Winterlude wraps on a high note, despite heavy snowfall

Winterlude wraps up Monday, in what organizers say could be its most attended season yet.

Ottawa's winter festival has seen a spike in visitors, according to Canadian Heritage, the federal department that puts on the celebration.

And they're attributing that increase to the winter weather. Ottawa was hit with two major snowstorms this week — the heaviest the city has seen all season. But despite that, and warnings from officials to stay off the roads, people from all over came to brave the cold for Winterlude.

"Yes, it's been cold. Yes, we've had a lot of snow. But that's what makes winter in the National Capital Region so memorable," said Melanie Brault with Canadian Heritage. "It's something that we're really, really grateful for."

The Rideau Canal Skateway has been open for more than a month this year. It's the longest the UNESCO world heritage site has been open in years. In 2024, the skateway opened for mere days, and didn't open at all the year before that.

Some visitors said it's the main reason they came to Ottawa this year.

"You can't be here... and not do the canal," said Alicia Van Den Bos. She and her kids braved the cold and blowing snow to skate on the canal. It wasn't an easy skate, they said, but they were thrilled to be in the city.

Her family is living in Muskoka for a year, and drove to Ottawa to spend a day. They'll be extending their trip to avoid a snowy drive home. 

"I'm really excited to be here," said Cian Murphy-Burns, whose family travelled from Syracuse, NY for Winterlude. He doesn't remember his first time here, five years ago, when he was an infant.

But now, he's finally old enough to enjoy all that Ottawa has to offer. He skated about 12 kilometres along the skateway with his family on Saturday.

In 2020, Winterlude welcomed more than 600,000 visitors in its most heavily attended season yet. But COVID-19 put the fun on pause. Last year, the festival saw 500,000 visitors.

Tourism Ottawa said the first two weekends of this year had even higher attendance than the same period last year, but the organization will have to tally visitors on the final weekend to know if they've surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Record-breaking year or not, Jérôme Miousse with Ottawa Tourism said the high attendance has been a positive sign — both for the festival and for the local economy that benefits.

"It's been a great winter," he said.