This year is a big one for the Trans Canada Trail. The trail's foundation had given itself a deadline of Canada's 150th birthday to connect the coast-to-coast-to-coast trail. 

Murielle Bugera, president of the Crow Wing Trail Association, invites people to visit the Crow Wing Trail on Saturday in celebration of the event. This trail connects Emerson to Winnipeg and is 193 kilometres long, making it one of the longest sections of the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba.

Bugera said people can go online to find trail access points, and following the trail is easy due to the blue signs and white arrows. She explained there is still work to be done, but Saturday will mark a big step in the completion process of the Trail.

"This has been something in the making for 20 years, and recognizing that we're calling it 'connection' and not 'completion' because this is going to really be an on-going project. We're always going to be connecting and improving et cetera, but it's as close at it will be ... for people to be able to travel on the Trans Canada Trail from one end of the country to the other," she said.

Bugera added that the Crow Wing Trail board wants to use the event to encourage people to visit the trail. On Saturday, free shirts will be given to people who submit photos taken on the trial.

"It's an opportunity for people to say, 'you know, I've been wanting to go on the trail for a long time and I just keep putting it off, so now seeing this is a special day maybe we'll make the special effort to do so.'" 

Also in the works are trailhead signs for the Crow Wing Trail. They will be put up at 11 access points along the trial and contain historical information.

"Our trailhead signs are double-sided; one side is the historical map of the Crowing Trail, which was used by Metis freighters in the 1800s with Red River ox carts, and the other side is the modern map which shows you the modern trail of today, the communities it goes through, the amenities, and 65 points of interest," said Bugera.

She hopes for the signs to go up before this winter's snowfall.