Rideau Canal skateway closed

It was fun while it lasted. The Rideau Canal is officially closed for the season, the National Capital Commission announced Wednesday. “Our team inspected the conditions (Wednesday) and observed that the mild weather and precipitation over the last days have deteriorated the Rideau Canada Skateway’s ice faster than expected,” the NCC said in a statement. The canal’s 48th skating season started on Jan. 5 and lasted 48 days, but just 35 skating days. The skateway recorded 895,766 visits this season through to Feb. 15, or an average of 25,500 visits per day that it was open. Fortunately, the February thaw and deluge arrived after the Winterlude festival.