Ok, folks, here we go: Another week of pandemic restrictions as we dig out from a once-in-a-decade blizzard! It may seem like January is out to get us, but I’ve come up with some more great ways to battle the winter blues—from skating on a frozen creek or finding some great new books to taking a scenic country drive in Lanark County or the Outaouais.
Onward and upward!
By the way, if you’d like to see my previous ideas for amusing yourself and your family this month, check out Seven fun things to do during lockdown and Six more things to do during lockdown.
Dine on a patio like a brave Canadian
Pierre Berton once cracked that the definition of a Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe. I’d argue that a Canadian is someone who will actually eat on a restaurant patio when the mercury drops below zero. If you have the chops, you can indeed dine outdoors now (within reason, of course—blizzards and frostbite warnings do tend to make things a tad impractical).
Visit Kingston has a list of half a dozen restaurants with winter patios (including one of my favourite Kingston restaurants, Tango Nuevo). And the Ottawa Citizen‘s recent article about January dining mentioned several winter patios in the capital, such as Browns Socialhouse in Barrhaven and Back to Brooklyn in the ByWard Market. As always, check restaurants’ websites and social media for hours, which can change quite quickly. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea to BYOB (bring your own blanket).
Discover outdoor art
Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais are home to all sorts of outdoor artworks, from murals to sculptures—you just have to know where to look. And the best news is that these outdoor “galleries” are always open, always free and rarely crowded! Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Ottawa’s House of PainT has an extensive map of mural and graffiti sites throughout Ottawa-Gatineau. If you’ve always thought you’d like to try your hand at some street art but you’re lacking in spray painting skills, you’re also in luck: the website sells a colouring book for $20, and you can download individual pages for free.
- Gatineau’s Sentier Culturel (Culture Trail) guides you to dozens of sculptures, murals and other artistic installations in the downtown Hull sector of the city. The trail’s sidewalk markings are hard to see in winter, but there are also signposts and a good smartphone app.
- In Ottawa’s Westboro neighbourhood, you can walk or drive past a number of murals and outdoor sculptures.
- In Confederation Park in Gananoque, you’ll find an outdoor sculpture park with specially commissioned pieces reflecting the area’s history (I’m particularly fond of the large metal herons).
- Pembroke is home to some 30 murals focusing on the history of the Ottawa Valley.
Go for a scenic drive in Lanark County or the Outaouais
Weather permitting, a country drive is a great way to brighten up a winter weekend. I’ve mapped out two scenic routes you can follow along fairly large roads (winter isn’t the best time to head down a hilly dirt back road you’ve never driven before, IMHO). One itinerary takes you to Pakenham and Almonte, while the other features Chelsea and Wakefield.
For each route, I’ve suggested places along the way for outdoor recreation—including hiking, skating and skiing—as well as spots where you can reward yourself for all that exercise with takeout coffee, fudge or something more substantial.
Try fat biking
I tried fat biking a few years ago, during a winter trip to Quebec’s Eastern Townships. It took me a while to get my balance, but once I did, I understood the appeal of riding these huge-wheeled gadgets. If you can ride a regular bike, you can probably get the hang of fat biking! Here are just a few of the places where you can rent wheels and get out in the snow—whether you prefer paved recreational paths or wilder trails.
- Cyco’s (25 Hawthorne Avenue, Ottawa, near the Pretoria Bridge over the Rideau Canal)
- Le Harfang (967, montée Dalton, Gatineau, near Le Sorcier Golf Club; you can also access a network of fat biking trails here)
- Expéditions Wakefield (721, chemin Riverside, Wakefield; Gatineau Park is on the doorstep)
And Ontario Tourism has a page of suggested trails you can explore by fat bike, including the Cataraqui Trail from Smiths Falls to Strathcona (near Napanee), and the K&P Trail in Kingston.
Visit another country on an interactive livestreamed tour
Heygo is a website with a fascinating premise. It offers live video tours of sites in more than 95 countries around the world, for just about any interest imaginable. This week alone, you could take a Harry Potter-themed tour of Edinburgh (January 19), visit the ruined Roman city of Pompeii with an archaeologist (January 20), learn to make Bolivian quinoa pizza (January 21) or explore a temple museum in Indonesia (January 22). In each case, the tour is happening in real time, so you can ask the guide questions. The tours are free, but you’re strongly encouraged to tip whatever you believe the experience is worth; that’s how the guides earn a living.
Create your 2022 “to read” list
I’m one of those people who has unread books stacked everywhere: on my nightstand, in my office, in boxes in my basement and even on a shelf in my bedroom closet meant for clothes. And yet, I still can’t resist lists of recommended books—even if they often come with bossy titles such as “books you must read for reason X or Y.” If you’re looking for the next great tome to get you through the winter, check out these possible sources of inspiration.
- 40 Life-Changing Books You Should Read at Least Once (if they really change my life, do I need to read them twice?) (Good Housekeeping)
- 30 Books Every Man Should Read by 30 (if I were a man, that ship would have sailed years ago) (Esquire)
- 100 Best Books of All Time (well, that sounds definitive) (Reader’s Digest)
- The Books You’ve Always Meant to Read (OK, at least this one is honest) (Waterstone’s)
- The Best Books of the Year 2021 (this came out in April 2021, so perhaps these books might finally be out of the “hold” queue at your local library) (BBC)
- Books to Inspire Your Ottawa-Area Road Trips (novels, history books, gardening guides and more) (Ottawa Road Trips)
Grab your skates
In other recent posts, I’ve mentioned local ice trails and municipal skating rinks, but they’re not your only options for getting out on your blades. Did you know, for instance, that there’s a Victorian skating rink on the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa? Or that there’s a fairly new skateway on Kemptville Creek that should be open any day now, weather permitting? In addition, the Rideau Canal Skateway (which you probably did know about) opened for the season last week.
Take a one-hour walk in a new-to-you neighbourhood
My new “One-Hour Walk” series continues! Last week, in the first post in the series, I laid out a 55-minute walk through parks and side streets in Old Ottawa South. This week’s one-hour stroll meanders through New Edinburgh and takes you to Rideau Falls and past Rideau Hall. Once the weather improves a bit, I’m planning to head a bit further afield to research walks in communities beyond Ottawa. (I’d planned to go to Kemptville last weekend, but the frosty temperatures defeated me. Soon, though!)
For more ideas for things to see and do in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, 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.