Why this ride
A 128 km round trip from Ottawa - roughly 1 h 49 in the saddle. The stops in between: Rideau Canal and back through Rideau Canal.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ottawa day out · Rideau Canal
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 128 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 49
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ottawa
Ottawa is a capital that still has the feel of a lumber town. It began in the 1820s as Bytown, named for Colonel John By, the army engineer who was sent to build a canal to link the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario, and the Rideau Canal, finished in 1832, still runs through the middle of the city. In winter it freezes and becomes one of the longest skating rinks in the world, with commuters gliding to work in scarves and hats, and in summer boats pass through the locks beside the grand Château Laurier hotel. The canal is a UNESCO site, and the whole waterway to Kingston is a good place to follow by bike.
Read the complete Ottawa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ottawa is where the day begins. Next is Rideau Canal.
2. Rideau Canal
Few canals in the world were built with such a mixture of fear and optimism. After the War of 1812, the British worried that the St. Lawrence, which formed the frontier with the United States, could be cut off in a new war, and so they decided to build an inland route from the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario at Kingston. Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers was given the job, and between 1826 and 1832 thousands of labourers, many of them Irish, dug and blasted and built, working in swamp and forest and losing many to malaria. The result was 202 kilometres of linked rivers, lakes and cuts, with 45 locks, and it is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America.
Read the complete Rideau Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rideau Canal comes up 32 km in. Next is Rideau Canal.
3. Rideau Canal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rideau Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
65 km in you reach Rideau Canal. Next is back through Rideau Canal.
4. back through Rideau Canal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rideau Canal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Rideau Canal, late in the day. Next is Ottawa.
5. Ottawa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ottawa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Ottawa. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Ottawa to Rideau Canal
Ottawa → Rideau Canal is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Rideau Canal to Ottawa
back through Rideau Canal → Ottawa is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Ottawa long day · Shoal Tower · 403 km
- Laurentian Curves Loop · 181 km