Part of Rideau Canal re-opens on Sunday but NCC recommends ‘walking over skating’

After being closed for nearly a month, Rideau Canal will re-open a section of the skateway in time for the last few days of Winterlude.

However, the National Capital Commission (NCC) is warning that they weren’t able to flood the skateway overnight because of early Sunday snow.

“While the ice is thick enough to make it safe to be on the Skateway when we open at noon, the ice is in very poor condition, so we recommend walking over skating,” says the NCC on social media.

The NCC originally announced on Saturday that a 1.9 kilometre section between the Pretoria Bridge and the Bank Street access points will be open to skaters starting Sunday at noon.

Earlier this year, skaters only had four days on a one-kilometre stretch of the skateway.

The NCC decided to close it off thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures. Typically, the average is -8.5 C but this February was -2.2 C.

Since Friday, the NCC has been flooding the area with water, trying to get it fit for skating again. While only a small stretch is open, the NCC says they are working to get more ready.

The NCC says that requires the ice to be at least 30 centimetres thick. Usually that takes 10 to 14 days of weather between -10 C to -20 C.

“In the meantime, the NCC asks the public not to venture onto closed sections of the Skateway,” wrote the NCC in a release.