Rideau Canal Skateway set to reopen in time for end of Winterlude
Several weeks after warm weather forced it to close, the Rideau Canal Skateway should be reopening Sunday just in time for the final days of Winterlude.
A stretch of the canal between Bank Street and the Pretoria Bridge is slated to open at noon, the National Capital Commission (NCC) said in a Saturday evening post on social media.
Conditions will be “variable,” the NCC said.
Briefly open in January
Skaters were briefly able to glide along the world heritage site last month, when a short stretch between Bank Street and Pretoria Avenue opened on Jan. 21.
It was the first time the canal had sufficient ice since 2022, as mild weather forced the cancellation of last winter’s skating season for the first time in the skateway’s five-decade-plus history.
However, the skateway was only open for a few days in January before the weather required the NCC to shut it down.
Ice on the canal needs to be at least 30 centimetres thick before the skateway can safely open, even thicker if the quality is poor.
Crews work to prepare a stretch of the Rideau Canal Skateway on Feb. 16, 2024. (Jean Delisle/CBC)