The Alta Vista outdoor rink opened in good time this season after years of disappointing weather. The rink, which began operation on Dec. 22, located at 1309 Randall Ave. beside Alta Vista Park, had served local residents steadily this winter before a brief warm spell set in recently.
The rink, along with many others in Ottawa, is built, maintained and operated by volunteers. Each year, the City of Ottawa provides a community grant to run the rink.Unfortunately, over the past few years, the Alta Vista rink and others across the city — along with the Rideau Canal skateway — were open only briefly or not at all because of unusually warm weather.
The City of Ottawa says the local climate has been changing over the past few decades. The average amount of rain and snow has increased and the average daily temperature is increasing. This is causing the city to experience warmer winters and hotter summers.
The data also shows that by the 2050s, the number of days on which the temperature falls below -10C (the skateable temperature for outdoor rinks) will decrease by 35 per cent. Outdoor skating is deeply entrenched in Canadian culture, and offers a low-cost winter recreational activity. With the changing climate closing rinks longer and more often, the sense of community that skating brings is being diminished. However, the winter of 2025 has been a colder, more traditional Ottawa winter, and outdoor skating across the season has been much better.
The Alta Vista rink features a small building that has changerooms and washrooms. Along with outdoor benches there are several lights allowing nighttime use. The rink is well-maintained and has its own Facebook page so skaters can check on conditions.
The rink has a double surface, meaning it has a surface below the ice to keep it flatter and those skateable. This makes the ice feel smoother. There are two rinks on site as well — one for hockey players and a larger one for other skaters of all ages.
The hockey rink has two nets, high backboards and safety nets to prevent anyone getting hit by a flying puck. The other rink includes more benches and has mini nets for any other form of ice game, such as ringette.
The rink’s dedicated Facebook page had 395 members early in the season and several posts showed the importance of the rink to the Alta Vista community.
