Near the casino, this is a perfect 5 km loop. It's typically clean and not overly crowded, which…read moremakes it a great spot for a walk or a run. In the summer you can rent paddle boards and kayaks for 20$ or free with the gatineau access card! Près du casino, c'est une boucle parfaite d'environ 5 km. C'est généralement propre et pas trop achalandé, ce qui en fait un excellent endroit pour marcher ou courir. Durant l'été la location de kayaks et paddlboard est à frais de 20$ ou bien gratuit avec la carte acces gatineau!

Beautiful views, and a decent walk. Really bummed those topiaries that are all over Google aren't…read morethere anymore, but it was a good time-if a gray day.

Such a highlight for me since moving to Ottawa! I live right by the canal and have loved coming…read morehere as a way to keep active all Winter! Ice was very well maintained considering the size and the fact that it's an outdoor rink. They have skate rentals and sharpening services at several locations but would probably avoid renting elsewhere as it is quite expensive We enjoyed many a beaver tail, friendly hangout and workout here this Winter. I'm sad it's coming to an end but look forward to next year. An excellent free winter activity for all ages.

We have visited the canal for many years but this was our first time trying the ice bike…read moreexperience, and unfortunately, it will be our last. Renting from Capital Skates turned out to be an incredibly frustrating and frankly unsafe experience. The primary issue is the equipment maintenance: the tires on these "ice bikes" appear to be completely worn down and are clearly not fit for a natural ice surface. With absolutely zero traction, the rear tire just spins in place, leaving you drifting helplessly rather than actually cycling. This lack of grip makes steering nearly impossible; I spent most of the ride fighting a massive lag in responsiveness that nearly sent me veering into the canal edge multiple times. The mechanical failures didn't stop there, as the gear shifter took nearly 15 seconds to actually engage after being moved, making any kind of momentum impossible to maintain. To make matters worse, the business model feels designed to capitalize on their monopoly on the canal. You are forced into a rigid two-hour rental--no more and no less--which is a steep commitment for equipment this poorly maintained at nearly $60 per bike. We attempted to call the business to address these concerns, but the line went to a voicemail that hasn't even been set up. It's a shame that such an iconic Canadian landmark is served by a vendor that seems to have given up on basic maintenance. Save your money and your nerves--stick to traditional skates.

I did not have fun because my ride was slow. The lady in front of me was going so slow, it was like…read moreshe was walking in the park. When we got to the bottom, I told the crew that I did not enjoy myself because the lady in front was so slow. The lady said, "I need to enjoy the view for the $20 I paid." Lady, if you want to enjoy the view, go for a walk in the park. Don't take the mountain coaster.

I went here skiing on a perfect Friday afternoon. Pro's :…read morenice friendly site, nice variety of runs, great vegetarian food selection. Con's: too expensive, the runs are pretty short. I think next time I will go for another site, however this is not a bad option only too expensive than what I expect to pau for a ski pass.

Great place for children's intertainement and fun in Ottawa!…read moreBel endroit pour l'amusement des enfants à Ottawa

This place is amazing on so many levels. If like me, you haven't jumped on a trampoline in about 14…read moreyears, friends, you are missing out! What an amazing workout, and a ton of fun. I came here on a Saturday around 7:30pm with a group of about 15 friends to play trampoline dodgeball. Sounds intense right? Add in the fact that the majority of the participants were MMA fighters, and it gets even more hardcore! When you come into to this fairly obscurely located building, you're asked to sign a waiver at the kiosk.They ask for your drivers license number, but if you don't have one they said it's fine to just put in your initials. It is a bit pricey when you're paying for more than one person. For two adults and an hour and a half of jumping, it cost us just over $50. That includes the mandatory jumping socks which they charge you $2 for. I hung on to mine in case I go back, and they also seemed like they would be great for yoga! The space itself is huge! There's a locker room (see my tip below about that), a small snack bar, a little party room for kids, washrooms, and the trampoline area! There's a large area that has dozens of trampolines all connected in a giant one, so you can jump around (and even on the sides!). I was a bit timid at first, and it takes awhile to get comfortable, but it's awesome once you get into it! There's also two smaller jumping areas for dodgeball games (they have a staff member for each game for safety). This was super fun, but I got so exhausted quickly! You have to have great cardio, or be under the age of 12, ha! There's also two fun areas: a giant foam pit where you van practice sweet jumps and flips, and a dunk zone where you can pretend to be an awesome NBA superstar. This place was crawling with kids when we got there, but they do have an adult only night on Saturdays after 10pm. I think that would be super fun! ANDREA'S ADVICE: + Bring you own lock. The lockers are free, but I've heard rumblings of theft, so if you're bringing valuables, be sure to bring a lock. +Start off with one hour. It may be tempting to go for an hour an a half or two, but unless you've had 20 espresso shots, an hour should be plenty. + Parents keep a serious eye on your kids! There were so many little ones wondering around, and we saw at least two sprained ankles. Be safe!

What a large and beautiful park in the middle of Gatineau. My husband and I got some takeout at…read moreKantin Bistro on Eddy and went to Parc Fontaine to eat our food on one of the picnic tables to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we were having in November. We had so many picnic tables to choose from! They have ping pong tables at this park. And a funnel ball setup. Lots of open green space. Some swings and play structures and even a swimming pool. What a great park to have in the city. Definitely a great place to enjoy your lunch outdoors when the weather is nice.

I'm writing this review about the cross country ski area and cafe, which we enjoyed this past…read moreweekend. We have never visited this location except in winter (this is our second time, both times in the month of Feb). First, when it snows, and when the weather stays cold, you cannot beat the 124-mile groomed cross-country trails of Gatineau Park! Starting at the Relais, there is parking, equipment rentals, indoor bathrooms and a cafe serving surprisingly good food and beverages. Just outside there is a fire pit where you can sit and warm up. And they have plenty of indoor tables for eating. Second, regarding the trails, there is something for every level skier here. There are lots of fairly open and flat trails, some hills, some trails in the woods, some with twists and turns. My husband and I (who have skied here before) are intermediate to advanced skiers, and we have really enjoyed being able to ski for hours and experience lots of different environments. The trails are well marked and groomed for both classic and skate skiing. And they also have maps available. Third, during our most recent visit, we were with friends who had never xc skied before. We had called earlier in the week to get help with reserving equipment through the website, and the people we spoke to were very helpful, friendly and patient. Upon arrival, skis, boots and poles were waiting. The only downside was that the skis for our one friend were nearly 3 feet taller than she was. When I asked why they had given her such long skis they said that it was because of her weight. I know that longer skis help to distribute your weight, but as my friend was a total beginner, I felt that shorter skis would be more advantageous to her learning, so we asked for a swap and luckily they could accommodate us! And I was right - the shorter skis were the ticket. She easily took to the technique and skied for 3 hours with us! She also fell down a few times, and easily got back up - something I'm not sure she could have so easily managed with really long skis. Fourth, the skis you can rent here have a manual binding system, so you have to position the toe of your boot against the binding, then twist the lever to snap the binding on. I have never seen bindings like this and we found it very challenging to get our friends into (and out of) their skis. Our friends reported that the boots were very comfortable. Fifth, the Relais cafe is GREAT. On the day we visited they had two kinds of chili (one veggie and one meat), brownies, croissants, cookies, wraps, sandwiches and a variety of hot beverages. We ordered two hot cocoas, an herbal tea and a coffee, a grilled cheese with bacon, a BLT wrap, and two bowls of chili, and all of it was piping hot, tasty and great portion sizes. Last thing to note: on the busy Saturday that we visited, the entire place was being run by very young people. At the check in, there were two boys who may have been teens or very early twenties who were on their phones and seemed unable/unwilling to help us; there was one young man running between the ski equipment room and the cafe - he seemed very capable, friendly, multi lingual. In the cafe there were several young women - at every order they seemed to need to consult each other; there was a lot of giggling, but they got all the orders correct. There was no person monitoring to ensure that all the skiers had paid for day passes, nor was there anyone bussing or cleaning tables, or taking care of the restrooms (which were both a mess with paper toweling all over the floor and low toilet paper). We also did not see any ski patrol on the trails. I noticed all of this because it was totally different the last time we visited (Feb 2020), when there were numerous employees attending to folks and skiing the trails, visibly identifiable as ski patrol. In any event, for independent and capable skiers, who just want to park, strap on skis and hit the trails, ski for hours, and then warm up with a cocoa or snack, this place is absolutely fantastic! BUT please support the park system and buy your day pass!

What a lovely spot for the family to spend time here.. I love the idea of having a restaurant along…read moreside of entertainment for the kids. Wish there were more of these in Ottawa area. We had kids ranging from 13-1.5 , all 9 of them had a blast.. food was ok nothing special, but we really enjoyed the relaxed vibes and kids were going around from one play space to another freely while having a great time

New mini-golf on the east side of Gatineau Park (as of May 2009). Bottom line - most definitely…read morethe best mini-golf in the Ottawa area however does not offer a lot of re-playability for mini-golfers who want to be consistently challenged. What I liked: + As a new course, everything is ... new. The carpets, brick, walkways between holes. Unlike many older mini-putt courses, wood isn't used here so the course will better stand the test of time. + Lots of water rushing around the course in man-made creeks, stones, a pretty mini-golf course + There are flagsticks you can take out of the holes! + Huge patio area + Lots of undulations and tiering in the greens, many holes had "rough" - longer artificial grass + Most holes have at least one moderately challenging putt + Good washrooms at the golf course clubhouse + Detailed website What I didn't like - The course doesn't take long enough to play... interestingly there is no "par" designation for each hole however I'd say most holes' par would be 2... its probably about a par 42. That makes it a fun course to play once, but as someone who seeks challenging mini-golf, not one I come to play again and again. - They could have a little post after each hole where you could rest your card to mark your score. - Close to highway though not a lot of noise from the cars

TL;DR: It's a farm-themed amusement park for kids by day and by night leading up to Halloween it's…read moreone of those haunted house horror screamfest experiences, lol. Saunders Farm is not a place that I would go of my own accord because It's too far outside of the city for me and I like neither farms nor horror experiences. However, I found myself going there with my husband, a friend and the friend's two kids. Overall, it was not as bad as I thought it would be, lol. We went during the day in September, so my review is of the farm-themed amusement park. General admission was $29 a person. I think they are only open September through December with it being most popular around Halloween. There were a few mazes, haunted houses that you walk through, and lots of play structures. There was also a zipline, which the kids did, but I did not. The zipline is not included in the general admission and was an additional $15 a person. They also had tractor rides, a Harvest one that was scenic and not meant to be scary and a Haunted one which had a few scares. They also had a big bouncy area like a bouncy castle but no walls or ceiling. They also had puppet shows, a theatre show and a monster parade. They have carnival games where you shoot cans, toss rings and things like that for prizes. There are no roller coasters or bumper cars. They have a few gift shops with very overpriced items. The candy store had no prices on the candy and our friend bought a few pop rocks, airheads and a lollipop for his kids and it was over $20. They have a few different places to eat as well. A few sit down restaurants and a few food court vendors where you take your food and eat at one of the picnic tables on the grounds. I had chicken tenders at "What the Cluck?" and it was $14 for 3 small chicken tenders and some fries. I was happy that the chicken tenders were real chicken breast meat and although they were small, they tasted good. The fries were nice and crispy too. The only thing I didn't like is staff dump the fries from the fryer into a large metal holding container and when customers ordered fries I saw staff grabbing the fries with their bare hands putting them into the paper containers and giving them to the customers. I'd think that would be hot and uncomfortable for staff, not to mention unhygienic for customers. The guy handling the chicken used tongs to place the chicken in the container, but fries guy bare handed it! WTF! Use some tongs or wear gloves, please. My husband got a Pogo with fries $10 at "Pogos + Poutine." This is where our friend and his kids got food as well. "Pogos + Poutine" and "What the Cluck?" have different menus but they share the same kitchen space. So their fries were handled by bare hands guy too. Overall, I think Saunders Farm is good for kids and families during the day. I can't speak to their Frightfest that happens at night. There's free parking on the grounds. It's plentiful, but not paved. (155)

This is a review for Frightfest!…read more I came on a Sunday evening with a few friends. Tickets were purchased in advance and were pricier than I thought it would be $60 each. I think if you bought them further in advance, there was a possibility to get 15% off. This was my first time visiting Saunder's farm and I was really impressed. Super scary and well-planned haunted houses! I think this would make a good night out for groups We came on a rainy and cold night and it was pretty busy. Lines for the haunted houses were between 10-45 minutes each. It was overall very organized and fun! Not for the very young (too scary) or if you have walking difficulties (it was muddy and slippery so definitely could potentially fall). Would definitely come again!