Day trips from Ottawa
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Lucky Ottawans are spoiled with a host of National Historic Sites and National Parks less than a two-hour drive from downtown. Here are six inspirational suggestions to get you started: from paddling in a 27-foot Voyageur canoe along a historic 19th century shipping route, to cycling through 7,000 years of history, and tying on a Voyageur sash and learning about the fur trade. The fun starts here!
Historic shipping route constructed after the war of 1812.
walk or bike!
Rideau Canal National Historic Site
How to get there
- Walk or bike! The canal flows right through the heart of downtown and runs from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario.
What to do
- Combine history with fun on a uniquely Canadian voyage from Hartwell’s Lockstation, adjacent Carleton University, in a 27-foot Voyageur canoe guided by Parks Canada staff.
- Snap up a fishing permit and outdoors card, and head for Dow Lake with your rod and barbecue to catch your supper on the canal. Did you know that the river is full of freshwater fish, from Lake Trout and Yellow Perch to Walleye and Smallmouth Bass?
- Enjoy a scenic 12km paddle along the winding river past shady overhanging trees through a section of Class 1 Wetland Marsh between Perth and Beveridge Locks.
Stay overnight
Sleep soundly under the stars when you pitch your tent at one of the twenty-two lockstations which offer camping. Upgrade to a cosy oTENTik for a cabin experience on this historic route.
Historic fort dating back to the war of 1812.
- Driving: 1 hour
Fort Wellington National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: In Prescott ON, just a little over an hour’s drive via ON-416 S.
What to do
- Always wanted to fire a cannon? Here’s your chance! Sign up to enlist in the Royal Artillery training to be a member of the cannon crew learning to fire our 19th century cannon (must be 18 and over).
- Calling all Xplorers! Grab a copy of the Parks Canada Xplorers booklet at the visitor centre and complete three of the challenges to score a souvenir! Super-fun way to explore the fort and get the inside track on its mysteries and history!
March back to the 1800s
Parks Canada staff in period costume are here to give you an authentic taste of life in the 1840s. Stop by the visitor centre to see the wreck of a 19th century gunboat!
20 islands and three scenic mainland properties on the St. Lawrence River.
- Driving: 1.5 hours
Thousand Islands National Park
How to get there
- Driving: In Mallorytown, ON, just 90-minutes on the ON-416 S and ON-401 W.
What to do
- No boat? No problem! There are so many ways to explore this gorgeous wild landscape, from renting a kayak or taking a guided canoe tour, to hopping onboard a cruise boat or just enjoying the mainland at Mallorytown Landing.
- Try a GPS-based treasure hunt on a geocaching adventure through the park’s islands and on the mainland. Download the ‘Blanding’s Turtle’ caches and either use your smartphone or borrow a GPS unit from the Mallorytown Landing visitor centre to play.
- Whether you’re a hiking newbie or ruler of the trails, you’ll find somewhere perfect to hike at Jones Creek. Make it an easy 20-minute stroll or link several paths in the network for a serious workout past rugged rocks and slender pine trees.
Download the app!
Kids big and small will love exploring and learning with the Club Parka booklet. Take part in a photo mission to track down and snap specific items throughout the park for a reward!
North America’s only 200-tonne Guillotine gate.
- Driving: 1.5 hours
Carillon Canal National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: In Saint-Andre-d’Argenteuil, QC, around 90-minutes via Highway 50 E.
What to do
- Be amazed by engineering ingenuity from 1833 at the Carillon Canal. It uses a 200-tonne guillotine gate to allow vessels to navigate a 20-meter drop in the river in just 40-minutes.
- Discover the secrets of the canal as you hike along its banks, from its military past through to its commercial days.
Two for One:
Practice your French at the Argenteuil Regional Museum inside the Carillon Barracks, a requisitioned British Army barracks from 1837. It holds some 10,000 artifacts and shows a snapshot of life for the Aboriginal, French, British, Quebec and Canadian communities who used to live here.
Fort remains and Canada’s first lock canal at the most turbulent rapids on the St Lawrence River.
- Driving: 1.5 hours
Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: Just 1 hr 40 mins on the ON-417 E.
What to do
- Take a self-guided archaeological stroll through the history of the Pointe de Coteau-du-Lac and discover the archeological remains which tell the story of more than 7,000 years of history from First Nations to Voyageurs, merchants and soldiers.
- Challenge the family to ‘beat the clock’ and explore the site through your smartphone, snapping photos and answering clues in a historical race against time!
- Pedal out along the Soulanges canal on a 45km cycling tour through the multi-layered architectural landscape on an exciting five-stop tour created by Archéo-Québec.
Connect with nature
With a trail map and a pair of binoculars (bring your own or borrow a pair from the Visitor Centre) see what you can spy along the canal and the creeks, from herons to blue-winged teals.
The canal gateway which links the Atlantic Ocean to the heart of the continent.
- Driving: under 2 hours
- Transit: 2 hours
Lachine Canal National Historic Site
How to get there
- Driving: In Montreal, QC, just under two hours on the Trans Canada HWY/ON-417 E.
- Transit: Just over two hours by VIA Rail train or Greyhound bus to downtown Montreal. Grab a Bixi bike, bus or metro to the Lachine Canal.
What to do
- Buy picnic supplies at the nearby Atwater Market and rent a bike to cycle one of the world’s most beautiful urban routes through green spaces, past centuries-old buildings along the flat canal path of the Lachine.
- Set sail on a voyage 150 years into the past on an ultra-modern electrically-powered vessel, the Petit Navire, which silently takes you back to the time of the merchants who sailed these waters and helped found modern Canada.
- Rent a canoe or a kayak and take a paddle along these historic waters which helped turn Montreal into a major port after the canal opened in 1825.
Two for One
Tie on your traditional sash and scarlet toque, and step into the beaver pelt-scented world of the trappers and traders of The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site next door!