Outdoor rinks see bumpy, slushy conditions with Edmonton warm-up

The Victoria Park oval is seen on Jan. 14, 2026. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton)

With some near-record-setting temperatures, outdoor rinks in the Edmonton area are seeing some slushy conditions, not ideal for skating.

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The City of Edmonton said outdoor rinks are monitored daily, particularly during warmer weather.

“During this recent warm spell, we have been able to continue regular maintenance and keep the ice surfaces open,” said a statement from the city Wednesday.

All city outdoor rinks are open, reporting good to fair conditions, with the exception of City Hall, Jackie Parker Park and Castle Downs.

City of Edmonton outdoor rink status is regularly updated and can be found here.

Edmonton’s community leagues are also struggling with the warmer temperatures.

“Well prepared ice surfaces can generally withstand short periods of above-average temperatures,” said a statement from the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues. “However, sustained highs between 5 C and 10 C are problematic, particularly in areas exposed to direct sunlight or solar reflection.”

To preserve ice quality, leagues are encouraged to avoid skating during peak daytime heat and monitor the entire surface regularly.

Once temperatures dip toward -10 C, rinks should begin resurfacing by using thin layers of hot water.

What are the conditions of your local outdoor rink?

A new tool is working to help Canadians see what the conditions of their local rink are.

ODR Atlas has catalogued 840 outdoor rinks across the country and uses an algorithm supported by live weather data to report ice conditions.

“I love hockey and grew up skating as a kid and have just enough website development and coding experience to put it all together,” said ODR Atlas founder Nick Flanigan.

Flanigan grew up in Calgary, but is now based in Edmonton.

“Having the mountains so close, it’d be great if you got to go skate in Banff, but the biggest issue is you really had to keep an eye on the weather,” he said. “But unless you not only knew what it was that day, but probably the last two, three days, you had to really guess what the ice quality was going to be and if it was worth the hour and a half drive.”

ODR Atlas measures ice quality on a scale from zero to 100 and is determined by current and past weather conditions and the rink’s amenities.

“If somebody has a Zamboni, well obviously that’s just going to be better ice than a guy with a hose,” said Flanigan.

As of Wednesday afternoon, most outdoor rinks in the Edmonton area were hovering around 18 points with poor, bumpy conditions.

While the tool aims to provide accurate information, it isn’t always 100 per cent, and Flanigan encourages and welcomes community and user feedback.

“People are always happy to tell you when you’re wrong … and we actually love that feedback, because that’s how we perfect our database as we go along, so we’re always really appreciative of that,” said Flanigan.

Flanigan started a rudimentary version of ODR Atlas in 2024 by putting data points into an Excel spreadsheet. Now with an algorithm, he’s off to the races and plans to expand to the U.S. and Europe.