The
Rideau Canal Skateway
will temporarily close Monday at 10 p.m. for “precautionary” reasons with milder temperatures on the way.
“The recent and upcoming warmer temperatures and several sunny days have impacted the ice surface,” the National Capital Commission said in a statement Monday afternoon. “This precautionary closure will help protect the Skateway and give our teams the opportunity to smooth the ice once conditions improve. We will reopen the
Rideau Canal Skateway
to the public as soon as possible.”
Ice maintenance crews were keeping a close eye on the mild weather forecast with Environment Canada predicting highs above zero for several days this week.
“It will be a bit challenging in the next days, but there’s some cold evenings. We are watching that (forecast) very closely,” said Bruce Devine, the National Capital Commission’s senior manager of facilities and programs.
“Of course, we’re always hoping to leave it open as long as we can,” Devine said. “We’re on a mission with that.”
Environment Canada is predicting the temperature to rise above zero on Tuesday with a high of 3 C and freezing drizzle in the forecast.
The temperature will hover around zero on Wednesday with a 30 per cent chance of flurries.
The good news, Devine said, is the chilly evening air that will settle over Ottawa each night, with temperatures dropping to more seasonal lows in the minus-10 C range.
The Skateway ice “is holding up very, very well,” Devine said,
with more than 700,000 people visiting
the famed UNESCO heritage site since this winter’s skating season
officially opened on Dec. 31, 2025
.
“Towards the end of the day over the weekend, we started to see some puddles of water, especially between the Bank Street bridge and Bronson Avenue bridge,” Devine said.
“We could see the snow melting and the water coming from the top of the wall and getting into the ice. So the ice is getting softer towards the end of the day, but we’re able to clean it up and flood it overnight. So the next morning, the ice is not exactly brand new, but in very good condition,” Devine said.
The NCC has been able to open the Skateway earlier in the season in recent years once the ice reaches a thickness of 27 or 28 centimetres instead of the previous standard of 30 cm.
“We try to open as soon as we can, but safety is always the top priority,” Devine said. “If we have a good thickness and the ice is really hard, we’re able to open at (27 or 28 cm) thickness, knowing that we’ll reach 30 centimeters not too long afterwards.”
The NCC modified its approach with contractors to use more ATVs and smaller, lighter maintenance equipment rather than pickup trucks earlier in the season.
By this time of year there is “no issue” with the ice thickness, Devine said.
The Skateway partially opened on Dec. 31 2025, but a spell of mild, rainy weather forced the
temporary closure nine days later
on Jan. 8.
The full 7.8-kilometre length of the “world’s largest skating rink” reopened on Jan. 16 and has remained open ever since.
Last winter, the Skateway partially opened on Jan. 11, with the full length opening on Jan. 18. It was open for a total of 52 days and attracted more than 1.1 million visitors in what the NCC described as a “fantastic” skating season after a couple of dreadful years.
The 2023-24 season was limited to only 10 days, while in the winter of 2022-23 the Skateway did not open at all. There have been 41 skating days so far this season. The Skateway has welcomed more than 785,000 visits, including about 141,000 visits this past weekend, according to the NCC.
