Rideau Canal Skateway, Ottawa

In winter the Rideau Canal through the middle of Ottawa freezes into the Rideau Canal Skateway, 7.8 km of ice from the National Arts Centre, next to Parliament Hill, to Dows Lake. Locals skate to work on it, and it's free for everyone.

There are heated huts, toilets and skate-hire places along the way, and stalls selling hot chocolate and BeaverTails, Ottawa's famous fried-dough pastries. A round trip from one end to the other and back is about 16 km.

The skating season usually runs from January to late February, but it depends on the weather, so check the conditions online before you go. In February, the Winterlude festival adds ice sculptures, snow slides and events around the canal and in Gatineau across the river. In summer the canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is used for boat cruises, kayaking and cycling along its banks.