Lake Minnewasta in Morden is frozen over, but that doesn't mean you can't utilize what it has to offer during the cold Manitoba winter.

Morden resident Dave Penner, who is also part of the Morden Fire Department, used his truck and plow to clear the snow off of the Lake to form a roughly 3.5km in length for everyone to skate on.

"It's been a talked about idea for a long time already," said Penner.

Penner said he had some time this winter and started clearing the pathway.

Not only is there an area where people can skate on the lake, but it has an area right on the beach front for people to play a little bit of hockey, toboggan, have bonfires, and just come together on the ice.

He said people have been nothing but supportive and grateful to have the opportunity to utilize the Lake in this way during the winter.

"People are really excited to have this and not have to drive an hour or hour and a half to Winnipeg to do something like this," said Penner.

According to Penner, it's about a day worth of work to clear the snow off of the trail. Penner doesn't just clear the snow but has also helped smoothen areas for skaters. He did this by drilling a hole into the ice and pumping water out onto the ice and allowing it to freeze in a more level fashion.

Penner would like to see this idea continue to happen each winter and keep everyone active during the winter.

The interesting part of Penner undertaking this project is that he himself doesn't even skate, but wanted the community to have a chance to enjoy themselves