One-Hour Walk: Kemptville, Ontario

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Downtown Kemptville is a wonderfully compact place for a walk—an hour’s stroll will take you through most of it. Along the way, you can check out some nice shops, skate outdoors (in the winter), go kayaking (in the summer) and reward yourself with tasty scones. And the best part? Kemptville isn’t far from Ottawa. It’s just a 20-minute drive from Manotick and a 40-minute drive from Parliament Hill. So grab your walking shoes or winter boots, and come along on a one-hour walk around this Eastern Ontario town.

A few route notes

The map above starts and ends at Riverside Park, but you could start anywhere you choose along this route. Note that this is a largely flat walk. Some streets have sidewalks on one side only.

If you’re looking for a public restroom along the way, you’ll find some at the North Grenville Library in the Norenberg Building at 1 Water Street (at the corner of Prescott, just south of the bridge over Kemptville Creek). The large, accessible washrooms are just to your right. Check the library website for opening hours.

Once you’re on the north side of the creek, turn left to head east along Clothier Street East. Pop into Grahame’s Bakery (115 Clothier Street East) for doughnuts and bread fresh from the wood-burning oven, which dates back to 1885.

Just past the bakery, you could veer south at Barnes Street and pick up the pedestrian Waterfront Trail along the creek instead of walking along Clothier. (I tried to show that on the Google Map but it just gave me grief, but you can see it if you zoom in on the map.)

In recent years, a section of the creek beside Curry Park has been groomed in winter to become the Kemptville Skateway, so bring your blades. If you come on the second Saturday in February, you can pick up free snacks and get your picture taken with a giant turkey—well, an inflatable turkey or a human in a turkey costume—on Van Turken Day (a newish festival with a fun back story). In summer, you could follow up your walk with a paddle, as there’s a boat launch in Curry Park.

From Curry Park, head up to Oxford Street and walk west to Rideau Street. Walk two blocks south, then turn right onto Clothier Street West and walk a few blocks to see several of the town’s prettiest heritage churches. The road is quite wide at this point, so the walk is a bit nippy on windy winter days. (Believe me, I just did it, and I was glad I was bundled up!)

For lots of detail on the many historic homes in downtown Kemptville, check out the four detailed historical walking tours of different areas of the town put together by Explore North Grenville.

Why do this walk?

• At 409 Oxford Street East is a house that some believe was once a hangout for 1920s gangster Al Capone. (This post by local historian Arlene Stafford Wilson has details of rumoured bootlegging and secret tunnels, back in the day.) Like all the homes mentioned in this post, it is private property, so just observe from the road, ‘kay?
• Kemptville is just a lovely place to meander around, with streets lined with Victorian and Edwardian buildings. That’s why I’ve routed you along Thomas Street; it’s just a quiet, residential street, but it’s pretty.

• Pop into Bubba & Bugs Coffee Bar (146 Prescott Street) for cookies, scones, muffins, breakfast treats, sandwiches, loose-leaf teas and specialty coffees in a festive atmosphere (how many other coffee shops do you know that have a chandelier?).
• Swing by one of my favourite independent supermarkets, B & H Your Community Grocer (301 Rideau Street), to find foods from local producers. There’s usually a display right by the front entrance of items such as honey and sunflower oil.

• Kemptville offers lots of options for additional exercise. Ferguson Forest has over 20 kilometres of hiking trails, a kayak dock and a popular dog park. It’s just a short drive from downtown. (Tip: If you’re visiting in winter, the Turtle Trail is a good bet for hiking or snowshoeing. It runs through the woods along a quiet stretch of Kemptville Creek and, unlike some of the other park trails, is not open to snowmobiles.)

• Kemptville Campus (75 Campus Drive) has a network of trails ranging in length from 500 metres to 3.5 kilometres. You’ll also find a working sugarbush on the former college property, as well as greenhouses that are open to the public at selected times. Again, it’s just a short drive or a longish walk from downtown.
• In summer, Riverside Park is a great place for families, with picnic tables, a playground, a skate park, a beach and other recreational amenities. It’s a few blocks west of downtown Prescott Street.

Getting to Kemptville

Kemptville is 58 kilometres south of Parliament Hill. The easiest way to get there is via highways 417 and 416; take County Road 43 (exit 34) west from Highway 416 to Kemptville.

I’ve picked the corner of Reuben Crescent and Riverside Park as the starting point for this walk because there’s a large, free public parking lot there (which is well signed from the main drag, Prescott Street). However, you could start just about anywhere downtown, as street parking is generally easy to find.

For more tips on exploring this area, see my detailed day tripping to Kemptville and North Grenville post.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy this one: One-Hour Walk: Old Ottawa South.

Looking for more ideas for things to do around our region? 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.