Winter fun on the Brewery Creek Skating Rink
This winter, sharpen your skates and your skating skills on the Brewery Creek Skating Rink! With family, friends or your significant other, hit the ice for an hour or two (or more!) of skating, and enjoy this classic winter activity.
Picture the scene: a frozen stream, light snow falling, rosy-cheeked children skating and laughing, a fire crackling in the distance, and the starry sky illuminating the ice. It sounds almost too perfect to be true! And yet, this is exactly the scene that greets me when I arrive at the Brewery Creek Skating Rink!
As someone who loves her creature comforts, I particularly appreciate the skating rink trailer, as there’s nothing nicer than putting on your skates in the warmth before stepping onto the ice. Once I’ve laced up my skates, I set off on the rink, and as with riding a bike, my reflexes come back quickly. Lucky for me, because a Bambi-style fall can happen in a heartbeat (I speak from experience)!
The perfect place to start!
Never tried skating? It’s never too late or too early to get started, and the Brewery Creek Skating Rink is the perfect place to do it! It’s big enough so you can practise at your leisure, and you’ll quickly get the hang of it. What’s more, equipment rental is very affordable: $2 for a helmet (a must!), $8 for skates and $2 for a stabilizer. Best of all, equipment rental is free with your Accès Gatineau + card.
There’s a section reserved for hockey, where little (and big) NHL hopefuls can practise their slapshots and passes to their hearts’ delight. If you prefer to glide along the creek at your own pace while chatting with friends (my preference!) and enjoying the great outdoors, it’s perfect, because the size of the rink accommodates leisure skaters as well. Planning a romantic evening? I assure you that the soft lights of the bridge over the creek provide a setting worthy of the best romantic comedies.
A warm and delicious reward!
After a vigorous skating session comes the moment winter sports enthusiasts of all ages look forward to. I’m talking about drinking hot chocolate! Every valiant effort deserves a reward, and this one is more than delicious! And a hot chocolate sipped by the fire beside the creek tastes a thousand times better.
To find out about ice conditions and the status of the skating rink, visit the Ville de Gatineau website (information in French only). The trailer is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the rental booth is open Monday to Friday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The skating rink is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
