Ottawa's Winterlude Festival

The time between New Year's Day and Family Day in mid-February can feel like a long, tedious haul.  A trip to Canada's capital city of Ottawa during Winterlude will leave you loving winter!

The winter days are short in Canada, and snowstorms along with sub-zero temperatures keep most sensible folks inside often for weeks at a time.  Yet every year for the first three weekends of February, Canada's capital city of Ottawa host's one of it's most significant festivals: WINTERLUDE!

Rideau Canal Passing Lansdowne Park 

Winterlude attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Capital Region of Ottawa each winter.  This Canadian festival began in 1976, and all the events are spread out between Ottawa, which is in Ontario, and Gatineau, which is located across the Ottawa River in Quebec.  

The focal point of Winterlude is the famous Rideau Canal skateway.  Other Winterlude sites include an ice sculpture competition in Confederation Park, a massive snow park in Jacques Cartier Park with an ice slide and snow sculptures, and several outdoor skating rinks.  At night, DJ concerts, fireworks and laser light shows light up the night, while the ice sculptures are also all lit up with an ethereal glow.

Starting Point Of Rideau Canal

If someone had just a day to spend in Ottawa, is it worth it to make the trip?  YES!  If you have only one day to explore Winterlude, I would suggest you focus your time on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Rideau Canal skateway.  The Rideau Canal freezes over every winter and provides Ottawa with the longest outdoor skating rink in the world, measuring  7.8 kilometres or just about 5 miles.  The skating starts at Dow's Lake near Carleton University and snakes through Old Ottawa until it ends at the locks between Canada's Parliament Buildings and the Chateau Laurier.

Rest Area on Rideau Canal Skateway

I brought my own ice skates with me to skate the canal, but there are several skate rental facilities along the skateway.  Rental locations are at Dow's Lake Pavilion,  Fifth Avenue and at the end of the canal near the National Arts Centre. The skates cost $11/hour to rent, but for $32/2 hours, you can also rent large red sleighs with built-in seats.  Perfect for pushing non-skaters around, or for tired little kids. 






Also, new for the 2020 Winterlude is the Ice Bike! Rentals are available at Capital Skates locations at Fifth Ave and National Arts Center.  These cool bikes allow you to zip along the canal, perhaps with a passenger in tow!  Ice bikes cost $42 for 2 hours.  



   

Ottawa's Chateâu Laurier

My first trip to Ottawa was a solo day trip.  Ottawa is safe, easy to navigate, the locals are amiable and eager to make suggestions on how to spend your time.  I walked along Colonel By Drive, which is the main road along the eastern side of the Rideau canal with my ice skates in my backpack.  I found myself at Pig Island, which is across the skateway from the gleaming dome of Lansdowne Park, a vast 40-acre entertainment & sports complex.  I  put on my skates and headed north on the ice towards the Parliament Buildings.  There are several rest areas along the canal that provide benches & tables, washrooms, snack huts and firepits.  Soon, I found myself whizzing under bridges towards a huge fairytale castle that is the Chateâu Laurier Hotel. The skateway ends close to the foot of the Chateâu Laurier in front of The Canadian Senate building.

The Senate is km zero of the Rideau Canal Skateway and where I changed back into my winter boots to go check out Canada's iconic Parliament Hill.   A short climb up from the skateway and you are at the foot of Canada's legislature, at confederation square which occupies Canada's war memorial statues.   Beyond the War Memorial across Wellington street, is Canada's Gothic Revival style Parliament buildings with the Centennial Flame burning in a large brazier in front of it.  The flame was lit in front of Canada's House of Commons in 1967 to mark 100 years of confederation.  I can't believe how young my country is!  Seeing "The Hill," in person, actually brought my eyes to water as this building is the historic centre of my proud nation.  

Parliament's Peace Tower

Following the road around the right side of Parliament buildings to the back of The Hill, you pass by many bronze statues of Canada's forefathers. A path continues along a bluff overlooking the Ottawa River, offering stunning views of  Quebec just a few hundred meters away.  There are guided tours available of Parliament Hill, including The Senate building, The House of Commons and the newly restored East Block Buildings.  The Centre Block Buildings and The Library of Congress are currently (in 2020) closed for restoration work.  To purchase tour tickets online visit: Parliament Tours. 

A Winterlude Tradition

With the sun starting to sink low in the sky, I reversed my steps and strapped on my ice skates once more.  The skateway was packed with locals, and the smells of the Canadian delicacy called "BeaverTails" wafted through the air.  My stomach concurred that a snack would be ideal at this time, and I pulled into the Fifth Avenue rest stop.  I lined up for a hot chocolate, and a pastry called a BeaverTail, which was invented in Ottawa in the 1970s.  A Beavertail is a flat, fried pastry that is has a sprinkling of cinnamon & sugar on top and is served piping hot. 





Grabbing a seat in front of the communal firepit at the rest area and savouring my Beavertail on the historic Rideau Canal is a  uniquely Canadian Winter tradition that topped off my visit to Winterlude.   Now I know every January first, I will be counting down the days to Winterlude!



Have you been to Ottawa's Winterlude?  What's your favourite winter tradition?  Tell me about it in the comments below!

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