Rideau Canal Skateway extending skating up to Rideau starting Saturday

Skaters on the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa. Jan. 2, 2026. (Andrew Adlington/CTV News Ottawa)

Another 800 metres’ worth of ice will be available for skaters on the Rideau Canal Skateway starting Saturday.

The National Capital Commission says there will be 4.2 kilometres of ice to skate on from the Rideau rest area to the Bank Street Bridge, starting at 8 a.m.

The Skateway’s 56^th skating season began on New Year’s Eve, in a rare December launch. A total of 3.4 km was initially available between the Bank Street Bridge and Somerset Street.

The new leg will extend the ice north from Somerset into downtown Ottawa, a section that sometimes takes longer to open.

As of Friday afternoon, ice conditions were listed as “good” on the 3.4 km available between Bank and Somerset.

The weather in the next few days is expected to be good for skaters, with highs of between -15 C and -12 C over the weekend and lows between -25 C and -18 C; however, the long-term forecast predicts a warmup by the middle of next week, with the temperature potentially rising to a high of 0 C on Wednesday.

The NCC says Capital Skates rentals will be available at the Rideau rest area on Saturday, but the opening of the BeaverTails stand is to be determined.

The previous skating season began Jan. 11, 2025, and included 52 skating days, ending on March 10.

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