Skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa started in 1970-71. At 7.8km, it is not the longest skating rink in the world, but its surface area makes it the largest skating rink in the world. Over the 54 years the average skating season has been 50 days, the record is 95 days (1971–1972 season). In 2023 it never opened due to poor weather. It was open for 10 days in 2024
With a week and a bit of cold weather, the rink crews worked very hard and on Jan 11 4km of 7.8km opened for the 2025 season. Saturday opening day saw large crowds, we dropped by Sunday morning at 10:30am to find lots of people out already. Photo on left is looking south, looking north on the right.
Lots more people were arriving
The lineup for Beavertails, hot chocolate and/or hot cider was already quite long
A few days later 7.4km of the skating rink was open. Being mid-week, there were fewer skaters but still a good number.
There is a pedestrian bridge spanning the canal in one spot and an entrance into a small pond off to the side of the canal
The rest areas are well equipped with picnic benches and firepits
And the obligatory Beavertails, where the Beavertails don't last as long as the hot cider 😊
(A Beavertail is sort of like a deep-fried squished doughnut)
