Rideau Trail

No book about hiking in the Ottawa area would be complete without reference to the Rideau Trail. At nearly 400-km in length, this heroic route connects the cities of Ottawa and Kingston, working its way through town, field, and forest in between.

And what's more amazing, this path is entirely maintained by volunteers. The Rideau Trail Association is a not-for-profit organization comprising of clubs in Ottawa, Perth, and Kingston. Each of these clubs not only regularly organizes outings - in addition to hiking, they do biking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing - but more importantly ensures the usability of the Rideau Trail from end-to-end, bridging streams, clearing downed trees, and posting signage. They even do so where their route passes through provincial parks and the National Capital Commission (NCC) Greenbelt.

As you might expect, the Rideau Trail enjoys a prominent place, and deservedly so, in Hiking Trails of Ottawa. Although I have not attempted to profile it throughout its entire length, which the association does in its own guidebook, I have highlighted several specific sections of the Rideau Trail, and in other instances it makes up a portion of my profiled route.

Within the Greenbelt of the City of Ottawa, the Lime Kiln Loop in Stoney Swamp follows NCC trails for much of its length, but the majority of the route is found on the Rideau Trail. Similarly, the NCC Pathway between Britannia Park and Westboro Beach is also the route of the Rideau Trail. I may call it the "Old Quarry Trail", but this complicated trek not only explores much of the Old Quarry Loop, but several differently numbered NCC trails, the a section of the Ottawa-Carleton Trailway, and a sliver of the Rideau Trail.

Beyond the Greenbelt, the Marlborough Forest - Cedar Grove route is almost entirely on either the main or a secondary section of the Rideau Trail.

But it is in the Frontenac Arch where the Rideau Trail becomes particularly prominent. Two of the profiled routes, in Perth and Westport, are specifically named as being the Rideau Trail. In addition, the Rock Dunder and Marble Mountain, although not on the main trail, were developed and are maintained by the Rideau Trail Association. Finally, the Split Lake Loop in Frontenac Provincial Park, the portion of the Cataraqui Trail near Chaffey Lock that I profile, and the route I selected in Murphy's Point Provincial Park, all share at least some of their distance with the wandering and ubiquitous Rideau Trail.

I encourage all outdoor enthusiasts to learn more about the Rideau Trail Association. Novice hikers, in particular, can benefit by participating in their organized group activities. For more information on the Rideau Trail Association, check out their Website: www.rideautrail.org.