Winnipeg gets a bad rap sometimes, and honestly? Some of it’s deserved. This city has its share of rough patches, and if you’re new here or just visiting, you need to know where those spots are.
I’m writing this because nobody wants to stumble into a sketchy situation while grabbing coffee or taking a shortcut home. You deserve to feel safe, whether you’re walking your dog at dusk or looking for a decent apartment.
Here’s the thing: knowing which areas to skip doesn’t mean writing off the whole city. It means being smart about where you spend your time. Let’s get into the places that should probably stay off your daily route.
Places to Avoid in Winnipeg
These neighborhoods and locations have earned their reputations through crime statistics, personal accounts, and local knowledge. Here’s what you need to watch out for.
1. North End (Specific Pockets Around Selkirk Avenue)
The North End has history, culture, and some genuinely good people trying to make things better. But certain blocks around Selkirk Avenue? They’re struggling hard.
You’ll notice the difference when you drive through. More broken windows. More people hanging around with nowhere in particular to go. The property crime rates here spike higher than almost anywhere else in the city, and car break-ins happen so frequently that locals just don’t leave anything visible in their vehicles anymore.
Gang activity concentrates in this area, particularly between Powers Street and Main Street. That’s not fearmongering. That’s what the police reports show year after year. If you’re looking for an apartment and the rent seems suspiciously cheap, there’s usually a reason. Your peace of mind costs more than the money you’d save.
Late-night walks here aren’t advisable. Even during daylight hours, keep your awareness up and your valuables out of sight.
2. Downtown Core After Dark (Especially Portage and Main Area)
Downtown Winnipeg empties out after business hours, and that’s when things get weird. The same streets that buzz with office workers at noon turn sketchy once the sun goes down.
Portage and Main, supposedly the heart of the city, becomes a gathering spot for people dealing with addiction and mental health crises. You’ll get approached for money. You’ll see things that make you uncomfortable. The underground walkways that connect buildings downtown become particularly dicey after 8 PM, with poor lighting and isolated stretches where help feels far away.
I’ve talked to people who work downtown, and almost everyone has a story. Someone following them to their car. Aggressive panhandling that crossed a line. Property damage. The Millennium Library area gets especially rough, with security guards constantly dealing with incidents that range from minor disturbances to actual assaults.
If you work downtown, park close, walk in groups, and don’t take shortcuts through alleys or parkades alone. Your instincts about a situation are probably right.
3. Point Douglas Neighborhood
Point Douglas sits just north of downtown, and it carries some of the city’s heaviest social challenges. The numbers don’t lie: this area consistently ranks among the highest for violent crime, drug activity, and poverty rates.
Higgins Avenue through this neighborhood sees regular police presence, which tells you something. Break-ins happen frequently enough that many residents have given up on keeping anything valuable at ground level. You’ll see houses with boarded windows sitting next to occupied homes, creating an atmosphere that feels abandoned even when it’s not.
The community center tries hard, and there are families here doing their best. But if you’re choosing where to live or even where to take a casual walk, Point Douglas shouldn’t make your list. The risk outweighs any potential benefit.
Substance abuse issues are visible here in ways that can be jarring if you’re not used to it. Needles in parks. People clearly in crisis. It’s sad, and it’s also something you need to protect yourself and your family from.
4. Spence Neighborhood (Particularly Evenings)
Spence has been trying to gentrify for years, and you’ll see signs of it. Cute cafes pop up. Young professionals move in, hoping to find affordable character homes. Then reality sets in.
The property crime here stays stubbornly high. Your bike will get stolen from a locked shed. Your car will get broken into even in your own driveway. Package theft is practically a sport, and people have stopped ordering deliveries to their homes because items rarely make it past the front step.
Evening strolls feel different here than in safer neighborhoods. You’re constantly checking over your shoulder. Certain streets, particularly those closer to Ellice Avenue, have regular drug activity that’s obvious to anyone paying attention. Sex work happens openly on some blocks, bringing associated safety concerns.
Some people love Spence despite these issues, citing the housing stock and convenient location. But going in with open eyes matters. This isn’t a neighborhood where you can relax your guard.
5. Central Park Area
Central Park should be a community asset. Instead, it’s become a place most locals avoid entirely, especially after dark. The park attracts open drug use, and the surrounding blocks reflect that reality.
Cumberland Avenue and the streets feeding into the park see regular incidents. Assaults happen here with concerning frequency, and the mix of desperation and addiction creates an unpredictable environment. Women especially report feeling unsafe walking through this area alone.
The park itself offers little reason to visit. Equipment stays broken. Maintenance seems sporadic at best. What you will find is evidence of the activities happening there: discarded needles, broken bottles, and people sleeping rough who sometimes react aggressively when disturbed.
Even driving through during daylight hours, you’ll notice the difference between Central Park’s surroundings and safer parts of the city. Trust that feeling. There are dozens of better parks in Winnipeg where you can actually enjoy being outside.
6. West Broadway
West Broadway straddles an uncomfortable middle ground. Parts of it try hard to be hip and artistic. Other parts remind you why people lock their doors.
The stretch between Maryland Street and Sherbrook Street concentrates most of the problems. Higher rates of violent crime than city averages. Regular police calls. A transient population that creates unpredictability. You’ll see supportive housing facilities in this area, which serve an important purpose but also concentrate individuals struggling with serious challenges.
Break-ins plague this neighborhood relentlessly. Friends who’ve lived here describe replacing broken windows multiple times per year. Car prowling happens so often that insurance rates reflect the risk. One person told me they stopped keeping anything in their vehicle except an ice scraper, and someone still smashed their window to check.
The community has character, no question. Local businesses fight hard to create positive spaces. But if you’re weighing options for where to settle down or where to walk your dog safely, West Broadway comes with complications you need to consider carefully.
7. William Avenue Corridor
William Avenue stretches through some rough territory, particularly between Main Street and McPhillips Street. This corridor has struggled with crime and social disorder for years, showing little sign of improvement.
The strip clubs and hotels along this route attract secondary criminal activity. Prostitution, drug dealing, and violence cluster around these establishments, creating an environment where trouble finds you even if you’re not looking for it. Late-night gas stations along William Avenue regularly deal with theft and aggressive behavior.
Driving through, you’ll notice the deteriorating infrastructure. Businesses with heavy security measures. People loitering at all hours. The residential areas feeding off William Avenue suffer from the spillover effects, with property values depressed and long-term residents feeling trapped.
Public transit stops along this corridor see their share of incidents too. Waiting for a bus after dark here means staying hyper-alert, and even then, you might witness things you’d rather not see.
8. Burrows Avenue and Keewatin Street Area
This intersection and its surrounding blocks deal with concentrated gang activity that makes it genuinely dangerous. Shootings have happened here. Serious assaults occur with disturbing regularity. This isn’t somewhere you accidentally wander into; it’s somewhere you actively avoid.
The residential streets branching off from this intersection share the problems. Domestic disputes spill into public view. Drug houses operate with neighbors too frightened to report them. Children playing outside seem to disappear once they reach a certain age, replaced by young people drawn into activities that rarely end well.
Police presence here fluctuates, but no amount of patrols seems to fundamentally shift the dynamics. The community faces deep-rooted challenges that won’t resolve quickly, and meanwhile, living here or even passing through carries real risk.
If your GPS tries to route you through this area, take the extra few minutes to go around. Your safety matters more than a shorter drive time.
9. Isabel Street and Dufferin Avenue Vicinity
This pocket of the city, sitting west of Main Street, struggles with multiple overlapping issues. Drug activity, gang presence, and poverty create a challenging environment that affects everyone nearby.
Housing stock here includes numerous run-down properties that attract problem tenants. Slumlords operate with minimal oversight, creating living conditions that would shock you. Domestic violence calls come from this area frequently, and the stress of the environment contributes to ongoing cycles that are hard to break.
Walking through during the day, you’ll sense the tension. Groups of people watching you pass. Properties that clearly house more than just families. The playgrounds sit empty even when weather permits, because parents know better than to let kids play unsupervised.
This area doesn’t offer much reason to visit if you don’t live there. And if you’re looking for a place to live, keep searching. The money you might save on rent gets spent on stress, security measures, and eventual moving costs when you realize you can’t stay.
10. Certain Parts of St. Boniface (Marion Street Corridor)
St. Boniface has beautiful sections with French heritage and riverside charm. The Marion Street corridor isn’t one of them. This stretch deals with crime rates that surprise people who think of St. Boniface as uniformly safe.
The area around Marion Street and Archibald Street sees regular property crime. Car thefts spike here, with organized groups targeting vehicles for parts or joy rides. Home invasions happen more frequently than local police would prefer to admit, and the mix of commercial and residential properties creates hiding spots and escape routes for criminals.
Some sections host supportive housing and social services that concentrate on individuals facing serious challenges. That’s important work, but it also creates clusters of activity that affect the surrounding neighborhood. Residents report dealing with theft, harassment, and property damage linked to these facilities.
St. Boniface overall remains safer than many Winnipeg neighborhoods, but Marion Street deserves caution. Don’t assume that because you’re in St. Boniface, you’re automatically in a good area. Do your homework on specific blocks before committing to anything.
Wrapping Up
Winnipeg has plenty to offer, but these ten areas consistently present problems that outweigh their benefits. Knowing where trouble concentrates helps you make smarter choices about where you live, work, and spend your time.
Safety isn’t about paranoia. It’s about awareness. Check crime statistics for any neighborhood you’re considering. Talk to people who actually live there. Trust your gut when something feels off. Your well-being depends on the decisions you make about where you put yourself every day.
This city has good neighborhoods worth exploring. Focus your energy there instead of taking unnecessary risks in places that haven’t earned your trust.
