Favourable weather aligns with opening of Toronto outdoor ice rinks
It takes a lot of work and technology to keep 54 artificial, outdoor ice rinks operational in Toronto, but Mother Nature is lending a helping hand to start the 2025-26 season
This weekend, the majority of Toronto’s artificially cooled, outdoor rinks open--transforming the city into one of the largest, urban, ice-skating playgrounds.
Toronto is home to 54 outdoor rinks run by the City of Toronto, making it the world capital for mechanically cooled, outdoor skating rinks.
SEE ALSO: Bundle up: Polar vortex helps kick off winter for much of Canada
That number doesn’t include the dozens of natural, outdoor rinks maintained by volunteers, or the numerous indoor rinks around the city. Outdoor skating season generally runs from late November to early March.
The network has grown over the course of several decades, with many rinks beginning as simple neighbourhood rinks, before turning to compressor-cooled technology.
Rinks set to open this weekend are available to see on the City of Toronto’s website.
How is it all possible
It might come as a surprise that Toronto is the most heavily rinked city on Earth, but the secret lies in the technology that enables it.
Each one of Toronto’s outdoor skating rinks sits on a massive, refrigerated concrete slab, cooled from below using large industrial chillers.
Super-cooled fluid is pumped through an intricate network of pipes buried under the slab. This is the same physics as your home refrigerator, as the pipes below absorb the heat from the concrete and ice above.
This allows the ice to stay usable even with temperatures spiking up to 10°C. This refrigeration process allows for more consistent ice quality and helps to extend the season.
Toronto’s climate is too unstable for a pure, natural ice setup
Frequent freeze-thaw cycles
Winter rain events
High sun angle (especially in February)
Even if the temperature remains below freezing, the sun can turn the ice into slush, overpowering the refrigeration system in late winter.
How to build ice?
Layers and layers. Many layers.
The best way to build thick ice is to freeze it in thin sheets, versus massive, infrequent flooding. To open the Sam Smith Skating trail this weekend, the Zamboni made more than 30 separate floods to prepare the ice surface. A hose providing a light layer of water can also efficiently build a thick skating pad.
How thick is too thick?
Heavy rainfall during the winter can rapidly increase the thickness of refrigerated ice rinks, especially if the ice is not properly maintained.
Artificial pads can sometimes reach thicknesses of up to 15 cm, creating issues for ice maintenance. The cooling systems are most effective when the ice is less than 8 cm thick, allowing for efficient energy transfer.
Length of skating season
Previous seasons have extended to more than 100 days, with the 2001-02 skating season being one of the shortest at just 70 days.
Check ahead online, but enjoy the fresh ice this weekend, Toronto.
Thumbnail courtesy of Getty Images/Mary Baratto/1970458995-170667a.