Too warm to skate: Rideau Canal Skateway temporarily closing Thursday evening

The green steel arches of the Laurier Bridge span the Rideau Canal Skateway in downtown Ottawa in January 2026. (CTV News Ottawa)

It will soon be too hot to skate on the Rideau Canal, as the National Capital Commission (NCC) says the skateway will temporarily close Thursday evening due to warm weather.

• Mild but messy weekend in store for Ottawa

According to a media release from the NCC, the Rideau Canal Skateway will close at 10 p.m.

“This precautionary measure will preserve the ice surface during the warm spell and should allow us to quickly reopen the Skateway as soon as conditions permit,” the NCC wrote in a media release.

Temperatures in Ottawa reached 1 C on Thursday and are expected to climb to 6 C on Friday. Temperatures are expected to dip below 0 C once again on the weekend, though only slightly, with the forecast calling for a Saturday high of 0 C and a Sunday high of -2 C.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsOttawa.ca weather hub

The skateway opened on Dec. 31 and the NCC says its already received over 170,000 visits this season. This was the first time the skateway opened in December since 2018.

The entirety of the canal opened to the public on Monday, Jan. 5.

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