the-calendar.net

Google Calendar

How to Subscribe to an iCal URL in Google Calendar

Subscribing to an iCal feed is different from importing — the feed stays live and auto-refreshes (typically every 8–24 hours), so any changes the source publishes show up automatically.

Step-by-step

  1. Open calendar.google.com.
  2. In the left sidebar, find Other calendars and click +.
  3. Choose From URL.
  4. Paste the .ics or webcal:// URL.
  5. Click Add calendar. It appears in your sidebar and starts syncing.

How often does it refresh?

Google polls subscribed calendars roughly every 8–24 hours — there's no exact published interval, and you can't force a refresh through the UI. For minute-by-minute sync, the source has to use Google's Calendar API push notifications, which only works for calendars you own.

Unsubscribe

Hover the calendar in Other calendars, click the X. The subscription stops; no events are kept locally.

Useful iCal feeds

Common feeds: your favorite sports team's schedule, a course timetable, a tide chart, your gym's class schedule. Search "[topic] ics" or look on the publisher's "Subscribe" page.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Can I subscribe to a Google Calendar's iCal link?
Yes — but if it's your own calendar, just enable it as a regular calendar instead. Subscribing creates a separate read-only view.
Why don't my changes to a subscribed calendar save?
Subscribed calendars are read-only by design. To edit, the source has to give you write access through their app, not the iCal URL.