Ottawa River Nov. 9, 2020
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- Created: Saturday, 07 November 2020 20:47
Ottawa River
Nov. 9, 2020
Just after 10 am we put our canoe into the calm, icy water of the Ottawa River from Massey Lane near Blair Road. There was a large parking area. It was a warm day but the two of us were in wetsuits. There was mist above the water.
We paddled west and upstream along the shoreline towards downtown. We could see Kettle Island across the river. There was a beautiful walking path along the river on the Ottawa side for much of the distance we travelled. Many people were taking advantage of the nice day to get some exercise. We passed the Ottawa New Edinburgh Club which is under renovation and wrapped up in plastic! We started to understand how “Rockcliffe” got its name. There were many cliffs made of sedimentary rock layers that could be seen from the water. We passed the Rockcliffe marina & restaurant. It floats on the river! We spotted several bright homes on the Gatineau side of the river including Dagmar’s. We enjoyed the mist at three waterfalls. We identified the Royal Canadian Mint, the Embassy for France, 24 Sussex Drive, and the National Art Gallery. We came to the first (Macdonald-Cartier) of four bridges where Ottawa King Edward traffic crosses to Gatineau. Barges were on the river to do repairs to the bridge. We spotted the Museum of Civilization with its distinctive architecture. We stopped briefly to look at the Ottawa Rowing Club with its beautiful blue and white paint job. We also spotted the Rockcliffe Yacht Club. One of us was surprised to see so many boating clubs on the river where land is expensive. They have been there for years. We saw the end of the Rideau Canal locks with its several steps in a row and the Chateau Laurier hotel. We paddled on towards the Parliament buildings, the Supreme Court building, the Royal Canadian Navy monument, and Victoria Island. It had taken about two hours to reach downtown and we stopped for lunch. We had a nice view of the Parliament buildings as we ate. It was about 22 degrees Celsius and sunny in the middle of November.
About 1:15 we turned around and paddled east along the route we had come. The water was still very calm and it reflected everything. Now we had the current pushing us along so we went faster. We arrived back near the end of Blair Road about 3 o’clock. We had paddled just under 22 km. We loaded our gear into our cars and headed home. A lovely November paddle with a bit of history and geography thrown in! If you have not seen Ottawa from the water, this trip is definitely worth doing. Watch for it being offered as a club trip next summer… Mark S
