Good news, everyone: This weekend, there are lots of socially distanced ways to get out and explore our region! Follow new bike routes in the Cornwall area, check out a new kayak launch in Kemptville, take a studio tour in West Carleton, bring the kids to an Ottawa farm or check out an Egyptian exhibition in Gatineau—and those are just a few of the options. Wherever you go, stay safe and have fun.
Visit artists’ studios in West Carleton
The Red Trillium Studio Tour in West Carleton this weekend (July 3 and 4) will be an in-person event. All of the studios are taking COVID-19 precautions, and you’ll be able to meet the 17 participating artists and see their work without using a screen or mouse of any sort! You can browse for paintings, stained glass, jewellery, pottery, clothing and more. The tour organizers also have a list of nearby restaurants offering takeout, so you can make a day of it as you drive among studios in Kinburn, Dunrobin, Fitzroy Harbour and other small communities on Ottawa’s western edge.
Wondering where all those places are? Below, you’ll find a map, courtesy of the studio tour. The full list of studios (which correspond to the numbers on the map) is available at the link above.
Bring your boat, dog or bike to Kemptville
Thanks to the Kemptville District Community Association, there’s a brand-new kayak, canoe and paddleboard launch on Kemptville Creek, in Anniversary Park in the Ferguson Forest Centre. The forest centre and park also offer 22 acres kilometres of hiking trails, a 3-hectare (7.5-acre) dog park with an obstacle course, a 10-hectare (25 acre) arboretum, picnic tables and more. (A new bike rack is due to be installed in the Anniversary Park parking lot soon.)
P.S.: Speaking of Kemptville, now’s the time (if you’re so inclined) to reserve a three-course meal from Catered Affairs to enjoy while visiting the My Local Markets Outdoor Night Market on July 8. (The meals tend to go quickly, and the caterer is closed for holidays from July 1 to 7, which is why I’m giving you the heads up now!)
See Queens of Egypt at the Canadian Museum of History
Yes, Ottawans can cross the river to Gatineau now—and, yes, many museums in the Outaouais are OPEN! That means that people throughout the National Capital Region can see the Canadian Museum of History’s show, Queens of Egypt (running until August 22, 2021). The video above takes you behind the scenes of the show’s creation and highlights what you can expect to see when you visit. The exhibition features more than 300 artifacts associated with Egyptian queens from over 3,000 years ago, such as Nefertiti and Hatshepsut. Along with jewellery, statues and more, you can enjoy multimedia installations, a family-friendly cell phone game, and a movie called Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs on the museum’s huge Cine+ screen.
Take the kids to an Ottawa farm
You don’t even have to leave the Ottawa city limits to see and feed barnyard animals, and learn how farmers eked out a living here over 150 years ago. The Log Farm—a working family farm and heritage site at 670 Cedarview Road in Nepean—has reopened to visitors for the season. You’ll need to buy a timed ticket in advance online.
Enjoy a self-guided tour of Fort Henry
Fort Henry National Historic Site in Kingston reopened for the season on June 19. It will look a bit different this year—for instance, there won’t be large-scale events like the Sunset Ceremony—but you can take a self-guided tour and see demonstrations of old-timey skills such as firing a cannon. This post from Global News gives lots more details about what to expect at the fort this summer.
Raise a glass of local craft beer
Ottawa Tourism has produced a web video series, Tapping Into Ottawa, highlighting the dozens (seriously—I’m starting to lose track of them all) of craft breweries in and around the city. It’s a great way to discover a new-to-you brew—which might be especially tempting this week, given the sultry forecast! The video above is just a teaser; the whole series is available on YouTube.
Spend the day in Montebello
After a two-year, $5.9-million restoration project, Manoir Papineau National Historic Site has reopened to the public. The grand mansion in Montebello, not far from Fairmont Le Château Montebello hotel, was constructed between 1848 and 1850 for Louis-Joseph Papineau. He was a politician-turned-revolutionary (he led the 1837 Rebellion in Lower Canada) who, by that point, had retired from public life. The home was the focal point of Papineau’s estate, the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. Check the Manoir Papineau website for details on visiting and current activities.
While you’re in the area, you could grab dinner at a Montebello restaurant (I’m partial to Le Zouk, which pours local beers and has a lovely deck out back). Then you could head over to Parc Oméga to experience the sound-and-light show on its 1.5-kilometre night hiking trail, another experience that has just reopened for the season. You’ll need to buy advance tickets for that one.
Take a virtual step-dancing class
Ever wondered how Ottawa Valley step dancers make all that fast footwork look so joyous and effortless? Pembroke-born musician/dancer April Verch is giving an online workshop about the unique Ottawa Valley dance style online on Sunday, July 4. It’s aimed at a British audience (that’s why the ticket prices are in pounds), but I didn’t see anything on the site indicating that you had to be in the U.K. to sign up. It starts at 9am Ottawa time. You can get a sense of Verch’s performance in the video above, shot during the Festival of Small Halls.
Go cycling in Cornwall and SDG
Cornwall and the surrounding Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) are working hard to make their region south of Ottawa a cycling hotbed, resulting in all sorts of online resources and real-world support for riders.
Cornwall Tourism has a comprehensive page on its website detailing everything from cycle-and-stay accommodation packages to cycling routes, bike shops and bike rental companies. Not to be outdone, SDG has a wide selection of bike routes you can view online and save to your phone, ranging from the flat 6.1-kilometre Upper Canada Island Hopper to the, um, challenging-sounding 82.7-kilometre Grand Tour de Breweries.
In addition, three young “cycling tourism ambassadors” will be patrolling the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail along the St. Lawrence Seaway this summer, offering tips and assistance to cyclists using the trail in Cornwall and elsewhere in SDG.
Kick back on a Kingston patio
Whether your taste runs to burgers, pizza, pasta or burritos, or whether your number-one priority when searching for a restaurant patio is a water view, Visit Kingston has you covered with this extensive list of patios that are open now. A word to the wise: If you want one of those Lake Ontario views, get there early in the day—I suspect lots of other folks will have the same idea!
Looking for more tips for things to see and do in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais and beyond? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter and/or buy my guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide, from which this post is adapted.