Spring is definitely here, folks—the Long Sault Parkway and the Quyon ferry are open, and the 1000 Islands Drive-In in Gananoque is opening on Friday! I also have news of a comedy show in Belleville, self-guided walks in the Township of Rideau Lakes, things to do in the Pontiac and a Carleton Place restaurant that’s open on Good Friday.
The Long Sault Parkway is open for the season
As of 9am on Tuesday, April 15, the Long Sault Parkway is open for the season! If you’ve never explored it, you’re in for a treat. The 10-kilometre parkway—open to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians—hops across 11 islands that were created when this section of the St. Lawrence River was purposely flooded to create the St. Lawrence Seaway. Along the route, you’ll find several parks and three beaches. The parkway stretches along the river shore immediately south of County Road 2, with entrances/exits in Ingleside and Long Sault. The Ingleside entrance is about an hour’s drive southeast of Ottawa.
You can go to a drive-in movie in Gananoque
Speaking of seasonal openings: The 1000 Islands Drive-In in Gananoque is opening for the season on Friday, April 18. The opening double bill is A Minecraft Movie and A Working Man.
Also, the Quyon ferry is open
And yet another sign of spring: The Quyon ferry, which connects the communities of Fitzroy Harbour (Ontario) and Quyon (Quebec) across the Ottawa River, opened for the season on April 1.
There’s lots to do in the Pontiac
And speaking of Quyon: Canadian travel writer Chris Mitchell has just published a fun guide to exploring the Pontiac region of the Outaouais. His highlights include Chutes Coulonge, the Cycloparc PPJ cycling trail and the beach at Norway Bay.
Black Tartan is open on Good Friday
Many restaurants will be closed this Friday, April 18, for the Good Friday holiday. However, if you’re in Carleton Place that day and hunger strikes, Black Tartan Kitchen will be open.
Tickets are available for all-female comedy show in Belleville
If you missed Girls Nite Out, an all-female lineup of standup comedians hosted by Elvira Kurt, when the show played in Orelans earlier this year and Kingston last week, you’re in luck. Tickets are now available for the show’s stop at the Empire Theatre in Belleville on Friday, September 26.
You can explore five Rideau Lakes communities on foot
Attention, walkers: The Township of Rideau Lakes, which includes multiple villages about halfway between Perth and Kingston, has created self-guided walking tours of five of those communities. You can see a heritage mill in Delta, an 1830s blockhouse in Newboro and more. Check my guide to Rideau Lakes for tips on places to eat and shop along the way.
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.
