Rideau Canal Skating Season in Ontario 2025

Let yourself skate along the largest naturally frozen ice rink in the world

Best time: January–February

The famous Rideau Canal Skateway attracts around a million skaters annually with its skating season running from January to late February. Being the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink, The Rideau Canal Skating rink winds for about 5 mi (8 km) through Ottawa. In 2007, it was even designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, after making it to the Guinness Book of World Records. So if you’re coming to Ottawa over the winter, don’t miss your chance to glide along!

The access to the Skateway is free. You can rent a pair of skates at the Skateway’s downtown or bring your own. Just take them on and see how far you can go, as the actual skating surface is around 41 acres (17 ha), and this is bigger than 90 Olympic-sized hockey rinks.

You will find various stands with hot chocolate, soup, and some other items to keep you warm all along the way. And don't forget to get a BeaverTails pastry while you're on a Skateway as this traditional cinnamon and sugar, beaver tail-shaped treat was invented in Ottawa in 1978.