful stage musical “Strike!”, which became the #1 Canadian movie musical in its 2019 theatrical release.

Pedal Powered Ghost Tours – Downtown (Date TBA)

Start Location: Skating Canopy at The Forks

Starting Time: 7:30 pm

End Time: 9:30 pm

Length: 9 km

Cost: $15 plus fees

A woman vanishing into thin air at the Hotel Fort Garry. Spirits reaching out from beyond the grave at the Pantages Theatre. Just what is happening in Winnipeg’s heritage buildings at night? Early Winnipeg was a booming city full of excitement with no shortage of murders, cheating lovers and tragic accidents; all play a role in Winnipeg’s reputation as one of Canada’s most haunted places.

Based on the popular Winnipeg Ghost Walk Tours, Bike Winnipeg has paired up with local author Matthew Komus (Haunted Winnipeg: Ghost Stories from the Heart of the Continent) for a two-wheeled tour of the city that promises to put more than just a little bit of fright into your night.

This 2 hour tour will lead us across the Downtown and Exchange Districts and into Old St. Boniface to investigate some of the spookier abodes in the River City.

Tour size is limited, so purchase your ticket now to reserve your spot on this ride into Winnipeg’s haunted history!

Please make sure that you bring your bike lights.

“Winnipeg stands very high among the places we have visited for its psychic possibilities.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Pedal Powered Ghost Tour – Seven Oaks (Date TBA)

Start Location: Skating Canopy at The Forks

Starting Time: 7:30 pm

End Time: 9:30 pm

Length: 9 km

Cost: $15 plus fees

This 2 hour tour will lead us across the Downtown and Exchange Districts and into Old St. Boniface to investigate some of the spookier abodes in the River City.

Tour size is limited, so purchase your ticket now to reserve your spot on this ride into Winnipeg’s haunted history!

Please make sure that you bring your bike lights.

“Winnipeg stands very high among the places we have visited for its psychic possibilities.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Bike Week Rides

Winnipeg’s cycling culture comes together during Bike Week Winnipeg (June 6th-12th) for a week of events celebrating the bike. Hop on your bike and join us on a ride.

Bike to Work Day (Monday, June 6th) Pit Stops Map

South Winnipeg ArtRide (see above)

For more information, visit Bike Week Winnipeg

COVID-19 Precautions

To help ensure the safety of our ride participants, volunteers, and staff, we will be asking everyone to maintain a 2m distance between each other at stops and while riding. Sites have been selected to ensure space for social distancing, and we have limited ride sizes.

If you are experiencing any symptoms, we ask that you please stay home. We will be more than happy to provide a refund. Finally, please note that we are not requesting the mandatory use of masks during our rides.