Day Trips from Ottawa
clamc40
Nice drives we like to take
6 Aug 2007
based on 1 vote
Ideas for some nice day trips when using Ottawa ON as a home base
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Explore locations featured in this Traveler List:
Merrickville, Cumberland, Ontario
- Category: Roadtrip
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Traveler type: Active/Outdoors, Never been before, Repeat visitors
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Appeals to: Couples/romantics, Honeymooners, Families with small children, Families with teenagers, Seniors, Students, Budget travellers , Tourists
- Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall
- Tags: day trips, road trips, Ottawa, nearby, nature, scenic
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1. Day trip #1: Heritage & History to the south
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| On Day Trip #1, take Highway 416 (Veteran's Memorial Highway) to Rte 43. Visit the quaint, pretty village of Merrickville. Explore to your heart's content. Kids will enjoy the "Merrickville Ruins" and watching the boats by the water. Get out your camera! You'll be able to eat, drink, relax, shop, and play here. |
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2. Continue on to Smiths Falls along Rte 43
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| Done with Merrickville? Need to stretch your legs again? Continue along Rte 43 to Smiths Falls, another village along the Rideau. Follow signs to the downtown, see some more boats by the Rideau. |
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3. Is it close to evening? Wanna go to the drive-in?
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| About 12-15 minutes (along rte 43) from Smiths Falls is a wee place called Port Elmsley. Which has a honest-to-goodness Drive-in Theatre from 1953! Check out a movie there (normally they begin around 9:00 pm in the summer, cars start arriving around 8:00 pm, and they show 2-3 features in the summer). This place looks and feels like something from 50+ years ago - it is perfect. Including the old fashioned ads in between movies and Wolfman Jack on the radio speakers. It is rundown and PERFECT. Unfortunately, however, I've heard they are going to renovate it to bring it up to 2007 expectations. That would be a shame, it would wreck the experience! You pay for adults in the car only, kids are free, and the food at the concession stand is the cheapest you will find at the movies anywhere. They take cash only. |
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4. Back to Ottawa - different choices
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| Come back to Ottawa the way you came, or take Rte 43 to the town of Perth, and then take Highway 7 back into Ottawa. Or go back to Smith Falls, take Rte 15 to the town of Carleton Place, and then take Highway 7 back to Ottawa. Lots of choices to complete the circle drive |
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5. Day trip #2: Nature & Scenery to the East
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| Enjoy a scenic drive down the Rockcliffe Parkway until it ends at Bearbrook. Attractions on the way, on the Rockcliffe Parkway, should you be interested, are the Canadian Aviation Museum and the RCMP Stables. |
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6. Mer Bleu Bog (Boardwalk) trail
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| After Rockcliffe parkway, take Bearbrook road all the way south to Innes Rd. West on Innes to Anderson. South on Anderson, follow signs to MerBleu. Park @ P22 for the Boardwalk. Take a walk along the boardwalk through the Bog. Interesting. |
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7. After your walk through the bog boardwalk, try some more nature @ Petrie Island
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| Back on Innes Rd, go east on Innes to Trim. Then follow Trim Rd. north right to the very end, where it ends at the Ottawa River. You'll be at Petrie Island Park now. Nature trails, places to play, and a sandy public beach in season. |
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| Get onto the main road 17/174 to the village of Cumberland, where you can decide if you want your scenery by way of a ferry ("traversier") over to Gatineau on the Quebec side (Cumberland-Masson ferry), or by way of a visit to a heritage museum |
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9. Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
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10. Flea Market in Masson-Angers
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| The largest flea market in the Outaouais region (Wed-Sat-Sun) |
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11. Return back to Ottawa quickly from the 17/174 right to the main 417 Highway
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| Fastest return route home to Ottawa from the Ontario side |
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12. Day Trip #3: Fun for the kids - Upper Canada Village
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| This one will be enjoyed especially by the kids in the group. A Day trip to Upper Canada Village and exploring some of the parks/attractions around the St. Lawrence and the Village |
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13. Nearby Attractions to Upper Canada Village
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Compliment clamc40
