Episode of Winterlude
Tomo&Chouchou visited some winter festivals in Quebec, Canada such as Quebec Winter Carnival and Montreal Snow Festival. We also visited winter festival in Ottawa called "Winterlude".
There were many activities in Winterlude. We especially liked the Rideau Canal Skateway.
The Rideau Canal is the landmark of Ottawa. It's designated as National Historic Site of Canada and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Rideau Canal naturally freezes in winter and people can enjoy ice-skating.
The rideau Canal skateway is the largest natural ice skating rink in the world.
And plus, it's free to stake!
If we don't have our own skates, we can rent them there. We can also rent a sleigh and push it for the people who cannot skate by themselves. In our case, we rent skates there.
The Rideau Canal Skateway was very long. So there were several huts and snak stations at the several spots along the canal. We can buy and drink a cup of hot chocolate if we feel cold or if we want to take a rest while skating. The Rideau Canal Skateway was long. And of course, it was very cold. So we drank hot chocolate to feel warm. It was a very nice moment.
After enjoying ice-skating, we looked around other places. Next interesting event of Winterlude for us was the ice carving! Many ice sculptures were displayed during the event. Ice sculptures were very beautiful. We really enjoyed the ice art.
We think the Rideau Canal Skateway is the best activity to enjoy in Ottawa winter festival. We were very satisfied with the fact that we skated in the UNESCO world heritage site. We also appreciated the natural ice skate rink. We really enjoyed the nature and winter activities!
Tomo&Chouchou's advice for Rideau Canal Skateway
Normally we can skate at the Rideau Canal Skateway until the end of February.
But it's a natural skating rink so it will depend on the weather. Please check the ice condition before going.
Winterlude
Event Date: beginning of February – mid-February
Location:
The festival takes place at a few different sites in the city of Ottawa
- Rideau Canal Skateway
- Crystal Garden in Confederation Park
- Snowflake Kingdom in Jacques-Cartier Park (Gatineau) : the world's biggest snow playground
You can see ice sculptures and skate on the Rideau Canal on both weekdays and weekends.
Most other activities (refer below) are held on the weekends.
- learn to skate clinics
- a hockey tournament
- a winter triathlon
- children's entertainment
- Annual Accora Village Bed Race
- Ice Dragon Boat Festival
The Rideau Canal Skateway
open daily from beginning of January until beginning of March (it depends on the weather)
stretching 7.8km from downtown next to the National Arts Centre to Dows Lake (Pavillon)
You can rent skates or sleighs around the National Arts Centre and Dow's Lake Pavillon.
To know the ice condition, visit below website.
http://rcs.ncc-ccn.ca/#conditions
Relating articles
* Montreal Snow Festival
* Quebec Winter Carnival
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