Half of the Rideau Canal remains closed with Winterlude only three days away, but staff from the National Capital Commission remain confident the entire 7.8-kilometre length will be open to skaters in time for the festival.
It's been a rough year for the world's largest skating rink. Mild conditions kept it closed until early January, which is several weeks later than its usual December opening for the year. Just days after it finally opened, a freezing rain spurt made the hard ice soggy.
Crews are measuring and flooding the ice daily to restore its thickness.
"It's often dependent on conditions we don't see," says Michelle Comeau, a spokesperson for the National Capital Commission.
"For example, Bank Street -- between Bank and Bronson -- where the rain ran off streets and caused an erosion of ice quality."
However, the ice is open around Dows Lake -- along with a graffiti exhibition by young artists, dubbed 'Urban Art'. The artworks show the painters' vision of the canal in the wintertime, and will remain on display until the skating season ends.
