Many years ago, during a lunch walk around the Supreme Court building in downtown Ottawa, I stopped to watch a canoe with three guys coming down the Ottawa River. They didn’t look all that confident and I was wondering what they were doing there.
There appeared to be a slight panic in the canoe. It started to lean over to one side. Before they knew, they were all in the water, but fortunately very close to that little rocky island behind the Supreme Court. I had no cell phone to call for help at that time, so I rushed to the closest place with a phone, but they didn’t want to help (I forgot where I actually went), then I walked to the security at the west side of Parliament Hill and they reluctantly called for help.
In hindsight, likely a ton of other people saw it from their office windows happening too, but you do your civic duty. Eventually a first responders’ Zodiac came out and helped them back on land. Meanwhile the canoe floated towards the Alexandra bridge. I don’t know what happened to the canoe, but I hope for them they found it.
NCC River House in Ottawa River
Talking about the Alexandra bridge, over the last few years you may have seen Escape Bicycle Tours & Rentals underneath the bridge on the Quebec side along the pathway renting out kayaks, but because of the work being done on the bridge, Escape had to move to another place.
This year you can find Escape’s kayaks and SUPs 350 meters east of the 100 years old, beautifully renovated River House, the NCC’s latest hit. River House is off the Parkway, at the northeast end of Rockcliffe.
Kayaking on the Ottawa River?
Last week, Maria, the owner of Escape Tours, invited me for a kayak trip on the Ottawa River. You can imagine that I was a bit apprehensive after witnessing the canoe accident, but I was hearing such good reviews of kayaking on the Ottawa River that Karen and I biked there to check it out.
Onwards to Rockcliffe
We set out by bike from the Fisher and Meadowlands area in Nepean, via the Deer Park and Dynes bike lanes, Hog’s Back and Vincent Massey park’s multi use pathways all the way to New Edinburgh along the Rideau River, then cycled behind Rideau Hall on Dufferin and turned into Lisgar Rd past the Danish, Norwegian, Bermuda and US residences for the last bit towards Sussex Drive. I think we picked the hottest day of the year, it was 31 degrees Celsius (88F) but it was still bearable because the humidity wasn’t all that bad.
We parked our bikes at Escape, met with the staff, signed our waiver and put on our life vests. Escape has one and two person kayaks as well as half a dozen stand up paddle boards. We received our instructions and then we got into our two person kayak and off we went for a paddle: the heaviest person (me) in the back of the kayak, the lighter one in the front. Our wallet and cell phone went in a watertight bag that Escape provided: I made sure there was enough air in the bag so it would remain buoyant (at least, that was my theory, I didn’t test it).
Cooling off on the Ottawa River
We paddled out along the shore towards downtown, as recommended by the staff. I had heard stories from Maria from people who overestimate their strength and go downstream first only to discover they are not strong enough to come back upstream. We didn’t want to embarrass ourselves so we went west, upstream, first.
First time on the Ottawa River
As this was our first time on the Ottawa river, I was a bit nervous about the current, but kayaking up stream was very doable, although I had to compensate with extra left strokes regularly to keep the kayak in a somewhat straight line. There is also the occasional series of waves from the wake of a boat going by.
Despite the heat, it was very pleasant on the water with a very light breeze coming off the water to cool us off. We passed the River House and than paddled towards the marina, which despite 26 years in Ottawa, I had never seen. Several people where hanging out on their boats, wine in hand, in party mood, as it was the start of the August long weekend.
Crossing the Ottawa River
At home, I had looked on the map already and thought of crossing the Ottawa River towards Gatineau, but that looked a bit too daunting when we were actually sitting in the tiny kayak on the mighty river. We felt really small. So we turned around, lingered a bit, admired the vistas and paddled back but not before Karen had to checkout the rock face and discovered, much to our delight, several sandpipers hopping on the rocks. Two other Escape guests had pulled their kayaks on to the teeny-weeny pebble beach at the bottom of the cliff for a break and a snack.
Wet bum
We didn’t really notice much of the current. Until we turned around: all of a sudden kayaking became a lot easier! We steered the kayak back to the dock, and we climbed back on land. Only then did I notice my shorts were completely wet at my bum, it felt like I was wearing diapers. Unlike canoeing, kayaking left me wet from the water that dripped from the paddles into our kayak. I probably did something wrong. But you may want to wear swim trunks.
The kayaks have no keel or rudder, so you should have at least a bit of a sense of how to control a kayak, but it is super easy to learn. Just point the tip of the kayak to a fixed place on land and keep aiming for that point while paddling.
Watching landmarks from the water
We have done canoeing and kayaking in the past, but usually on lakes. Being on a river is a bit different but at the same time not so much. Had we gone further west, we could have seen many landmarks from the water, such as Parliament Hill, the Prime Minister’s Home (not being used currently due to planned renovations or even demolition), museums, the Art Gallery and the historic Alexandra bridge.
Kayaking is not hard. You may need a bit of time to get the hang of steering it in the right direction. Seeing the nation’s capital from the water is a very different experience, because you won’t hear the constant noise of cars around you. Also, everything is above you, which gives you a very different perspective. I certainly recommend trying kayaking out one day.
Where to find Escape Kayak & Stand Up Paddle Board rentals
Escape has set up a base just east of the River House. You can get there by bike by following the ramp of the River House and then head east on the gravel path. Or you can take the path from the Parkway one exit east of the River House and head towards the river (steep!) and turn right at the bottom.
If you arrive by car, you can park at P4 off the Sir George Etienne Cartier Parkway and walk a bit west and down to the river. Taking the bus is another option. I think your best bet is taking bus 6 to Maple lane (Stop ID: 7025) and walk another 1.5 km north via the New Edinburgh Club.
Leave valuables at home
I’d say leave as many valuables at home as possible. It is just easier. Bring dry shorts if you don’t want to walk around with wet shorts like I did, although they dried pretty quickly at 30 degrees. Bring water, although Escape has a fridge with drinks too (for a fee). There are no washrooms. The River House offers enclosed swimming in the Ottawa River and has food and bathrooms. It can be busy though.
Bike rental
Escape also has several bicycles for rent at their riverside spot. Leave your car at P4 and bike everywhere in Ottawa and Gatineau on the extensive pathway network. For example, head east to Petrie Island beach along the waterfront (16 km one way). For more information about renting a kayak, here is the website:
Don’t rely on social media for new blog posts from Hans on the Bike. Instead, sign up and receive them in your inbox instead:
Leave a Reply