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| This section commences with a
delightful 20 km ride along the south shore of the Rideau River. After
crossing the river, you will head north towards the Nation's Capital and
end with a 10 km ride alongside the Ottawa River on one of the city's many
excellent bikeways. |
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| 0 km |
Leave Merrickville on County Road #43,
following the south shore of the Rideau River. |
| 2 km |
Be sure to turn left at County Road
#23 (Burritt's Rapids Road). You are in for an excellent stretch of
cycling; quiet, relatively flat (you are now in the Ottawa Valley) and
interesting. This is an historically significant area, and you will notice
many gorgeous old stone, brick and log properties as you cycle along. |
| 4 km |
Upper Nicholson's Lock.
 |
| 8 km |
Historic Village of Burritt's Rapids
.
Burritt's Rapids was first settled in 1793 by Colonel Stephen Burritt, a
United Empire Loyalist from Connecticut. After the American Revolution,
many Loyalists fled the United States to Canada and received land grants
along the Rideau River. The small village (turn left) is well worth a
visit! |
| 9 km |
Be sure to turn left onto River Road. |
| 10 km |
Burritt's Rapids Lock
|
| 15 km |
River Road heads off to the left at this
point. Be sure to follow it! |
| 21 km |
River Road ends at
County Road #44. Here you turn left, and you will immediately find
yourself crossing the Rideau River. You will also find that Leeds-Grenville
County Road #44 changes to Ottawa-Carleton Regional Road #5 as you cross the river.
Be careful cycling along Regional Road #5 since it lacks a paved
shoulder and tends to be quite busy. |
| 23 km |
Rideau River Provincial Park.
|
| 28 km |
7 km from the bridge, you will reach Ottawa-Carleton
Regional Road
#13. Be sure to turn right on to Regional Road #13! |
| 32 km |
Baxter Creek Conservation Area
(1 km detour).
|
| 37 km |
Village of Kars.
|
| 38 km |
1 km north of Kars, you will come to a stop sign and
Ottawa / Carleton Regional Road #6. Proceed straight ahead, and you will
find that you are cycling north on First Line Road. |
| 44 km |
You should now arrive at a four-way stop. Proceed straight ahead at the
stop sign for a further 2.5
km until you reach the next stop sign. |
| 47 km |
Turn left onto Bankfield Road at the stop sign, but at the
lights in 300 m turn right onto (very busy) Highway #16 (Prince of Wales
Drive). |
| 48 km |
After 500 m on Highway #16, turn left
(north) on Greenbank Road. |
| 54 km |
1 km after crossing the Jock River, Greenbank
abruptly changes from a
quiet country road to a busy city street. The next 3 km are not great
riding as Greenbank is now very busy and the bike route (on the left-hand
side of the road) is not great. |
| 57 km |
Continue north on Greenbank Rd. at Fallowfield Rd.
However, this marks the start of the
Ottawa Green Belt and much improved cycling as there is an excellent bike
path on the left side of Greenbank for the next 4 km. |
| 61 km |
Turn right at West Hunt Club Rd. Either
follow the bike path on the left (north) side of the road or use the
excellent paved shoulder beside the road - either is fine! |
| 63 km |
Turn left (north) on Woodroffe Ave. There
is an excellent shoulder for cycling. |
| 66 km |
Baseline Rd. Here you will really need to pay
attention! Cross over to the NW corner of Baseline and Woodroffe, continue
north on Woodroffe on the west sidewalk until just before the fire
station. After about 50 m, you will find a paved bike
path heading north towards the Ottawa River. It is the Pinecrest Creek
Pathway which you now follow for 4 km until you reach the river. This
bike path heads north following the OC Tanspo Transitway, which it
criss-crosses a couple of times so watch for the signs! |
| 70 km |
Depending upon which side of the Transitway
you came down you may, or may not, end up on the river side of the Ottawa
River Parkway (a road). If you are not on the river side, be sure to cross
the road (preferably using the underpass) where you will find the Ottawa River Pathway, an
excellent paved bike path that was re-surfaced in 2003. You will follow this
wonderful pathway (right alongside the Ottawa River) for the final 9 km
ride to to the Parliament Buildings. |
| 71 km |
Rapides des Chênes.
|
| 74 km |
Kitchissippi Lookout.
|
| 79 km |
Parliament Buildings! |
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