Most of Rideau Canal Skateway will be open Wednesday morning, NCC says

Nearly all of the Rideau Canal Skateway will be open for skating as of Wednesday morning, the National Capital Commission (NCC) announced Tuesday.

The commission already opened a 2.3-kilometre section of the skateway on Saturday and will expand the length of ice open to skaters to seven kilometres at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The open section will span from Somerset Street to Hartwells Locks, including Dows Lake, according to the NCC.

The remaining 800 metres of the skateway between Rideau and Somerset streets remain closed and off-limits.

“The NCC team continues to work hard at opening the complete length of the Rideau Canal Skateway,” a news release issued by the commission said.

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The ice base has to be 30-cm thick before a particular section can be opened to skaters, according to the NCC.

As of Tuesday evening, the ice conditions on the already-open section between Bank and Pretoria streets are reported as “good” and “fair.”

The Rideau Canal Skateway has been managed by the NCC — which manages federal lands and assets in the National Capital Region — since the 1970-71 inaugural season.