Summer is here, and it’s time to hit one of the parks in Winnipeg.

When it comes to seasons, Winnipeg has ’em all. Although Winnipeg’s winter tends to be long and cold, the city enjoys about 6 months of spring and summer.

During the nicer parts of the year Winnipeggers love to hang out in the parks in Winnipeg. We enjoy a nice picnic and barbeque and connect with nature while not travelling too far from home. All in one of the great parks in Winnipeg.

Just a heads up before we get to our list – Winnipeg has many green lungs within it, and you could usually find a nice park just a few minutes away from your home. In this list we’ve comprised the 5 parks that we think are the best in the great city of Winnipeg:

Assiniboine Park

When it comes to Winnipeg parks, Assiniboine Park has it all. The park that was officially opened in 1909 is known by any Winnipegger and is one of the largest in the city. If you take into account the fact that Assiniboine Forest and the Assiniboine Park Zoo are part of it, then it is by far the largest green lung of the city.

The park is confined by Corydon Ave / Roblin Blvd to the south and the Assiniboine River to the north.

The park has vast fields of green grass, which in some you’ll find cricket players in the sunny weekends of spring and summer. Those green fields are also a great picnic location and people from all over the city enjoy it.

The park has some other great attractions such as:

• The steam train that the kids will enjoy.
• The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden which is beautiful both in summer and winter.
• The English Garden which is a great place to stroll in, in a sunny afternoo.
• A café and an outdoor bar.

During summer, the Assiniboine Park holds great events, such as the Friday Movie Night.

St. Vital Park

To the west of the large Winnipeg district of St. Vital you’ll find the lovely Winnipeg park of St. Vital. This large, 100 acres park lies on the eastern bank of the vast Red River that flows through Winnipeg, on one of its bends.

This is a prime location for picnics and barbeques. Sometimes you’ll might even catch a wedding ceremony taking place on its green lawn.

The park is also a perfect place for families as it has a nice playground with play structures, 2 beach volley ball courts and a soccer field.

The park also has a large roofed picnic tables area, which is perfect for sheltering you from the sun or even rain.

Kildonan Park

If you live in the northern part of Winnipeg Kildonan Park is probably your go-to park. Even if you’re not from that part of Winnipeg, a trip to Kildonan Park will surely worth your time.

Together with the parks above, Kildonan Park is one of the largest parks of Winnipeg. The park is located in Winnipeg’s suburb Kildonan, at the northern part of town.

It features picnic sites as well as barbeque pits, and you can also find sheltered tables that’ll protect you from sun or rain.

The park is also kids friendly as it stores some nice attractions for them. The park has a witch’s hut which is designed to illustrate the fairytale Hansel and Gretel by Brothers Grimm. It features terracotta panels which depicts the fairytale’s scenes.

Another wintertime attraction for kids is the toboggan slide (the park has 2) and a skating pond.

Kings Park

Not too far from the University of Manitoba, on the eastern part of Winnipeg’s neighborhood of Fort Richmond, you’ll find Kings Park. The Park lies on the western bank of The Red River on one of its horseshoe bends.

This lovely park has vast green fields and sport courts as it has 2 baseball diamonds and a soccer pitch.

Other facilities and attractions you’ll find there are the Chinese Pagoda, a labyrinth, a nice small lake and an Off-Leash Dog Area.

Due to its proximity to U of M, it is especially favorited by students who live nearby.

Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park

Our final pick is the Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park, located at southern most part of Winnipeg. Although some might consider Winnipeg’s perimeter highway to be the border of the city, the monastery which is located to the south of it, is still in Winnipeg.

The focal point of this small, nice park is the Trappist Monastery ruins. The monastery that was built back in 1892 was the home of francophone monks from the Trappist Order. They’ve lived there for almost a century, but due to growth of urban Winnipeg, reaching almost to the monastery itself, the monks vacated it back in 1978 and moved to a quitter place. 5 years later a fire burnt most of the monastery wings leaving it in ruins.

This is somewhat of a different park than the others mentioned above. Although you can find some nice spots for a weekend picnic it is smaller in size and usually less crowded than other parks in the city.