An hour northwest of Ottawa, in Lac-Des-Loup, Que., a new, dreamy three kilometre forest skating trail is receiving thousands of visitors.

Are skating trails the hottest new way to embrace the cold?

Canadians have always known well how to fete the winter months — and surely nothing heralds the season quite like when the local outdoor skating rinks open.

But now, popping up across the country are opportunities to skip the rink and skate the streets. Or rivers. Or campground roads.

You likely know about the grandeur of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa — a UNESCO World Heritage site — and might have heard of the impressive Lake Windermere Whiteway in Invermere, B.C. — the Guinness World Records holder for longest skating trail. But the trails below from across the country prove a great skate doesn't need to set records to warm hearts (or core temperatures, at least).

On the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, the Red River Mutual Trail provides two kilometres of skating through Winnipeg, and crews are in the works to expand the routes even more.

After a three-year hiatus, the trail is a sweet sight for Winnipeg skaters (and canines alike).

In Hamilton, Ont., locals can lace up for not one but two new trails: the skating loop at Waterdown Rotary Memorial Park and the converted campground road at nearby Valens Lake, a 425-meter ice skating path flanked by spruce and pine.

The newly branded IceWay in Edmonton is now open and, at 400-metres long, is the beginning of a potential future 11-kilometre skating trail (imagine that commute to work!). At night, the path is peppered with coloured lights:

The 1.3-kilometre trail in Hunstville, Ont.'s Arrowhead Provincial Park winds through thick Muskoka forest:

In Whitehorse, the Shipyards Skating Loop is nestled right downtown:

Let's face it, winter isn't always the wonderland some songs make it out to be. If winter for you is less "snow is glistening" and more "cold weather warning," you can take solace knowing the best way to keep warm is to keep moving: skip the rink and find (or make!) your local skating trail.