The 42nd season of skating on the Rideau Canal has come to close after warm weather melted the ice to an unsafe thinness, the National Capital Commission said in a press release Friday morning.
The NCC said it had hoped to reopen the surface as the necessary cold temperatures usually last until March, but the ice has been melted too much for the surface to recover.
Skaters saw 28 open days of skating since the canal opened, almost half as many days as the 53 in last year’s season.
Warm weather consistently closed down the rink this year, including the opening weekend of Winterlude when the NHL All-Star Game was in town.
The NCC urges the public to obey the red flag barricades that have been put up at the skateway entrances.