This week’s Heads Up has lots of tips for local road trippers looking to save money—everything from a free shuttle to Gatineau Park to low-cost activities like birdwatching. Non-budget travellers, meanwhile, could book themselves into a Barbie Dream Suite in Montreal! Read on for details.
NCC resumes free bus service to Gatineau Park
The free Gatineau Park shuttle bus is coming back soon! The National Capital Commission (NCC) has announced the shuttle will run on all days but Wednesdays from May 18 until September 29. (There will also be a fall shuttle bus from September 30 to October 27, but the schedule for that hasn’t been announced yet.) The shuttle is free and first come, first served; you can’t reserve a seat in advance.
The spring/summer shuttle will stop at a range of sites within the park, including Pink Lake, the Mackenzie King Estate and the Champlain Lookout.
On weekdays, the shuttle will run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. You’ll need to be an early bird, as the shuttle will leave the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre at 5 Scott Road—the only place you can drive to and park your car on those days—at 9:30am, 10am and 10:30am only. The last shuttles out of the park will drop you off at the Visitor Centre at 2:02pm.
On weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), there will be more flexibility in times and you won’t have to get yourself to the park. As well as stopping at the Visitor Centre and all the stops within the park served by the weekday shuttle, the bus will stop at four sites outside Gatineau Park: Pindigen Park in Ottawa (across Booth Street from the Canadian War Museum), and the Canadian Museum of History, the Montcalm Rapibus station and the park’s South Entrance in Gatineau. The schedule is also more extensive on weekends, with the first pick-up at Pindigen Park at 9:10am and the last drop-off there at 6:05pm.
Looking for more information? Here are the detailed shuttle schedules.
Note that the parkways in Gatineau Park will be closed to all vehicles besides NCC vehicles on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, as well Saturday and Sunday mornings. The roads will remain open on all days for cyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair users. Check the parkway closure schedule for detailed information.
You can learn to spot feathered friends
Have you ever wanted to take up birdwatching but you weren’t sure how to start? CTV Ottawa interviewed Janette Niwa, a bird expert with the Ottawa Field Naturalist Club, and offers these tips for newbie Ottawa birders.
Be aware of these construction sites
Inside Ottawa Valley has rounded up news on seven construction sites and closures along highways 416 and 417, including an upcoming closure of the Highway 417 eastbound off-ramp at Parkdale Avenue.
Kingston hotels sweeten their packages with gift cards
Are you planning an overnight trip to Kingston and hoping to save some money on travel costs? Tourism Kingston has a big page of hotel travel packages that might help. For instance, you can get a $20 dining card if you stay at the Comfort Suites Kingston Central, a $25 Landmark Cinemas gift card with an overnight at the Quality Inn Kingston Central, or a $25 gas card (and free self-parking) when you book at the Residence Inn by Marriott Water’s Edge. Conditions apply.
Ottawa Valley tourism businesses take home awards
If your travels will take you to Renfrew County this summer, you might want to put a few award-winning businesses on your itinerary. At the recent Ottawa Valley Tourism Association awards, the winners included the cool Somewhere Inn in Calabogie and Ottawa Valley Farm to Fork, an agritourism destination in Douglas.
Fairmont Queen Elizabeth has a Barbie suite
If you’re already feeling nostalgic for last summer’s Barbie movie, and money is no object, you could head to Montreal for a sleepover with a few Barbie-loving friends at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel. For rates starting at $1,499 a night (!!!) for up to four guests, you can kick back in the 1,200-square-foot Barbie Dream Suite. The hotel’s Barbie Concierge (I swear, I’m not making this up) can also organize extras, such as a Barbie buffet, a Barbie-themed tea and a Barbie PJ party.
Weekend Bikedays are coming back
In other news from the NCC, the Weekend Bikedays program is set to resume on Saturday, May 11. From then until October 14, the following roads will be open to non-motorized traffic only—cyclists, inline skaters, pedestrians, skateboarders, wheelchair users, strollers and so on—for certain periods of the day:
- Kichi Zībī Mīkan
- Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway
- Queen Elizabeth Driveway
Note that special events, such as marathons, may disrupt the schedule on certain days.
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.