Whether you want to save money on whitewater rafting adventures, help researchers track wildlife, learn to camp or check out Ottawa’s newest island cafe, this week’s Heads Up post has news you can use.
Volunteers are needed for environmental weekends
The Ottawa Valley Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is seeking volunteers for two upcoming “bioblitz” events: one near Griffiths and the Madawaska River (August 16 to 18) and the other near Matawatchan and Centennial Lake (September 20 to 22).
A bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species as possible within a designated location and time period. The upcoming events are part of a larger effort to protect the Madawaska Highlands. Volunteers will be camping, so bring your camping gear, if you have it; otherwise, you might be able to borrow some from CPAWS. All meals will be provided. For more details or to register, email Sasha at CPAWS.
Kingston has lots of pretty restaurant patios
The folks at Tourism Kingston have put together a big guide to restaurant patios in Kingston. I’ve been to many of them, but after reading this list, I’ve also added a bunch to my list of spots to visit next time I’m in K-Town.
Comedy festival and vintage train ride tickets are selling out quickly
The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival is a nationwide event that’s coming to Ottawa for the first time this year (August 9 to 11). Tickets to the event on LeBreton Flats are 90 percent sold, so if you’re interested in going, snap some up now.
Also hot tickets are the vintage train rides at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario’s Trainfest (August 10 and 11) in Smiths Falls. Get ’em while they last!
Tickets to a gourmet fundraiser in Rideau Ferry are on sale
Speaking of patios: CC’s on the Rideau, a restaurant in Rideau Ferry, surely has one of the most beautiful patios on the Rideau River. And on Saturday, September 21, CC’s is hosting Harvest Moon, a fundraiser for The Table Community Food Centre. Local chefs will be cooking up fine fare with local produce, and guests will receive an $80 tax receipt for their $155 ticket. The Table, based in Perth, brings people together to grow, cook, share and advocate for good food. Its programs include community meals and a food bank.
There’s a new cafe on an island in the Ottawa River
If you’ve been to the Tavern on the Falls (at Rideau Falls) or the Tavern at the Gallery (at the National Gallery of Canada), you’ll know the Tavern restaurant group has a knack for building casual-but-special eateries in knockout locations. So I’m keen to check out the Tavern on the Island, the group’s newest cafe, which has just opened on Bate Island. The menu includes burgers, hot dogs, fries, salads and snacks.
Where is Bate Island? I hear you ask. It’s in the Ottawa River and accessible from the Champlain Bridge, just north of Island Park Drive.
You can save up to 20 percent on whitewater rafting
OWL Rafting is offering discounts of up to 20 percent on its whitewater rafting outings on the Ottawa River—if you book a weekday adventure. The discount will be automatically applied at checkout. OWL is located in Foresters Falls, on the Ottawa River about 120 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.
Act quickly if you want a balloon festival campsite
If you were planning on camping while attending the Festival de montgolfières de Gatineau (August 29 to September 2), don’t procrastinate on booking a site for your tent, trailer or RV. The festival sent out an alert this week noting that fewer than 50 campsites are left.
And speaking of camping…
Did you know that Parks Canada is offering free learn-to-camp sessions at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Thursday nights from 5pm to 8pm (when admission to the museum is also free)? Look for the tent in the Mammal Gallery. The sessions will be offered on Thursdays until August 15.
September wellness getaway features a cooking lesson
Good food and healing therapies are on the menu at an upcoming culinary weekend at Dimensions Algonquin Highlands, an upscale resort about 20 minutes northwest of Haliburton. The two-night getaway (September 1 to 3) includes accommodations, all meals and snacks, a cooking class with resort culinary director Jordan Wagman, a guided forest bathing walk, selected therapies (such as flotation therapy or breathwork), and other wellness-focused goodies. Be forewarned that this weekend of self-care is a splurge. You’re looking at a minimum of $1,275 per person for the two-night package, and that’s if you share a room. 😲
What’s opened and closed on the long weekend?
Wondering about holiday hours for shops, services and transit on this Ontario long weekend (officially called Colonel By Day here in Ottawa)? CTV Ottawa has a list.
Save money on my books and other local travel guides
Ottawa Press and Publishing is currently running a summer sale on all its travel, hiking and outdoors titles, including my two Ottawa Road Trips guidebooks. All the sale books are available from the publisher for $19.95 each. Order online by Wednesday, August 7. And thanks!
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.
