Welcome to the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. You can rent bikes nearby and explore this historical 202Km long canal that connects Ottawa to Kingston. Let’s go!Construction started on the Rideau Canal in 1827 and took about 6 years to finish. The canal was built after the war of 1812 as the British were a wee bit concerned that the US may stir up trouble again and block their access to Montreal ports via the St. Lawrence River. A decision was made to make an alternate route between Ottawa and Kingston. The existing Rideau River seemed like a good alternative, but the trouble was it had waterfalls and steep rapids due to a 24m change in elevation. So a new canal was built along side it with a series of Locks so that boats could gain or lose the elevation in a less exciting manner. One Sian for scale to give you an idea of how big the gates are at the locks. You are free to walk over the lock gates and explore. Now that is true freedom! Along this UNESCO world heritage designated canal are bike paths and parks to explore. The original purpose of the canals and locks were for the movement of barges and steam ships. But the arrival of railway in Canada made the locks less important and usage decreased. Now, they are mainly for recreational purposes. You can take a boat through them or like we did, ride a bike alongside.A private boat passing through the locks. It takes about 1.5 to 2 hours for a boat to go through all locks. Sian checks her phone for navigation, yup, still at the canal. During the winter months, if it is cold enough, the canal freezes over and a section of it becomes the largest ice rink in the world at 7.8km long, despite Winnipeg’s attempt to claim this title. Yup, I said it Winnipeg, longest ice rink in the world is in Ottawa. For a different perspective, we decided to follow the original Rideau River back to downtown Ottawa on the return journey. Most of which is in the trees, so unlike the canal, you don’t get to see as much. But it is still a very pleasant bike ride. You do however get to see one of the reasons boats couldn’t make it down the Rideau River, the Hog’s Back Falls and rapids. Back near downtown Ottawa, another one of the reasons the locks and Canal were required, the Rideau Falls would also make for a challenging boat ride in a barge or steamship. You get a nice view of the Ottawa river from above the falls. We then decided to take the bridge on the right over to the fine province of Quebec, which people in Alberta are very fond of if I understand correctly. Sian is tired of waiting for me to take pictures and reading all the informative signs so I can pretend I know what I’m talking about. Fun fact, over 1000 people died in the construction of the canal from either disease or accidents. Hmmmm, maybe I should stop reading the signs, there is nothing fun about that. As somebody from Alberta, I feel it is required to say something nice about Quebec. They sure do have a great view of the Parliament buildings and Ottawa! Time to ride back to Ontario and return the bikes. Almost forgot! Canal traditional summit selfie. Which I probably should have taken from the top of the locks for authenticity. But since I make the summit selfie rules, this counts.
1 Comment
Daphne Nairn · September 4, 2024 at 3:00 pm
This brings back happy memories of a long w/e spent in Ottawa & where Bob & Jo-Anne met us for a walk along the Rideau. Ottawa is a lovely city.