The Chateau Laurier is seen behind skaters on the the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa on Jan. 30, 2016.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Hôtel de Glace is open for the season in Valcartier, Que., with 12 out of 21 rooms currently available for reservations. Visitors can also choose a day or evening pass to access the hotel’s Centre de Jeux D’Hiver with inner tube slides, snow rafting and skating the one-kilometre trail.
It’s time to lace up your skates, Canada. Skating trails are open, weather permitting. In Edmonton , the Victoria Park Iceway is a 700-metre loop, illuminated with lights – and for 25 metres, an insta-worthy section lit like a rainbow. Access is free. In town, there’s also the Victoria Park Oval, home to the Edmonton Speed Skating Association.
East of Edmonton, Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park has a skating trail along the shoreline and circling Archer Island. In Banff National Park, Lake Louise is a favourite skating area, with guests of the Fairmont Château Lake Louise benefiting from the in-house skate rental and accessories for other winter activities.
In B.C.’s Columbia Valley, the Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club created the world’s longest skating trail, the 31-km Lake Windermere Whiteway. It’s $5 a person to access the four loops across the lake. Groomed cross-country ski trails are on offer, too.
At the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers in Winnipeg, the Manitoba 150 River Trail offers free access to the daily groomed ice trail, which is open from sunrise to past sunset. In Toronto, skaters can choose from The Bentway Skate Trail, which is open until Jan. 31. Reservations are required and there’s a $5 suggested donation. Or head to the Barbara Ann Scott Ice Trail at College Park to glide across an ice surface using ecofriendly tech and named for a Canadian champion.
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