Rideau Canal Walkway? NCC asks people to leave skates at home after snowfall
Several weeks after warm weather forced it to close, the Rideau Canal Skateway has reopened just in time for the final days of Winterlude — but there's a catch.
A stretch of the canal between Bank Street and the Pretoria Bridge was set to open Sunday at noon, the National Capital Commission (NCC) said in a Saturday evening post on social media.
But in a update on Sunday morning, the NCC said that an overnight snowfall blocked crews from flooding the skateway.
While the ice is "thick enough to make it safe" to use, it's also in "very poor condition," the NCC said.
Because of that, they're recommending people choose "walking over skating."
"Our crews will be hard at work again tonight to improve conditions," the NCC added.
In an update Sunday afternoon, the NCC said it would be closing the skateway at 6 p.m. to do "intensive ice maintenance," including flooding if the conditions allowed.
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.
Two crew members for the Rideau Canal Skateway shovel snow off the ice on Feb. 18, 2024. The NCC says crews will work again tonight to improve ice conditions. (Félix Pilon/CBC)
