7 off-the-beaten path road trips from Ottawa

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Looking for a secret gem of a road trip destination in Eastern Ontario or the Outaouais—somewhere you and everyone else hasn’t been a million times before? You’ve come to the right place. From a ruined church to a canyon zipline, there’s an unspoiled spot here for just about every interest and adrenaline level.

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Kayak the Tay Canal near Perth

Yeah, the Rideau Canal can get pretty busy with boating traffic at the height of summer. But did you know that there’s an equally scenic canal that feeds into the Rideau—and that’s a little more under the radar? Parks Canada actually classifies the Tay Canal as a “branch” of the Rideau. The 9.8-kilometre route linking Perth to Lower Rideau Lake is a lovely kayaking route. If you start at the Upper Beveridges Lock and paddle to Perth, you’ll end up on the doorstep of Mex & Co.—where you can reward yourself with beers and tacos on the canal-side patio.

Hike a quiet trail (with luck) near Pakenham

Given that we all have cabin fever, some of the more popular hiking routes around the region have become a bit busy. I can’t guarantee a completely quiet hike, but the odds are good at High Lonesome Nature Reserve simply because it isn’t as well known as, say, the Rideau Trail or Gatineau Park. This 200-acre expanse of forests, meadows, ponds and streams, just west of Pakenham, features 8 kilometres of largely flat trails and is managed by the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust. I don’t believe there are washroom facilities on the property, so check my list of open public washrooms to find facilities to visit before or after your hike.

Zipline through a canyon in the Pontiac

Just outside Fort Coulonge in the Pontiac region of the Outaouais, you’ll find a park with amusements to suit everyone from the casual hiker to the hard-core thrill seeker. Chutes Coulonge Park is actually two parks in one. The historical park has hiking trails with along the waterfalls and a small museum focusing on the region’s logging history. The adventure park has ziplines above the Coulonge River canyon; you can also test yourself with treetop obstacle courses and a via ferrata (a series of cables and footholds that lets you climb along a rocky cliff face, if you’re so inclined).

The adventure park is open from Wednesday through Sunday, and reservations are required. The historical park is open seven days a week and no advance booking is necessary. Hours for both parks are 10am to 6pm. The site is about an hour and 45 minutes by car from downtown Ottawa.

Photograph ruins in Williamstown and Gatineau Park

Looking for something a little tamer than ziplining above a river? I have two suggestions for you.

The first is a national historic site I stumbled across a few years ago by following a roadside signpost. St. Raphael’s Ruins are just west of Highway 34, between Lancaster and Alexandria. What was once one of the oldest Anglophone Catholic churches in Ontario was gutted by fire in 1970; today, the roofless stone walls are open to the sky. It’s a peaceful place to roam around, and admission is free. A curator is sometimes onsite; see the St. Raphael’s website for hours.

My second suggestion isn’t accessible just yet, but it will be soon. The Carbide Willson Ruins are a different type of site—an abandoned industrial complex beside a waterfall deep in the woods of Gatineau Park. Willson was a noted inventor who built this fertilizer plant near his home on Meech Lake in 1911. When he died four years later, the complex—consisting of a dam, a generating station and an acid condensation tower—was abandoned. The tower burned down and the other two structures are being slowly consumed by the forest. It’s a cool place for photographers, and the short hike along Trail 36 (3.25 kilometres, round trip) from the P11 parking lot is scenic, with just enough hills and tree roots to make it interesting.

Three important things to note at the minute: Trail 36 is closed for repairs at the minute and is scheduled to re-open on Friday, August 21. Also, three parkways in Gatineau Park (the Gatineau Parkway, Champlain Parkway and Fortune Lake Parkway) are closed to vehicles all week, except on Sunday afternoons and evenings, until Monday, September 7, so plan to drive in via Old Chelsea and Meech Lake Road. Finally, probably due to the road closures, the P11 parking lot and others around Meech Lake currently fill up quickly on nice days, especially on weekends. As a result, you might want to consider checking out these ruins early in the morning, on a weekday or later in September.

See sculptures in the woods in Cumberland

I’ve never known quite how to classify Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park. Is it a hiking spot? An outdoor art gallery? A spiritual destination? A quirky passion project? It’s all four, really. It’s also not really a road trip “from” Ottawa as it’s within the city limits, on the edge of Cumberland.

Dr. Ranjit Perera opened the 11-acre park in 2017 as a Canada 150 project. Today, visitors can stroll along gravel and dirt trails past Perera’s collection of sculptures from around the world, grouped by religion or by themes such as “the oneness of reality.” Even if you don’t like art, you may be delighted by the wildlife. The birch, cedar, hemlock and maple forest is home to all sorts of woodland creatures, including chipmunks and birds galore. The trails range from flat to quite hilly. Check the park’s website for information on hours and admission fees.

Enjoy a riverside picnic in Plantagenet

Continue east along Highway 174 (AKA Old Highway 17) from Cumberland and you’ll get to Jessups Falls Conservation Area, a very pleasant place for a picnic. Overlooking the South Nation River in Plantagenet, it’s also apparently a great spot to cast your line for muskie, small-mouth bass and other fish (I’m squeamish about getting fish detached from hooks, so I leave the angling to others).

There are lots of picnic tables, a few old cast-iron barbecues, a floating dock, a boat launch, ample shade and free parking. The washrooms are open, too.

As for the “falls” in the name? It appears to refer to the rapids below the highway bridge.

Ottawa accommodations

Ottawa is the perfect base for all of these day trips. Use the handy map below to find a hotel, inn or other place to stay.

Looking for more road trip ideas? Check out my post 25 Eastern Ontario road trips you can do right now and subscribe to my free weekly newsletter.