One day, I came here, to the wrong park but it was a great error. I think I was mesmerized by the…read moredocked boats and pulled in. Lots of parking. Nepean Sailing Club. I didn't go in but I don't think it's private. Well kept. Beautiful pathways. Lots of benches for sitting and gazing out at the vast water. Friendly cyclists. Lots of geese. I took my dog the whole way in a big C shape and came back. Great exercise. Loved it here and I'll return. I have to find more friends with boats...

Dick Bell Park is a beautiful park by the Ottawa River. There's a marina there and the Nepean…read moreSailing Club is there too. There's a good length walking path, lots of open green space for picnics on the grass, or they have a few actual picnic tables as well (some even have charcoal grills where you can cook your food). There is a very high concentration of commemorative park benches in this park. More than I have seen in any other park in the city. (as an aside, I looked up the commemorative park bench program in Ottawa, and for around $3500 you can purchase a commemorative park bench, chose your text on the plaque, chose it's location in any municipally-owned park, you donate it to the city, and the city will maintain it in perpetuity. I think this is a beautiful way to remember a loved one. However, Dick Bell Park is apparently full and cannot accommodate anymore commemorative benches. I guess it is a popular location). Lots of people fish at this park. It's very picturesque as it's by the water and in the summer you can see lots of boats in the water. I've never been there at sunrise or sunset, but I'm sure the view would be spectacular at those times. There's free parking on-site.

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)

Great little marina. Had a fun day renting a pontoon boat with the family took it up to Constance…read moreBay beach and Mohr Island. The Gatineau Hills were spectacular from the water - planning to come back in the fall to see the colours. Friendly staff patiently showed me how to run the boat.

From the owner: Port of Call Marina Ltd. has been operating on the shore of the Ottawa River in Dunrobin, Ontario…read moresince 1967. A full service marina where we specialize in repairs to most brands of Outboard Motors and SternDrives. Contact us today about winter boat storage.We also rent pontoon boats, offering families and friends a unique opportunity to explore the beautiful Ottawa River.

What a beautiful place! Cedar Cove Resort is open year-round, offers boat & cottage/trailer…read morerentals, maintains a sandy family beach, has a marina with a gas bar and a brand-new store/reception building with a great restaurant/bar and an outdoor pool! They even have a new chip-truck called the Fireside Grill that makes a pretty decent version of poutine with real cheese curds! The lakeside cottages are well maintained and have all of the amenities that allow you to kick back, relax and enjoy Canadian nature at it's finest! (enclosed fire-pit, barbecue, fully furnished cottage and deck area, screened windows and oscillating fan, fireplace, full-size refrigerator and more!) This place is family owned and you can definitely feel it in the comfortable atmosphere and care they put in to maintaining the property. The only addition I would love to see would be a full-service fish cleaning shack with running water and waste disposal. White lake is a magical place and Cedar Cove is the perfect way to explore it - Highly recommended! TIP - The Canada Day fireworks show (worth $4000) from the beach area is truly spectacular! A good, low-key alternative to Parliament Hill.

My family has been visiting this resort for 8 years, it was a friendly and reasonable place. It was…read morenot maintained very well, but friendly staff. We always rent their boat and fish there. I took another visit this year, everything totally changed. Friendliness is gone. I know they had a fire, not sure since then changed their management style, or they just want tons of money in short time. The moment I arrived, signs reminding you to register is everywhere. We have 2 senior 1 five year old, 2 adults, only myself can operate a boat. And the boat can only take 4 people. We were asked rudely that where the fifth people going to stay. I said just stay in the shore. Again, rudely told that the 5th people can't stay in their property if not renting a boat. Even though I told them I drive 100 KM to get here, they still say no. Maybe they just want us to rent two boats, even though we can only use one. During the conversation, an employee points to me to their manager, couple of feet from me, to watch out that this guy might take a free park. The receptionist always refer me to her friends as this guy right in front of me. Very rude. Not sure why they always refer people as this guy or that guy. The new building doesn't add any new value for the sake of visitors but for the ease of administration and collecting money. The pool, the facilities are still old and needs tons of maintenance. Every staff dresses him/her as a cowboy, just a rude one. I feel that they are not there to serve you, but to make sure all money being collected. Feels like they blend the New York management style and cow boy style. Will never be there again.

The Rideau Canoe Clyb is Ottawa oldest (as far as I know) functioning sports and recreation club…read more It is definitely one of the most established sports clubs in Canada. It offers a number of incredible programs. One is the competiton kayak-canoe stream that starts out introducing children of 10-12 to paddling with lotsbof summer fun. It progresses into a serious National and International competitive program. The Club offers summer camps for children that are fun while teaching them basic paddling. They paddle and swim and play all day. The Club also have programs for seniors, dragon boater and for anyone wishing to learn paddling. Incredible atmosphere, very friendly stuff and if you are looking to get fit there arw few better ways.

Our work has been using the Rideau Canoe Club for the last 2 years for practices for the Tim…read moreHortons Dragon Boat festival and this year we also did the Rideau Canoe club festival. We have been using Jeff Foss as our coach and can honestly say that he has been amazing. He is very knowledgable and whips us in to shape to be competitive. They provide all the equipment for every practice and all you need to do is show up. We will continue to use the Rideau Canoe club in the future and are excited for the spring to come to start practices again.

This place is a hidden gem and deserves a 6*…read more Since we were 2 adults and a 7-yr old, I reserved one Pedalo which can seat 2 adults and 2 children. We arrived at 9 am, enough time to watch a 10min compulsory video, which was well worth it, before we started our discovery expedition, scheduled at 9.30am. This, I find, is the best starting time, as you are not under the intense sun, and much less traffic on the water. Customer service was just impeccable, and not just at checkin, but everywhere we met other staff. We were provided with a guide book, a map, marker, a walkie-talkie and a life jacket. After that, it was just pure adventure going through the labyrinth, following directions and clues. The marsh comes alive with lots of snapping turtles, frogs and small fish. It was a learning expedition for the 7-yr old as for the adults for the entire journey padding away, enjoying the beautiful and peaceful scenery, which took us just over 2 1/2 hours. We had our lunch at one of the many picnic tables available everywhere. Happy to see that washrooms were very clean. This is definitely a place not to be missed.

Nestled in wetlands near Wakefield Quebec, Eco-odyssée is ingenious! In a nutshell, little…read morewaterways have been carved out of wetland and/or bog to create a maze. I am not a naturalist so maybe I am not using the correct terminology but bear with me as I try to explain... You rent a paddleboat, choose an adventure and off you go, trying to find your way back to the start. We had an absolute blast yesterday, even with the heat of the day. The paddleboats are equipped with little awnings to protect you from the sun. And don't worry, if you get completely lost (which we didn't), you can reach the crew via walkie talkie, which is included in the price. It takes about 1.5 hours to do the basic adventure. The rental for one paddleboat is just over $50 with the taxes and seats 2 adults or 2 adults plus 2 kids. This activity rates "mild" in my opinion and I am not much of a physical activity kind of a girl. Although we brought bug spray, we didn't use it at all: no mosquitos nor deer flies. But thank goodness we brought water, although we had to pace ourselves: there are no "pee brake" spots in the middle of the bog. I am totally gaga over this place. I think whoever thought of this is brilliant! Visitors to our region should be introduced to this activity. And when you are done, where better than to spend the rest of the day than in Wakefield? Boutiques, restaurants and a really awesome bakery. Only 30-35 minutes from downtown Ottawa. A must!!!

These guys are the best. Hands down from snowmobiles and four wheelers to I/O engines. They know…read moretheir stuff and do a great job. I now buy all my toys here. The sales and service are exceptional

From the owner: Carleton Place Marine Yamaha is your local full line Yamaha Dealer. Our dedicated staff have been…read moreservicing the residents of Beckwith and beyond since 1973. If you're looking to purchase a spanking new ATV, snowmobile, Mantiou boat, or Lund boat, drop by or call us today!

We have been renting bowriders from Len's Cove for close to 10 years now. It's always been a great…read moreexperience---the staff are friendly and helpful, and the boats are always in amazing shape. This year, we decided to transition from renters to owners, and so we bought a Mastercraft NXT20 from Len's. I've got to say---I can't imagine a better purchasing experience! The team at Len's really has this process dialed, and made it very clear and easy for my wife and I to know and understand all the steps (and the timeline of those steps) leading up to our taking possession of the boat. Everyone at Len's was so helpful and responsive, and even now that the purchase is over and done we feel a tremendous level of support from the Len's team in the continuing care and maintenance of the NXT. Len's make you feel like you're their only customer...marrying excellent customer service with professional competence. Needless to say, we are now loyal Len's customers...a loyalty and trust earned over almost a decade of great experiences. Many thanks to Sean, Dave, Fraser, Bonnie, Timmy, and everyone else at Len's for everything you do...we feel so lucky to have found you guys!

We purchased a brand new Barletta Corsa from Lens Cove in the fall of 2023 and took delivery in the…read moreSpring of 2024. We did a lot of research last summer into the type and model of Boat we wanted. When spending close to 200K, it is a big investment so we did our homework. Our new Boat was ordered through Lens Cove directly from the Factory. Throughout the process Lens Cove staff and the Barletta factory staff were very helpful and quick to answer our numerous questions. I want to extend a special thank you to Megan Malette, Dave Loney and Nathan Horsfall from Lens Cove. They both went above and beyond throughout the buying process. From the initial consultations on colour, to the back and forth on the options to the day our boat was delivered, we would not be happier. I would highly recommend both Lens Cove Marina and Barletta for your next luxury boat purchase! Denis & Ingrid Patry Ottawa

Our tour guides name was Nick and he was absolutely wonderful. He described the rapids we were…read moregoing on so we were all prepared and knew what to expect. He commanded us great and we were the only boat who didn't tip or get anyone who fell off. He made it fun and tbh I twisted my ankle and was so scared and he was kind even when I complained. The place is BEAUTIFUL and the lunch included was delicious and vegetarian/vegan included. Where you go for a snack half way the rocks are steep to climb and it was hard to get up so I recommend making a friendly path to get up, tbh that was probably because I had a twisted ankle tho! Only way it would be even better is if they added zip lining and if the half way point bathrooms actually locked or were actual restrooms instead of outhouse style. Still I give this a 10/10, thank you for your great experience nick and Betty

This was an epic family trip. Full stop. Book it with your kids and fit grandparents…read more 6 of us went on their family tour, Grandpa (a fit 78), Mom, Dad (mid 40's) and 3 kiddos 8, 10, 11. This was perfect adventure trip for our family. From start to finish, it was a great introduction to white water rafting. Our guide, Monte, who was the trip leader was perfect for our group. He did an amazing job at leading both the entire trip and as a guide for our group. He answered questions, made sure we had fun, was encouraging - he read our group perfectly and made sure our adventurous kiddos had a great time and made sure our tentative 8-year-old felt safe and supported through the entire trip. Lucy, a guide on another boat, also helped our 8-year-old with her fears with words of encouragement and helped her by swimming with her on a section where she was able to float through a set of rapids. Safety was a top priority for the trip, water was flowing moderately fast for our trip, once the kids under 90lbs needed to walk down while the adults went through, and ones that all boats skipped, there was never a time where we felt that things were out of control. The trip is definitely in the wilderness, there are a few times where it's expected that you are able to exit the boat and navigate shoreline terrain. Top notch experience, worth the money for sure.

Not the clearest water.. And not the greatest customer service. Came here because we got a good…read moredeal through groupon. But the deal still didn't make this worth it. Won't be coming back here again. I'll be trying Dows lake next. We walked into the little store and it took a while for the employee to come to the front. Don't know if he was sleeping or what..I also was expecting the attendant to help fit us, and help us into the kayaks. That didn't happen. He just told us where the paddles/life jackets were and sent us on our way. While this is definitely not my first time kayaking, I ended up falling into the water. Not blaming anyone, but this could've been avoided with more thorough customer service.

Great location and boats. Went there in July, the water is murky but we weren't swimming. It was…read moregreat to paddle the hidden bays and calm waters. Saw turtles and a blue heron! Would go back!