I've made my own maps of the South Forest and North Forest to satisfy my curiosity about the minor trails I had begun exploring, and to be able to explain clearly to my wife before I set out just where the search party should start looking.
Here are the latest versions of the maps. For further information on satellite views of the forest, see Google Earth and the Forest in the Odds & Ends page.
If you want to print these maps, they're best printed on 8.5x11 photo paper. You can make a pocket version to take on the trail. It would be best to have the pocket version laminated first, to prevent water damage, although that's not essential. If you do, use self-adhesive laminating sheets (no laminating machine required), because hot lamination may cause ink-jet colours to run.
Trim the map, cut it into thirds or quarters, and tape the folds on both sides of the paper. If you didn't laminate, you might also want to tape the edges or corners to avoid fraying. I use Scotch Transparent Tape (in the red box, not magic tape) because it's very durable. You have to be careful positioning it, because this tape will lift off the ink if you try removing it. If the map filled the page, you'll have a pocket map suited to a deep pocket; if you reduced the image to fit on half a sheet of 8.5x11, it will fit in a shirt pocket quite well.
South Assiniboine Forest
Click here to download a PDF version of the South Forest map, or download the above jpg file. Both are larger than what you see here on your screen.
The main trails listed in the City of Winnipeg map (Preston, Harte, Traverse, Aspen, Oak Ridge, Sagimay) are colour-coded here as on the city’s map. As you may know, Preston & Oak Ridge overlap, as do Sagimay and Oak Ridge, and Sagimay and Traverse.
Click here to access the City of Winnipeg's (South)Assiniboine Forest map.
I’ve also colour-coded and named two trails which are shown unnamed in dotted white lines on the city’s map (Cranberry, Wild Deer). I’ve given names to most of the other significant trails. They have some meaning either in relation to the trails themselves, or to the forest overall.
On the west side, G.T. Chapman refers to George Thomas Chapman, who was a market gardener and Reeve of Charleswood for almost the whole period from its inception in 1912 until 1926. Chapman owned the land in the Assiniboine Forest approximately between the Aspen Trail and Chalfont, for a distance of four miles south from the Assiniboine River. Click the Historic menu item to read more.
The Cranberry Trail gets its name from a very large high-bush cranberry tree (the largest I’ve seen in the forest) that is located just off the trail. It’s very hard to spot except when the berries are out.
Occasionally in the South Forest I meet a gentleman named Denis, walking his two dogs. Denis has been walking the minor trails for years, and in fact blazed some of them. The Pioneer Trail is named in honour of Denis and others like him.
North Assiniboine Forest
Click here to download a PDF version of the North Forest map, or download the above jpg file. Both are larger than what you see here on your screen.
The North Forest's minor trail layout is somewhat in a grid pattern. It is less frequented than the South Forest, but offers lots of space for secluded walks in the shade. At the time of writing, there are no paved, crushed limestone, or woodchip trails with exception of Roblin and Golf Course trails, on the northern and eastern perimeters of the forest.
As with the South Forest, the trail names I've used have some meaning either in relation to the trails themselves, or to the forest overall.
Legend
· Thick Black: minor trails, usually mud or grass.
· Thin Black: less significant minor trails.
· Thin White: even less significant minor trails.