'We recommend walking over skating': Rideau Canal Skateway reopens Sunday with poor ice conditions

A portion of the Rideau Canal Skateway reopened Sunday in time for the last days of Winterlude.

The NCC reopened a portion of world-famous Skateway for a second time this year at noon Sunday. A 1.9 kilometre stretch of the Skateway from the Pretoria Bridge to Bank Street will be available.

Sunday morning, however, the NCC warned of poor ice quality.

"Last night’s snow prevented us from flooding overnight," the NCC said on social media. "As a result, 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."

Only hours later, the NCC said it would be closing the Skateway at 6 p.m. for overnight ice maintenance. 

"We will close the Skateway at 6 p.m. to do intensive ice maintenance, including flooding if conditions allow," the NCC said on social media in the late afternoon on Sunday.

"We hope to improve ice conditions for tomorrow and will provide an update in the morning."

The NCC had been teasing the opening of the Skateway on social media this week, after seasonably cold temperatures returned to allow crews to prepare the ice. The favourable weather conditions were still not enough to open the entire 7.8 km section, which when open, is dubbed the largest skating rink in the world.

The canal needs approximately 30 cm of "good quality ice" to safely hold the thousands who skate the canal every year. To achieve this, the NCC says it usually needs between 10 to 14 days of consecutive cold weather between -10 C to -20 C before it can open.

Skaters make the best of conditions

Despite the conditions, hundreds were out enjoying the open ice and BeaverTails all afternoon.

"It’s absolutely wonderful, it’s actually been a childhood dream," said John Dent, who is visiting from California and skated on the canal for the first time.

Dent visited Ottawa for the long weekend with his family.

"We came here to see the capital and to spend time with our daughter and this was just icing on top of the cake," he said. "Luckily, our hotel has some skates for us and we were able to come out here."

"I’m not a good skater, but thought I would try so I held my dads hand and only fell once so it was a good experience," said Sarah Dent.

Some, had a harder time navigating the snowy ice.

"We fell sometimes but we got right back up," said Victoria Heintel, who was visiting with her family. 

There have only been four days of skating so far this year. The NCC says approximately 60,000 people skated when the same small stretch of ice was open from Jan. 21 to Jan. 24.

The opening means fans of Winterlude will finally get to enjoy the festival with the canal before it wraps up on Family Day Monday and will provide a much needed boost to the festivities.

Warm weather and rain had kept the canal closed for the first two weekends of the popular winter festival. Winterlude events that depend on the canal, including the Ice Dragon Boat Festival, were cancelled for the fourth year in a row because of COVID-19 restrictions and after the NCC pulled the plug on the 2023 skating season.

With only four skating days so far this season, it’s had a negative impact on local businesses.

At one sports shop in Ottawa's west end, sales for recreational skates are down this season.

"Between the pandemic and it not being cold enough for the canal, we are 90 per cent down in our recreational business," said Robin Mark, who is a manager at Valiquette’s Source for Sports.

But for those businesses that directly rely on the canal, the day has been a major boost.

"It’s been wonderful to reopen," said Davey Wright, who works at BeaverTails. "It’s been three long weeks, the people are out in droves so we have been ecstatic."

Worries over future skating seasons

Warmer weather trends associated with climate change have been a source of concern for fans of the Skateway, which has seen increasingly later seasons in the last 30 years.

The skating season has opened before Jan. 1 only six times in the last 27 years, compared to 19 times in the 27 years before that. The canal didn't open at all last year — a first in its then 53-year history.

While high temperatures have been between -5 C and -2 C the last few days, the lows have been around -13 C to -10 C. February has also been relatively free of precipitation, with only 1.4 mm of rain on Feb. 9 and 9.8 cm of snow on Feb. 14.

Environment Canada issed a snow squall warning on Sunday afternoon, but conditions are expected to improve with sunny skies forecasted on Monday. Temperatures are expected to remain cold this coming week, with nightly lows remaining consistently below 0 C.

The NCC posts updates on ice conditions and access points to the canal on its website. When open, the Skateway is free and accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Natalie van Rooy