Cabin fever has gripped most of us over the past few months. But, as the pandemic lockdown eases, opportunities for daytrips and even overnighters are opening up. Since staying safe still generally means staying close to home, we’re turning the spotlight on nearby attractions you can reach by car, bike or even foot and where physical distancing is feasible.
Being cooped up also means many of us are longing for the great outdoors. That’s why nature holds a key spot in this summer’s travel suggestions.
Before setting off, check that your destination is still open. Pack extra face masks and hand sanitizer, and bring your own food and refreshments in case an eatery you’d planned on visiting has suddenly closed. Be prepared for lineups at some attractions and try to avoid mingling with folks outside your own cohort. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends limiting travel if you are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Most important, get out and celebrate summer. We’ve all been too confined for too long.
Walls tell the story
You could go online to read about history and heritage, but since a picture’s worth a thousand words, why not make the 90-minute drive northwest to Pembroke and check out the murals instead? There are more than 30 of them, painted by local and national artists on downtown buildings, depicting the story of Pembroke. The murals include a trompe l’oeil rendering of a 1950s gas station, a 1920s-era grocery store and a tribute to the old-time fiddling and stepdancing that’s a hallmark of the Ottawa Valley. QR codes or a printable/downloadable audio tour guide explain what’s what on the self-guided mural tour. pembroke.ca/tourism/art-and-culture/pembroke-heritage-murals/
While many smaller museums in outlying areas remain closed, Pembroke’s Champlain Trail Museum is open, with safety protocols in place. You can peek into an early doctor’s office, learn about the life of a log driver and visit a pioneer village. pembroke.ca/tourism/museums/the-champlain-trail-museum
To break up the trip to and from Pembroke, stop by the old growth forest of Gillies Grove in Arnprior. A stroll along the green, quiet trails is a guaranteed rejuvenator. The beach at Arnprior’s Robert Simpson Park may reopen later this summer. mfnc.ca/gilliesgrove arnprior.ca/live/recreation/parks
Wilderness, kayaks and an oTENTik
Along with other federal and provincial parks, Thousand Islands National Park is gradually reopening this summer. The park, along the St. Lawrence River east of Kingston, is a mix of granite islands, secluded bays, hiking trails and rare species of turtles and birds. Activities include swimming, fishing and boat rental. Overnight accommodation is available in an oTENTik, a cross between a tent and rustic cabin that sleeps up to six, although that’s by reservation only. This and other national parks are reopening in stages, so check what activities are available before you set out. pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/1000
Pedalling the rural routes
Historic sites, wineries and the countryside feature large in the nine local rural cycling routes carved out by Ottawa Tourism. The routes vary in length and range from easy to challenging. For instance, the Osgoode Ride for experienced cyclists is 59 kilometres and includes stops at food spots, a farmers’ market and fairgrounds. The Cumber Tour de Land offers a challenging route of 69 kilometres and a moderate tour of a little more than 20 kilometres on paved country roads with stops at a berry and vegetable farm and other locations, including the Cumberland Village Heritage Museum. ottawatourism.ca/en/rural-cycling
You’ll also find cycling routes a little further afield, including more than two dozen in Lanark County alone. There, you’ll spin by everything from the riverside ghost town of Herron Mills to historic churches. lanarkcountytourism.com/tours/cycling
Tip: While you’re checking out the cycling routes at Ottawa Tourism, grab the free #MyOttawaPass. It gets you discounts on activities in and around the capital, including rafting on the Ottawa River, food tours and a biplane excursion over Parliament Hill. ottawatourism.ca/en/myottawa-pass
Hop-scotching across Canada (virtually)
Flying all the way to Vancouver may sound less enticing than ever just now, but how about a virtual visit to that city’s aquarium, which you might remember featured regularly in the 1980s Canadian television series, Danger Bay?
Forbes magazine has assembled a list of places across Canada to visit virtually this summer. Many are free, including the Vancouver Aquarium, where you can watch a series of terrific underwater-cam videos (the jellyfish in sinuous motion and a bunch of frolicking otters are especially good). Forbes’ selection also includes Epic Films for the Great Indoors, a collection of Canadian and international films from past iterations of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. It also links to a tour of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, home to extensive Indigenous art, including the world’s largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art.
And don’t miss the virtual iceberg tour in an open boat with Newfoundland’s Skipper Bob Bartlett. Motoring through Trinity Bay toward a mountain of an iceberg, he says, in understated fashion, “A nice chunk of ice, this one.” The blues and whites of sea, sky and ice make the virtual visit almost tangible. forbes.com/sites/sandramacgregor
Theatre at a distance
While theatre lovers are starting to wonder if they’ll ever see live performances again, Ottawa’s Plosive Productions has seized the opportunity to do something new: A patio play. The professional company presents the romantic comedy Midsummer, a two-person play with songs, on the outdoor patio at The Gladstone Theatre until Aug. 8. To ensure physical distancing, shows are limited to 20 audience members. Drinks will be available. thegladstone.ca
Still at The Gladstone, Ottawa playwright/actor Pierre Brault has been live-streaming some of his best solo shows from the theatre’s stage during the pandemic. Brault plans to continue this initiative by streaming Dief the Chief sometime this summer. The two-person show, which also features Peter James Haworth, tracks prime minister John Diefenbaker’s fraught navigation of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Soviet and American governments teetered at the edge of thermonuclear war.
facebook.com/pierrebraultottawa
Into the woods
Ferguson Forest Centre, just off Highway 416 north of Kemptville, is 3.l square kilometres of balm for the weary urban and even suburban soul. The mixed forests, wetlands and meadows host a fledgling arboretum, 22 kilometres of forest trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, a sheltered picnic area, a fish sanctuary and a fenced dog park. There’s a 1.2-square-kilometre tree nursery, and paddlecraft enthusiasts can access Kemptville Creek from the centre. Although there are no events planned at present, the centre normally offers guided birding sessions, walking meditation, astronomy nights and more. friendsofthefergusonforest.ca
Drive-in deal
Not only is it COVID-compliant, it’s a heck of a deal. A new urban drive-in at Place des Festivals — Zibi in Gatineau is screening two feature films on selected summer weekend evenings for just $30 per vehicle. What’s more, $2 from each ticket goes to La Manne de l’Île, a non-profit food organization helping people in the Outaouais facing financial and social difficulties.
The movie site holds up to 300 vehicles, and the audio is broadcast over two radio channels, so audiences can watch the movies in French or English. Shows start at 7:30 p.m., there are two new movies every night and each weekend has a theme. The films run from Aug. 20 to 22 with the theme of “box office hits.” They include the 2,000 British crime comedy Snatch, the award-winning Ali, with Will Smith in the role of irrepressible boxer Muhammad Ali, and Quentin Tarantino’s much-acclaimed paean to the final days of Hollywood’s golden era, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. https://bit.ly/cineparczibi
Patrick Langston is a local writer who’s become adept at virtual travel, but likes nothing more than the real thing.
