Rideau Canal Skateway — Local services in Ottawa

Skating on the Rideau Canal is a wonderful experience. Annually, the Ottawa/Gatineau Region celebrates “WinterLude” on the first three weekends in February. Skating on the Canal is kind of considered the Main Attraction for “WinterLude”, but there are other activities to enjoy in both cities. The Rideau Canal runs through the heart of the city of Ottawa. The length of Skateway is equivalent to 200 NHL hockey rinks, laid end to end (about 7km).

The end points of the Skateway are near the NAC (National Arts Center) and Dow’s Lake. At these locations, there are benches to sit on, while you put your ice skates on. You can also buy Food and Drinks there, as well rent skates, if you need to. There are Food and Drink kiosks throughout the length of the Canal, on the Skateway, so you are never far from an Emergency Hot Chocolate if you need it.

The Skateway has all kinds of uses. Most people use it for recreation, but people also skate to work, school and nearby businesses, like the grocery store. You don’t have to be an expert skater to skate on the Rideau Canal. There are skaters of all ages and all skill levels, so you can go enjoy the winter air and skate as little or as much as you want. Skating is free.

An intermediate skater can reasonably cover the distance from the NAC to Dow’s Lake in about 45 minutes. Windy days can really impact your tolerance for braving the elements. Dress in layers, because it can be quite cold on the Skateway, but you can also work up sweat, depending on how hard you skate, and you might feel like tying your coat around your waist to cool down. Keep in mind that even the best skaters fall, because the ice is natural and there are bumps and crack everywhere.

Be aware that on weekends, skating on the Canal can get congested near the end points, with all the people trying to enjoy it. The National Capital Commission staff regularly maintains the ice surface for the length of the Canal, especially overnight. It is not unusual to see resurfacing machines running from one end of the Skateway to the other, during daylight hours. Even with maintenance though, the ice can get really chewed up near the end points, so be on the lookout for ruts, cracks and...

Starts beside Confederation park, underneath Mckenzie street, this open air is 7.8 km long one way, the longest in the world, opened in 1971 on Rideau Canal, it's a UN heritage site, because of climate change, it was not fully opened in recent years, this year 2025 season is a plus, fully opened near end of January. There are 5 access points, Rideau and Fifth are 2 biggest one with full services, heated change room, you can store your boots and novaluble stuff there, free of charge 😀, restroom you can use with skate ⛸️ on. BeaverTails truck 🚚, to which you have to have after 15.6 k skating, or just putting on your skate. There are skate rentals, with sharpening service at Rideau. There are several snack trucks or huts, selling not cheap stuff, understandable with short season. There are wood burning fire pit with benches around for skaters warming up, picnic tables for eater s. The skate way ends at Library street via a turnaround on Dows Lake to make the full 7.8k. Street park is free during weekends, but hard to find, some not that far parking lot cost $6 a day during weekends 😅, the opening days mostly along with Ottawa Winterlude Festival, walking distance from...

Well maintained must for anyone visiting Ottawa. If you have never skated before you can rent skating sleds or even a skate bike. Rental shop does sharpening and rents skates out in 2 hour increments. There is a deposit required that gets refunded in a week or two. Note of advice, rent a helmet! 10.00 will save you a trip to the emergency room. Even professional Olympic skaters fall and hit their heads. The skateway is patrolled by trained first aid "life guards" and also you will see maintenance people patching ice occasionally or going by with garbage collected. Parking is an issue so to avoid a long walk outside park in the mall, or close to the mall so you can stay warm on a 5 to 10 minute walk to the entrance of the skateway. And lastly there is a concession stand that sells beaver tails! These are fried like a long flat donut but not donut in texture. they are really tasty and are famous. There is usually a line to get them. Please be safe, and...