Article content

OK, Ottawa, time for some tough talk: The Rideau Canal Skateway is Ottawa’s most overrated and overhyped bit of infrastructure, especially when it comes to attracting tourists.

Come skate on our thing! But it might be closed! Actually, it probably will be!

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Dawson: The Rideau Canal Skateway is overrated. There, I said it Back to video

Oh sure, it’s cool in principle, a 7.8-kilometre skating rink. Except for the fact that the ice quality is, often, terrible.

It’s outlandishly crowded once you get anywhere near downtown. Makes sense, as Ottawa Tourism brags that an average 19,000 people are on the ice every day — that is, when it’s open. All that enthusiasm, only to have Ottawa’s insane weather swings reduce it to a slushy mess. Last year, it was open for only 18 days, its shortest season ever. It averages 51, not too shabby, I’ll concede, and the 2015 season set the record at 59 interrupted days. That’s still not many days, and we don’t know how many of those days boasted ice without deep cracks and bumps every two feet.