The entire length of Rideau Canal Skateway is now open

Green flag goes up for all 7.8 kilometres of skateway as of 8 a.m. Friday, NCC announces

The Rideau Canal will open all 7.8 kilometres of the skateway on Friday morning, the National Capital Commission has announced.

The 52nd skating season will begin at 8 a.m. Friday and there will be some changes from the pandemic-affected 2021 season.


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The NCC has explained its general standards for opening a stretch of the canal are an ice thickness of 30 centimetres, which takes about 10 to 14 days of temperatures in the -10 C to -20 C range.

CBC: A Rideau Canal Skateway user sits on a bench near its northern end last February. (Brian Morris/CBC)

A Rideau Canal Skateway user sits on a bench near its northern end last February. (Brian Morris/CBC)

The neighbouring Queen Elizabeth Driveway on its western side is open for exercise and closed to vehicles between Somerset Street West and Fifth Avenue Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Last year's skating season lasted 29 days from late January to late February, its shortest season yet.

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CBC graphic: Length of days the Rideau Canal has opened for

This article was originally published for CBC News.