Rideau Canal Skating
Location: Rideau Canal, Downtown Ottawa
Tickets: 613 239-5234
Website: www.canadascapital.gc.ca

The Rideau Canal Skateway was one of our inspirations. Cleared only partially in the winter of 1970-71 by men with shovels, the Skateway was a runaway success. Every year now, a fleet of vehicles clears a stretch of ice 7.8 kilometres long (from the National Arts Centre to Hartwell Locks) for skating.

In 1979, Winterlude was conceived, and the Skateway became the principal site of the Capital Region's annual winter festival, during which Canada's artistic and sporting traditions are highlighted. Today, over one million skaters turn out annually during the cold months, and the expertise in ice management that we have acquired in the past 30 years is sought by cities all over the world.

For More Information

Ice conditions: 613-239-5234 (updated daily)
Information: 613-239-5000 or 1-800-465-1867
TTY (text telephone for the deaf): 613-239-5090 or 1 866 661-3530
Capital Infocentre: 90 Wellington Street, Ottawa (across from Parliament Hill).