Dow's Lake is a man-made lake on the Rideau Canal. It's the site of many fun activities and there…read moreare several restaurants there with beautiful views of the water. You can rent canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats/paddle boats in the summer. In May there's the Tulip Festival which is technically in Commissioner's Park, but this park surrounds Dow's Lake. In the winter when the lake freezes over, you can skate on it, and it's connected to the Rideau Canal, so you can skate for a pretty good distance. There are 3 restaurants at Dow's Lake. Over the years they have changed, but currently the restaurants are Lago, Umbrella Bar, and Mexi's (aka Mexicali Rosa's). There's a paid parking lot nearby ($3.50 per 30 minutes up to a maximum of $14), or street parking ($0.25 per 6 minutes) a bit further away, or free parking on residential streets in neighbouring Little Italy (3 hour limit as per by-laws).

Dow's Lake Pavilion is a short distance away from the airport and Ottawa's downtown core. I like…read morethat you can escape from your daily routine to this picturesque area without doing a road trip. There are canoes and pedal boats that you can rent. You are required to sign a waiver, wear a life jacket, and put down a $20 deposit. You can use cash, and debit and credit cards, except for American Express. Sadly, Amex doesn't seem to be as widely accepted as it used to be. There are lockers where you can store your belongings when you are on the water. I recommend coming with what you truly need. I parked in the lot across from the Pavilion. Parking is $3.50 for 30 minutes, to a maximum of $14. I paid by credit card, which was great. I didn't risk parking on the street, but I know that I can now. It's cheaper that way, but you do have to be cognizant of the time. You can also dine here after a fun time out on the water. We ate at Mexi's. You have the option of dining in the restaurant or sitting out on the patio. I missed the tulip festival. Perhaps I'll plan my vacation and take them in next time. (254)

Gatineau Park is beautiful, vast, and well-maintained. There are tons of paths of varying lengths…read moreand elevations you can take (which you should read up on before your walk). Seeing the fall foliage never ceases to amaze, and I got a lot of photos; some of them were even presentable. A lot of the trails are accessible by driving there. Parking is limited, however. As you can imagine, it gets much busier in autumn. Try to get there around sunrise. Hopefully, the shuttle to get there comes back, since it was mothballed during quarantine.

We stopped in for a short visit while in town and would love to come back to explore more…read more Admission and parking are free! We stopped by Meech Lake which looked like a lovely spot for kayaking. Fall colors were starting to appear in mid September. There are many trails described as varying levels of difficulty and varying lengths and so would be a wonderful spot for hiking!

At the end April 2022, my husband and I went to Black Rapids Park in hopes of having a picnic…read morethere. Unfortunately, they still had the picnic tables all in a pile and chained up, so we couldn't use them. The park was covered in goose poop, so we didn't want to eat on the grass and ended up eating in the car, lol. Parking is not free at this park, you have to pay. The parking lot is owned by Indigo Parking and it's $1.25 an hour with a 4 hour maximum. The parking lot is also fairly small, so it fills up quickly. If the parking lot is full, there really isn't anywhere else you can park so you'd be out of luck. The turn to get into the parking lot and thus the park is marked, but the road is small, not even 2 full car widths, so it's easy to miss. I missed it first time around and had to double back. Also since the road in is narrow, if someone is coming in and someone else is coming out, the person coming out has to back up. I don't know who designed this place, but I'm not all that impressed with the entrance/exit layout. So as you can see, this park and I did not start off on the right foot, lol. It is pretty, if you disregard all the goose poop and the loud geese walking around. The rapids are cool and there are sections of the park that are picturesque. I personally would be reluctant to bring small kids here because I feel that it's pretty dangerous there if you are not careful. You can fall in the water. Not all sections are adequately fenced off for my comfort level. However, I am a stickler for safety. But I realize that nature is inherently dangerous, so I guess there is some risk to experience its beauty. Glad I got to see the park and the rapids, but I likely won't be back.

I had no idea this place existed until our photographer, Jamie from Hello Lovely Ottawa, suggested…read moreit for our maternity shoot! We were there last summer in June. We weren't the only ones there for a photoshoot either, as we saw a pregnant woman and her partner with a photographer, as well as another couple who seemed to be taking engagement photos. Great location for them! We met Jamie in the parking lot and had no idea what the park would be like, but when we walked down into the park area, it opened up to this huge green space that we didn't expect. There's lots of open green space and small hills, some picnic tables, a few paths in between the trees, and locks where a few people were fishing. It was so beautiful and peaceful at during the "golden hour" at sunset on a weekday, and no mosquitos or any other bugs really, maybe because it was a little windy. I'm not sure what it would be like on weekends during the day, when I could see a lot of families playing and picnics happening. I completely forgot about this park until now, so I can't wait to go back with our babe when the whether is nice! In the meantime, enjoy a few photos of my husband and I screwing around during our photoshoot lol (Just two weeks before our little guy decided to introduce himself to the world!)

They have an amazing service. The guys there was very friendly and knowledgeable, so you park at…read moretheir very unique spot (blue bus and a volley ball net) then they help you set up a paddle carrier on top of ur ace, very easy and they give you instructions on how to set up the paddle themselves once you arrive at locations. We took the 4 hrs deal and you need a life jacket for 5$ extra.. the 4 hrs is 30$ plus tax! Then you drive to meech lake which is 15 minutes away! My oh my the most beautiful location to paddle.. very serene and calm, lovely scenery we really enjoyed every bit of this adventure!

Vincent Massey Park is a great place for a picnic or outdoor party. This park has the most picnic…read moretables I've ever seen in a park. While my husband and I were there we saw numerous parties going on (Happy 40th Shelly! I don't know who you are, but saw your balloons and sign. It seems like your friends and family really care about you, so you must be a nice person, lol). It was a Sunday, so there was a church sermon going on as well. Since we are in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I think it's good that celebrations and gatherings are taking place outside, as this decreases the risk of spread, compared to indoor gatherings. However, we recently had a park BBQ in Ottawa that lead to a big outbreak of cases, so please still try to physically distance (even when outside) and not share food with people outside of your exclusive bubble of 10, as per Public Health recommendations ;) In addition to picnic tables, they have open green space as well as a path for walking, biking, rollerblading, etc. It's by the Rideau River, so you get a nice view of the water. I saw some people fishing in the river too. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that parking at this park is not free. You have to pay. There is the Vincent Massey Park Lot attached to the park. It's $1 per 30 minutes to a maximum of $8 (7am-10pm everyday). There is an adjacent Impark Lot, where you have to walk a bit further, and it's $1.50 per 30 minutes to a maximum of $10. However, on weekdays after 5pm and all day on weekends the flat rate is $3. So this is a better deal if you plan to stay more than 90 minutes during the evening or on a weekend. Needless to say, we parked in the Impark Lot ;) Vincent Massey Park is a great park right in the city.

Park was nice but what was terrible was leaving the parking lot! Firstly you have to pay to park…read moreand second if you are leaving in the evening when everyone decides to leave you are going to take about an hour just to leave. I would not come to this park again!

Since I live right pretty well on the border of Rockcliffe Park, I often go walking there. It is…read morereally nice to walk by all the different residences of ambassadors. Not only are the houses huge, but they seem to have lots of character of the countries that they represent. People in the neighbourhood are always friendly and greet eachother when passing. There are always plenty of people out walking their dogs, cycling and jogging. The neighbourhood is really safe and I have gone walking at night on several occasions without any problems.

I am writing this review in regards to the cycling available along the rockcliffe parkway, which…read moreruns through the park. This is a wonderful route to follow, especially if you can find a time when it is not busy with cars. I went out on March 7th around 1pm, and it was lovely. The air was crisp, and there were no cars. The view along the river is breathtaking, and offers several opportunities to venture off the road and shore. The whole parkway is about 22km one-way, and there seemed to be a gentle slope. The actual parkway road is decent, however the surround streets you use to access it are ridden with potholes. I would suggest bringing your bike to one of the parking lots in the park and setting out from there. I am sure it can only get lovelier as the weather gets warmer, and the festivals and tourists dots the landscape. From my understanding the parkway is heavily used by cyclists in the summer, this is comforting. Also, I found drivers passing me on the road gave me a lot of room. I will definitely keep riding this route, and return once the snow clears to explore the park! The only downside to cycling, is the actual parkway is not very long. You could do the stretch multiple times but your passing the same scenery which is boring. Once the parkway ends the roads get considerably more busy.

I love Mud lake. We discovered this urban jam last year during one of our bike rides. This place is…read morejust magical all year round. In winter the lake is completely cover in ice which is perfect for ice skating, hockey or just a cool walk=. During the warmer parts of the year it is full of other type of magic. You can come here to see wildlife (birds, turtles, frogs and more). Perfect place for photography, little escape or coffee break. Not far you can find Britannia Beach, playground and ice cream shop to celebrate the end of the hike. Just one note, this is a popular spot and highly traffic.

The lake is absolutely gorgeous, there are multiple spots to oversee it, but be careful about some…read moreways being covered with water because of high water levels and dont go near the canadian goose i accidentally sat near one and dint know they were the devils mirror but i made it out safe. Don't go off the marked trails it is a conservation area and you could harm important environment.

Beautiful Event! Vibrant Colors!…read moreBlooming Tulips! Sun Shining! Heat Touches! Splendid View! Fresh Air! Mesmerizing Nature! Perfect Day! Greatest Festival! Tulips Festival!

Commissioners Park is a beautiful park by Dows Lake…read more It's also the location of the Tulip Festival that happens every year in May, where the park is filled with tulips of all colours and it's really quite a sight. For those who don't know, the tulips are a gift from the Dutch government to thank Canada for its role in liberating The Netherlands in World War II. There is a monument called "The Man With Two Hats" in the park. It's a replica of the monument in Apeldoorn (in The Netherlands) and it's a tribute to the Canadian soldiers who helped liberate The Netherlands. There's also an area in Commissioners Park with trees that were planted in memory of the passengers who died in the Air India Flight 182 crash. There's a plaque listing all the names of the passengers too. There's modern art in the park too. And lots of colourful flowers. It's a nice place for a stroll or a picnic. There aren't picnic tables, but they have park benches and a lot of open green space to picnic on the grass. There's paid parking lots nearby or you can park on streets close by (paid meter parking, or free depending on the day of the week or time of the day).

3.2km loop? We did that plus extra for at least 4km…read more 3 gals, 1 dog. Beautiful, sunny day. Everyone we came into contact with were friendly and seemingly responsible. Loved it. Lovely dogs. A bit far from home for my regular, daily hikes but would return if in the area and would recommend. There was a Porta potty, large garbage for #2 doggie drop off, parking lot and the whole area was clean and well maintained. Note : some elevation exists which I loved for a semi work out but others with knee issues, never know. FYI

Great dog park. Huge, many different beautiful and relaxing trails to take. Peak times are the…read moreafternoons on weekends - it can get really busy and you'll end up parking behind a line of cars on the side of Conroy road. Regardless, the experience of enjoying a walk in and around the woods with your canine best friend is well worth it. Of course, no matter what dog park you go to there will always be people who aren't sensible and have problematic dogs that shouldn't be there - but the great thing is, you just keep on walking down a different trail, instead of having to leave the whole park. The Pit is a very accepting place - all breeds welcomed, you won't get avoided or scowled at for bringing your bully breed. So many different breeds that you'll see every time you go - today I saw a Cane Corso, Newfie, a couple Vizslas and a Chow Chow - not very common breeds around here! Overall, excellent place, well maintained, clean and just a great location. Strongly recommended if you have a social dog that loves to go for a nice run!