Rideau Blog

I went for an early morning skate on the Rideau Canal this morning. Getting an early start is nice since there are fewer people on the canal, and it is easier to find parking. Of course there are some drawbacks to being an early bit since most of the services are not open until around 10 a.m., and it will be colder in the morning than it will be in the afternoon. Because of this, it is a good idea to bring a backpack for your boots, and a thermos of something hot.

The Canal surface is a little bumpy, and I think it will need to be flooded a few more times before it will be really good. You can currently skate from Bank Street to Sommerset, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes in each direction. It was snowing a little bit this morning, but not enough to cause any problems. It is supposed to warm up this afternoon to a few degrees above zero Celsius, and it should be a perfect day for skating by mid aternoon. As you can see from the photos below, there were already many skaters on the canal by around 9 a.m., and I expect it to be pretty crowded by this afternoon. Of course even when it is crowded it is still fun, and some people prefer going when there are lots of people.

You can also look at the Rideau Canal Map, for more information.

The Rideau Canal is open for skating, but we received about 5 centimeters of powder last night, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and to go cross country skiing instead. The conditions were absolutely perfect since the temperature was around 5 degrees Celsius and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There was also no wind, and it was extremely quiet on the portions of the trail that went through the woods.

I could go on describing the conditions, but I think the photos below say it all.

I have just launched the Rideau community web site. This is an interactive Wiki based web site where anyone can add information related to the Rideau River, or the Rideau Canal. Many photos have been uploaded, and I will be adding much more information over the coming months. The next big addition will be a forums section where people can discuss any topics related to the Rideau.

The main web site is located at www.therideau.com. There are links to all of the main sections from the main web page, and also a link on how to add information to the web site. Take a look around, add some information, and please provide feedback in the guestbook.

Here are a few sample photos from the web site:

You can find the web site at the following link Rideau Community Website