👻 Spooktacular Halloween Hike in Birds Hill

📅 October 28, 11:30 AM

🌲 Chickadee Trailhead West Pine Ridge, MB R0E 1J3 🍂🎃🍁

What’s cuter than kids in costumes? Kids in costumes dashing through the woods!

Join us a few days before Halloween for a spooktacular Halloween hike at the Chickadee Trail in Birds Hill Provincial Park.

We’ll have TWO activity stations with treats along the trail. One at the overlook tower and another one about 2/3 of the way along the Chickadee Trail. It’s a great chance to get outside and burn off some energy before the big day.

We had over 500 people at our 2023 Halloween hike! So we’ve set up arrival time windows to help spread the crowd out along the trail.

You can register for 11 am, 11:30 am, 12 pm, 12:30 pm, 1 pm, 1:30 pm, 2 pm, 2:30 pm or a 3 pm arrival. Don’t sweat it if you arrive a little early or a little late. We’ll be happy to see you.

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Trail Info

The Chickadee Trail is a great hike for families, people who are new to hiking, and experienced outdoorsy types looking for an easy but rewarding trek in the woods.

Just a short drive north of Winnipeg (or south of Selkirk), it’s one of the more popular trails in Birds Hill Provincial Park for a reason.

The Chickadee Trail is well shaded, with a brief patch of open prairie amidst the mixed forest of trembling aspen, burr oak, and fir trees.

There’s also a wooden overlook tower about midway through the hike built at the top of an ancient glacier beach (elevation on the hill is 265 metres, compared with Winnipeg’s elevation of 232 metres above sea level).

At just four kilometres — with a mild elevation gain — speedy hikers can complete the Chickadee Trail in about an hour. People who stop for snacks or to appreciate the wildflowers, birds, and occasional deer should plan to be on the trail for up to a couple hours.

People seeking a longer hike have three other trails to choose from that connect to Chickadee: Aspen (6.5 km), Esker (6.0 km), and Bluestem (14.0 km).

Outdoor Fun: What to Expect on Your Group Hike

Sometimes we just want to have some fun and enjoy a friendly chat with a stranger.

Our (free!) group hikes are an easy way to get outside and explore Manitoba’s beautiful provincial parks with other people.

CPAWS staff will share their love of nature on a relaxing hike along our favourite trails.

There won’t be any lectures along the way: when we stop for water and snack breaks we’ll keep the conversation casual and light.

If you’ve got questions we’ll do our best to answer them. However, we are not formally trained park interpreters. We encourage people seeking learning opportunities to check out our outdoor learning programming or try an interpretive event offered by Manitoba Parks.

How to Get There

• Set your GPS to ‘Chickadee Trailhead’ or follow the instructions below
• Drive to the West Gate of Birds Hill Park along Highway 59.
• Take the North Drive.
• Go past the sign for Cedar Bog Trail (also well worth your time.)
• Watch for the sign to Chickadee Trail and turn left into the parking lot.
• Don’t forget your provincial park pass!

Click here to view a park map.