Ice skating is a part of Canadian culture and whether you enjoy figure skating, hockey skating, power skating, speed skating, or just making your way around the rink for fun, you’ll find opportunities to don your skates and get out on the ice in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.
Toronto
Skating in Toronto is huge. Kids start when they are barely walking and adults keep doing it well into their senior years. Family skating is a great way to pass the time on a cold Sunday afternoon or Friday evening and skating parties are not unheard of for fun winter birthdays. Many schools also take kids skating a few times over the winter season and some host a skating fundraising event in February or March.
If you’re looking for outdoor skating rinks with pleasure skating hours in toronto, the city actually has a fairly comprehensive list. They also have all the arenas and indoor rinks listed, and you need to check each one to see if they have leisure skating hours.
There are also great instructional programs in Toronto, offered at many rinks for all ages and skill levels. Kids and adults can learn to skate, figure skate, increase their hockey skills,
Ottawa
The Rideau Canal Skateway is the world’s largest skating rink. It runs from the Parliament Buildings all the way down to Dows Lake. In between, everyone warms up at the rest areas, where there are toasty fires, hot drinks and tasty snacks.
The city has loads of other skating rinks that have loads of leisure skating hours for everyone. Just pick a rink, lace up your skates and go crazy.
There are also rinks with adult skating, speed skating, figure skating and hockey (for various levels and age groups). Just choose a skating style that suits you and look for the rink closest to you. It’s going to be a long winter, so you might as well enjoy it!
Calgary
Outdoor skating rinks in Calgary are weather-dependent and are usually open mid-December through February, except for Olympic Plaza which is a refrigerated ice surface and is generally open from November to March.
The city of Calgary has a great list all of the outdoor skating rinks (both city and community-run). They also have a pretty good website of all the arenas and indoor rinks that have skate times for families and for leisure skating.
They also have loads of learn-to-skate and hockey programs in Calgary that you can look up in the Calgary Recreation Program Guide.
Vancouver
In spite of the extremely mild winters, Vancouver has lots of opportunities to learn and enjoy ice skating. Some indoor rinks even have ice available all year (like Britannia, Hillcrest and Sunset).
There is a great drop-in skate schedule as well as a list of rink lessons online.
There are lots of places to skate across cities like Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver…all you have to do is lace them up and start gliding!
Image credit: mariacasa/flickr
Did That Help!? You Might Like These:
 |
 |
 |
| Safer Hockey – It IS Possible |
Can My Child Become An Olympian? |
Cooking Classes For Kids |
