Date of Visit: 17-18 Sep 2019
Kingston
Kingston city is a 2-hour-30-minute drive from Toronto, on the coast of Lake Ontario like Toronto. It is located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River. Kingston is at the south end of the Rideau Canal, the oldest operating canal in North America, which connects Canada’s capital city of Ottawa to Lake Ontario.
Kingston is a beautiful city that is worthy of a longer visit. However, if you are on a road trip with a half-day stopover, you will want to visit downtown Kingston waterfront where Confederation Park, Confederation Basin Marina, Shoal Tower, Kingston City Hall, and Springer Market Square are located.
Confederation Park is a public space and outdoor live music venue directly across from Kingston City Hall. The park is a lovely place to relax and enjoy the water views out to the Confederation Basin Marina, Shoal Tower, and the cruise terminal, as well as Point Frederick and Fort Henry across the water.
Across the road from Confederation Park is Kingston City Hall, and next to City Hall is Springer Market Square.
Springer Market Square is where the Kingston Public Market, the oldest market in Ontario since 1801, is located. Kingston Public Market opens during the spring, summer, and autumn months from April to November. Check out the Kingston Public Market website for more information about the market.
Springer Market Square is also where many other community events such as concerts and film screenings are held.
Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal, also known as Rideau Waterway, is a 202-km long canal system linking Kingston, by the coast of Lake Ontario, and Canada’s capital city of Ottawa, north of Kingston, is the oldest operating canal in North America.
Engineered by Lieutenant-Colonel John By and started operation back in 1832, it was a huge undertaking and an incredible engineering accomplishment. Rideau Canal is the oldest operating canal in North America and has been designated as Ontario’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site and a “work of creative genius” in 2007.
The canal system uses sections of Rideau River and Cataraqui River, as well as several lakes, and consists of 29 individual lock stations to facilitate travel up and down the canal through many remote towns and attractions between Kingston and Ottawa. About 19 km of the waterway were human-built.
Today the historical locks are still in operation from May to October and used by recreational boaters and paddlers. Commercial shippers use the St. Lawrence River to travel between Kingston and Ottawa.
The canal system attracts thousands of visitors every year to travel through the remote towns and attractions around the canal system and to learn about the canal system’s remarkable engineering achievements.
During winter months, a section of the Rideau Canal passing through central Ottawa becomes one of the longest managed ice skating rinks in the world, with a length of 7.8 km.
From Kingston, it is a 45-minute drive to Jones Falls dam and locks in the northeast direction. You may take a 5-minute drive crossing LaSalle Causeway to Point Frederick where you can enjoy Kingston city views from across the water. Fort Frederick is a historic military building that you will find at Point Frederick.
Jones Falls dam and locks
Jones Falls Dam and Locks are part of the Rideau Canal. At 18 m, the Jones Falls Dam was the highest dam in North America when it was completed in 1832. It was one of the most impressive engineering works on the Rideau Canal.
The locks system at Jones Falls consists of 4 canal locks with a combined lift of 17.4 m between the upstream Sand Lake and the downstream Whitefish Lake.
The power generating station at Jones Falls was built much later in the 1940s and is now owned by Portage Power, Ontario’s largest municipally-owned producer of green power.
Jones Falls Dam Park is a nice and quiet scenic rest point for people on a road trip and visitors to visit the tiny visitor centre and watch how a lock station operates to allow boats and paddlers to pass through.
Watch this video about how locks systems at Jones Falls Lock Station are operated.
Kingston city is a 2-hour-30-minute drive from Toronto, on the coast of Lake Ontario like Toronto.
Ottawa and Gatineau…. the twin cities
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada and is Canada’s sixth-largest city. While Ottawa is a city in Ontario Province and Gatineau is a city in Quebec Province, the 2 cities are really just separated by the Ottawa River, on the 2 sides of the riverbank. The total metro area population of Ottawa-Gatineau is about 1.4 million and Gatineau’s population constitutes about 25% of the total Ottawa-Gatineau population. Gatineau is often considered part of “Greater Ottawa”.
Visitors will notice Gatineau is distinctly more French-speaking than Ottawa. Being so close to French-speaking Gatineau and Quebec Province, Ottawa is one of the most bilingual cities in Canada.
A 1-day Ottawa and Gatineau itinerary
Visitors will enjoy a longer stay in Ottawa and Gatineau as there are many interesting sights and scenes. What if you are on a road trip and only have a day? You will need to make difficult choices.
A 1-day itinerary may include a visit to Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau to have a close look at Alexandra Bridge, built in 1901 and due for replacement in 2028. From the park, you will also see the Ottawa city skyline from across the Ottawa River. Then you may visit Pink Lake in Gatineau Park, and Ottawa’s most iconic ByWard Market, Ottawa’s Chinatown, Little Italy, and Dow’s Lake, a scenic man-made lake on the Rideau Canal.
Alexandra Bridge
Alexandra Bridge spans the Ottawa River and is a major link between Ottawa and Gatineau city centres. As of 2019, the bridge carries roughly 15,000 vehicles, 2,000 pedestrians, and 1,300 cyclists each day.
Alexandra Bridge is next to where the 202-km long Rideau Canal joins the Ottawa River and has been an iconic feature of the Ottawa–Gatineau skyline since 1901. World-class workmanship has made the bridge a major national landmark. After more than 120 years, Alexandra Bridge is finally reaching the end of its service life and is due for replacement in 2028.
A good location to admire the bridge’s iconic beauty is from Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau by the Ottawa River.
Jacques-Cartier Park
Jacques-Cartier Park is at the base of the Alexandra Bridge. The park is a perfect place for a nice walk with good views of the Ottawa River and the Ottawa city skyline from across the river. The park is also the location of the Hull Marina and a public dock. Some cruise companies operate boat tours from the marina. If you have some time, the huge grassed area in the park is a fantastic place for a picnic outing.
Gatineau Park and Pink Lake
Gatineau Park is a huge green space that spans a distance of 50 km between the Ottawa River and Gatineau River and occupies an area of more than 361 square km, roughly half the size of Singapore.
It is one of the most visited parks in Canada. The southern part of Gatineau Park is only about a 15-minute drive northwest of Gatineau and Ottawa city centres. In fact, on weekends when weather conditions are good, the southern part of the park closest to Gatineau and Ottawa may be so packed with people who enjoy outdoor that visitors may have a problem finding a car park.
Pink Lake is a very popular site in Gatineau Park mainly because of its proximity to Gatineau and Ottawa. Pink Lake is not pink but was named after the Pink family who settled here in 1826. Pink Lake is actually green. The lake gets its “green” from the growth of microscopic algae in the water. Visitors can walk on the walking trails and boardwalk by the lake, and have good views of the lake from a lookout platform, but are not allowed to swim or do boating in the lake.
ByWard Market
ByWard Market has over 600 businesses and is a world-renowned farmer’s market. It is Ottawa’s top tourist attraction with 50,000 visitors per weekend on average in the summer months.
The builder of the Rideau Canal Lieutenant-Colonel John By designed the street plan of ByWard Market back in 1826.
Today, ByWard Market is the premier destination for shopping, dining, arts, entertainment, and professional services for visitors, as well as for locals. ByWard Market includes both indoor and outdoor sections.
Check out the ByWard Market website for more information.
Ottawa’s Chinatown
While officially designated “Chinatown,” the area is home to businesses from many Asian cultures, such as Vietnamese, Korean and Thai. If you love Asian cuisines, this is the place to come for authentic Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese Pho, Thai curries, and Dim Sum.
Chinatown Gateway, the most important landmark of Chinatown, was commissioned in 2010 as a joint project with Beijing, Ottawa’s sister city.
Little Italy
Just west of Chinatown, Little Italy offers not just pasta or gelato, but also Greek, Indian and Asian cuisines.
On Preston Street along which Little Italy is located, you will find murals and public artwork showcasing Little Italy’s heritage and culture.
Dow’s Lake
Dow’s Lake, located at the south end of Preston Street and just a short walk from Little Italy, is a man-made lake about 5 km from the endpoint of Rideau Canal where the canal joins the Ottawa River.
Dominion Arboretum, located by the western side of Dow’s Lake, is a large park where visitors can walk by the lake, relax, and enjoy the greenery and the picturesque Rideau Canal. You can also take a scenic drive on Queen Elizabeth Driveway that runs beside the north and west sides of Dow’s Lake.
Dows Lake Pavilion, located right on the lake, is a favourite destination for locals and tourists for scenic water views, dining, and recreational water activities.
This itinerary is part of a Central Canada road trip. Read more about the overview of the Central Canada Road Trip.
Check out “Travel and Destinations Blogs” for more travel blogs on a wide range of destinations from popular, exotic, unique to obscure.
While Ottawa is a city in Ontario Province and Gatineau is a city in Quebec Province, the 2 cities are really just separated by the Ottawa River, on the 2 sides of the riverbank.