By W Thomas Leroux
One of the great advantages of living in Lowertown feels like a bit of a secret from most residents, namely our access to the region’s recreational paths. From just about any point within Lowertown, we’re less than a kilometre from a recreational path of some sort.
I’ve been walking, running and cycling these routes for years, yet all too often when I mention them to others in the area; it’s as if they’ve never heard of them beyond the ones along the Rideau Canal.
My favourite is a roughly 26 km route that starts in Lowertown’s Bordeleau Park (bordering on Cathcart Street and King Edward Avenue). From there, head north to Sussex, cross Sussex Drive at the NRC building, keep going and cross over the both sets of the Rideau Falls then return to Sussex Drive and get onto the beginning of the Rideau River Eastern Pathway at the corner of Stanley. From this point you can walk, run or cycle all the way to Hog’s Back Falls and the only road you’ll have to deal with is crossing is the low-traffic Union Street, and the busier Montreal Road.
From Hog’s Back, I follow the path under and along Hog’s Back Road, then back under it onto the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway, headed north to the Hartwell Locks. There are some stairs, and a bike ramp to make it easier to push a bike up, across the locks, and continue northwards through the Arboretum, around Dow’s Lake onto the Rideau Canal Western Pathway, then over the Corktown Bridge, and again north along the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway, which if open, will go under the Plaza Bridge (Wellington), which leads to a longer set of stairs also with a bike ramp, which leads to the path into Major’s Hill Park, from which, you can easily return into Market or Lowertown for a well-deserved break.
All told, this is around 25 kilometres; how long it takes depends on your walking, running or cycling speed.
Options!
Now, here’s what’s really great; if you don’t want to go that far, you can use the Adawe Crossing to get into Strathcona Park, then wander through Sandy Hill and back into Lowertown. That’s roughly eight kilometres.
Go a bit further to the old train bridge just south of the Queensway, and double back on the west side of the Rideau River, about ten kilometres.
A bit further from the old train bridge, will get you to the Hurdman LRT station – where you would have the option to hop onto the LRT to the Rideau Centre and back into the Market and Lowertown, or continue along the bike path that follows the LRT line to the University of Ottawa, and into Sandy Hill, the Byward Market, or Lowertown.
Want an ice cream or coffee? At Bank Street there’s a Dairy Queen and Tim Hortons two blocks over the bridge, and you can follow the path on the west side of the Rideau River back, or go up Bank Street to the Rideau Canal and follow that back into the Market and Lowertown.
If you want to go even further, once across the Hartwell Locks you can wander along the Experimental Farm path out to Woodroffe Avenue, then head back north on the Pinecrest Creek Pathway, and back along the Ottawa River path. That’s a bit over 40 kilometres, so it’s probably better to run or cycle.
And of course, all of these can be done in the opposite direction too!
The paths heading east or west along the Ottawa River, as well as the paths across the river in Gatineau all offer plenty of options for exploring our region.
The NCC provides paper maps that I admittedly haven’t seen anywhere in public in a while but they do offer an online version and a downloadable PDF file, that can be found online here:
https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/capital-pathway
Some tips for everyone:
Pack water and a snack – take your time and enjoy the scenery. There is so much to see!
Cyclists: Be mindful of some blind corners, and keep your speed to less than 20 km/hr. Ring your bell when passing pedestrians or runners. Give one ring when you’re about 20 seconds away and a second, lighter ring once you’ve slowed down, moved to the far left to pass and are a few metres away. Also ring your bell when entering an underpass, at tight corners, or any other spot where it could be helpful. I’m especially mindful of this after the head-on collision between two cyclists in May.
Runners: Shoulder check before passing pedestrians. Calling out “On your left” before passing large groups can be helpful.
Pedestrians and runners: When a cyclist rings their bell, acknowledge them with a wave or thumbs-up so they know you heard them.
Now, get out there and explore our recreational paths!