This week’s Heads Up post is packed with news you can use, with details on trails you can hike in Gatineau Park right now, a TVOntario documentary series featuring several Eastern Ontario towns, OC Transpo’s upcoming bus route changes, discounts on Parc Oméga accommodations and even a hipster bowling alley in Montreal.
Gatineau Park has a list of dry spring trails
Wondering which trails in Gatineau Park are currently dry enough to hike? Wonder no longer—the park’s managers have posted a list of dry trails, which they’re updating weekly. (Note that the photo above was taken in summer, so the trails shown on the signs may not actually be open yet.)
TVOntario series covers Eastern Ontario communities
A TVOntario documentary series called Crossroads: Beyond Boom & Bust profiles communities across Ontario struggling to figure out “what comes next” when confronted by major challenges, such as the departure of a big employer or the trauma wrought by residential schools. Episodes now available to stream for free online include profiles of Smiths Falls (see video above), Napanee and Vankleek Hill. You can also watch trailers for new episodes about Perth and Tyendinaga.
Parc Oméga is offering 30% off accommodations
Parc Oméga, the drive-through animal park in Montebello, has a sale on right now. You can get 30% off all accommodations—which include cottages, pod cabins and yurts—for weekday stays (i.e., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday) between April 1 and June 20, 2024, inclusive. Accommodations include free or discounted admission to the park. To get the discounted rate, you must book by Friday, March 31.
OC Transpo has details on new bus routes…but no firm timeline
OC Transpo swears O-Train Line 2 (AKA the Trillium Line) and Line 4 (the new spur from South Keys to the airport) are going to be up and running sometime this year—although they’re being coy about exactly when. What they are saying, though, is that the bus network will undergo a substantial overhaul around the time the new trains are on the rails. Wondering how the bus routes through your neighbourhood will be affected? CBC has a comprehensive guide to the changes.
OC Transpo promises that a number of bus routes will be designated “frequent,” meaning a bus will come by at least every 15 minutes. Colour me skeptical, but I’d be delighted to be proven wrong.
You can save 30% on a forest bathing retreat
Your Healing Circle is running a Farm and Forest Full Moon Spring Retreat at Yellow Brick Farm in Rockland on Saturday, April 20. The event will include a farm tour, a farm-to-table dinner and a guided forest bathing experience. The early-bird price (until April 7) is $150 per person; after that, it goes up to $220. Ticket sales close on April 15.
Montreal plaza makes list of world’s coolest streets
Here’s something to put in your files for your next trip to Montreal: the city’s Saint-Hubert Plaza has just made Time Out‘s list of the world’s 30 coolest streets (it’s #27). The plaza got the nod for, among other things, a tiki bar, great Mexican food and a hipster bowling alley.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.