Six more things to do during lockdown: Tubing, animal park, online yoga and free TV

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January can give us all a bit of cabin fever at the best of times—and these are not the best of times! So here’s my attempt to come to the rescue with lots of ideas for embracing the season, whether you want to get out in the snow, learn to cook at home or just curl up under the blankets. From snowshoeing and an animal safari to online travel documentaries and virtual Zumba, I’ve got you covered. Enjoy!

Watch documentaries, dramas and more—for free

Worried you’ll reach the end of Netflix before winter and/or lockdown ends? Yeah, me too. Fortunately, I just discovered a site that streams all sorts of cool-looking TV series, movies and documentaries. Despite its name, British Columbia’s Knowledge Network is available to anyone in Canada (you just need to create a free account).

I stumbled on it because, after enjoying the four-part documentary Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road on CBC Gem, I was trying to find out whether the bubbly Brit had done any other travel docs. Turns out she also made a three-part series about Japan, and it’s on Knowledge.ca until the end of January. Score!

Other goodies available on the service include international TV series (mainly British dramas), celebrity biographies and lots of Canadian content (such as Indigenous films from the National Film Board). Note that while the service is free, donations are welcome.

Speaking of free…

Did you know that your library card gives you access to all sorts of free digital content, which you can enjoy without leaving home? The Ottawa Public Library, for instance, offers magazines, newspapers, craft classes, e-books, audiobooks, language courses, movies, music, recipes and lots more online. In fact, there’s so much material perfect for lockdown distraction that the library has divided it into two separate sections: Isolation Recreation for Adults & Teens and Isolation Recreation for Kids. Both English and French materials are available.

P.S.: Note that OPL branches remain open, with their usual hours, for those who prefer non-digital amusements.

If you live outside of Ottawa and belong to a different library, no worries! Check out these libraries’ lists of online resources:

• Arnprior Public Library
• Bonnechere Union Public Library (Eganville)
• Brockville Public Library
• Carleton Place Public Library
• Chelsea Public Library
• Cornwall Public Library
• Bibliothèque de Gatineau
• Kingston Frontenac Public Library
• Merrickville Public Library
• Mississippi Mills Public Library
• North Grenville Public Library
• Perth and District Union Public Library
• Petawawa Public Library
• Renfrew Public Library
• Smiths Falls Public Library (click on “Online Resources” at the top of the page)
• Wakefield Library (scroll down to “Research” at the bottom of the page)

Get outdoors

Skating, skiing, snowboarding, fat biking, tobogganing…if you can do it outdoors in winter, you can do it in and around Ottawa! Here are just a few links to get you started. (Bring your woollies and obey all the rules, ‘kay?)

Last week, after I shared my post about outdoor skating trails in Ontario and Quebec, readers wrote in with tips on trails I hadn’t even heard of, and then I stumbled across a few others on my own. So I’ve updated the post with details on a golf-course trail in Gatineau, a forest trail in Deep River, a skating trail in Pembroke and a brand-new ice trail in Stittsville.

Ottawa Tourism has a page of tips on places to skate, ski, snowshoe and more, in both Ottawa and the Outaouais.

Tourisme Outaouais offers a detailed chart of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing options throughout West Quebec, as well as a page of links to skiing and snowboarding centres.

Over at Lanark County Tourism, you’ll find this good list of places to go skiing, sledding, skating, tubing or snowmobiling in and around Mississippi Mills and Carleton Place.

This post from the Ontario’s Highlands tourism organization points you to outdoor rinks and sledding hills throughout a wide area west of Ottawa, including a skating pond in Calabogie and an “epic” hill in Almonte. (P.S.: If you’re looking for more things to do while you’re out, regulations permitting, check out my guides to Almonte and Carleton Place.)

Is winter fat biking more your style? The South Eastern Ontario tourism organization has a good guide to frosty cycling spots in Cornwall and Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry.

Shake up your at-home workout

Yeah, I know we’ve been largely working out in the “comfort” of our living rooms rather than in gyms and yoga studios for almost two years now. Despite the advantages—chiefly, the ability to wear ugly workout clothes without the least twinge of shame, and the glorious absence of mirrors—the thrill of the at-home workout evaporated for many of us long ago. And yet, two years of couchsurfing and stress-eating Hostess Munchies haven’t done our waistlines any favours. (Or perhaps that’s just me?)

Anyway, here are a few fitness-related websites you might want to check out if you’re looking for inspiration. This list is just a start; please check the websites of any gyms, yoga studios or dance centres in your neighbourhood or town to see whether they are offering any virtual options this winter. Local businesses could really, really use the support right now. And a bonus: When things open up again, you’ll already have a connection to a great fitness option close to home! (I’ve included some national/international sites in the list below, too, as not everyone lives close to a gym or studio.)

• Pure Yoga Ottawa: This Ottawa yoga studio, with locations in Westboro and Centretown, offers some 300 yoga classes in all sorts of styles online, ranging from five-minute tutorials to full 90-minute classes. You can check out about a dozen samples online at no charge, and try the whole site for free for 15 days. The same company owns the local Pure Kitchen chain of vegetarian restaurants, so why not order some healthy food to enjoy post-class as well? (I’m quite partial to the Mystical Bowl, piled high with black beans, avocado, pico de gallo and ginger-lime tofu—and I’m not normally a tofu person.)
• Do Yoga With Me: About half of the content on this Vancouver-based site is totally free—you don’t even need to create an account to view it. The comprehensive site includes yoga classes and tutorials in many styles (hatha, vinyasa and so on), at levels from beginner to advanced. You can stream content or pay to download videos for use offline. If you like the site, you can subscribe, which gives you access to extra content, as well as a discount on any videos you choose to buy.
• Dance with Alana: Would you rather try zumba, swing dancing, hip hop or tap? Then check out the wide range of online classes offered by this Glebe-based dance studio. You can pay by the class, sign up for a full series or get a monthly pass that gives you unlimited online access to the studio’s full range of options. And this week is “all you can dance week,” so you can try all of the studio’s classes until Saturday for the sale price of $25.
• BollyX: Also known as the Bollywood Dance Fitness Workout, this website includes more than 200 dance workouts, ranging from 10 to 50 minutes long. If you’ve ever dreamed of being an extra in an extravagant Indian musical, you’ll love this, as many of the workouts feature heart-pumping bhangra music (there are routines done to top-40 music, too). It usually costs US$15 a month, but dig around on the site, as there are frequent sales. At the minute, you can get a year-long subscription for US$24.
• Ottawa Online Fitness: Founded by Ottawa decathlete Geordie McConnell, this site provides spin classes, dryland training for swimmers, online toning classes for runners and much more, with an emphasis on creating an online community among members.

See animals in Montebello

At Parc Oméga in Montebello, a 12-kilometre, year-round driving route takes you past wolves, deer, moose, elk, bears and more. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a close as most of us are going to get to a safari for a while! While you’re at the park, you can also check out walking trails, an outdoor skating rink, a wolf observatory, a tubing hill and other attractions, and takeout food is available. For more ideas on things to do in Montebello (yes, regulations permitting), see my guide to Montebello.

Take an online class

This recommendation stems from the previous one about virtual fitness, as some of the organizations below offer online fitness classes. But the options available extend much further, with everything from cooking workshops to photography. Some of classes start this week or next, so I’d check these sites out quickly if you’re interested.

• City of Ottawa: Visit the main virtual programs page for details on setting up an account and accessing the classes, then check out the extensive program guide to choose from all sorts of options for the whole family, such as a kids’ chess club, a K-pop dance class for teens and a keto Mediterranean cooking class for adults.
• Carleton University: The winter 2022 Lifelong Learning Program includes online lectures about the solar system, music, neurology and more.
• Coursera: This huge website gives you access to all sorts of online courses created by universities around the world. Many of them—including a popular Indigenous Canada course from the University of Alberta—are available for free; you can also pay for CourseraPlus for access to additional choices.
• Udemy: This site is similar to Coursera, but without the university connection. You have to pay for the courses (fees start around C$20) and there’s a somewhat stronger emphasis on business and technical topics, such as computer programming, marketing and photography.

Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in our region and online? Check out my “Seven things to do during lockdown” post, subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or pick up a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.

As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.