Every winter, when the ice is thick enough, Ottawa turns a 19th-century military canal into the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink. The Rideau Canal Skateway runs 7.8 kilometres through the centre of Canada’s capital, from the locks beside Parliament Hill and the Château Laurier, past Dow’s Lake, to Hartwells Locks near Carleton University. Its surface equals roughly 90 Olympic hockey rinks, and skating on it is free.
From military waterway to UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Rideau Canal was built after the War of 1812 as a safe supply route between Montreal and Kingston, away from the exposed St Lawrence River and the American border. Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers supervised the work, carried out by contractors and thousands of labourers, and the canal opened in 1832.
It runs 202 km from the Ottawa River at Ottawa to Lake Ontario at Kingston through a chain of rivers and lakes, with 45 locks at 23 lock stations. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 2007.
How the Skateway began in 1971
The idea came from Doug Fullerton, newly appointed chair of the National Capital Commission (NCC). In January 1971 NCC crews cleared the first stretch of ice, about 5 km to Dow’s Lake, and the 1970–71 season became the Skateway’s first. The second season, 1971–72, is still the longest on record at 90 days.
Winterlude, Ottawa’s winter festival, started in 1979 with the Skateway at its heart, and it still fills the canal and its banks every February. Two years later a pastry stand arrived on Dow’s Lake selling fried dough then called “The Elephant Ear”; today the BeaverTail is one of the classic snacks of a skate on the canal. In 2005 Guinness World Records recognised the Skateway as the largest naturally frozen ice rink in the world.
When to skate the Rideau Canal
The season usually runs from January into early March, but it depends entirely on the weather. The average is about 50 days. Mild winters cut it short: 2015–16 managed only 18 days, and in 2023–24 the Skateway never opened at all because of above-normal temperatures. In a good year the crowds are huge; 2018–19 set a record of nearly 1.5 million visits.
February is the classic time to go, when Winterlude is on and the ice is usually at its most reliable. Check the NCC’s ice-conditions page on the day, since sections open and close separately as the ice changes.
Practical tips for your skate
- Hours and cost: when conditions allow, the Skateway is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and access is free.
- Rentals and services: skate rental and sharpening, sleighs, change rooms, washrooms, food vendors and rest areas are set up along the route.
- Not skating? Once there is enough snow, a packed-snow walking lane runs beside the ice from Waverley to Bank and from Lakeview to Dow’s Lake.
- Pick a stretch: the full 7.8 km and back is a long skate for beginners. Dow’s Lake and the downtown end near Parliament Hill are both good places to start, with plenty of facilities and views.
The NCC’s Skateway page has current conditions, maps and accessibility information, and its history of the Skateway lists every season’s opening and closing dates.
Planning more winter trips? Compare our ten winter city breaks, or watch a Canadian mountain-lake skating film.
Related reading
- Stevin Tuchiwsky’s Western Canada: Winter Lakes, Falls and Mountain Towns
- Canadian Winter Humour: Snowbanks, Cold-Weather Scenes and Everyday Life
- Waterton Lakes: Where Prairie Meets the Rocky Mountains
- Moraine Lake: The Valley of the Ten Peaks and Its Famous View
- Banff Avenue: Mountain Views at Street Level
- Haffner Creek: Paul Zizka’s Ice-Climbing Photographs
- Frozen Hairstyles at Takhini Hot Springs in Canada
- Peyto Lake in Banff: Turquoise Water, Mountain Views and Seasonal Change
- Azure Lake in Wells Gray Park, British Columbia
No comments