Great little marina. Had a fun day renting a pontoon boat with the family took it up to Constance…read moreBay beach and Mohr Island. The Gatineau Hills were spectacular from the water - planning to come back in the fall to see the colours. Friendly staff patiently showed me how to run the boat.

From the owner: Port of Call Marina Ltd. has been operating on the shore of the Ottawa River in Dunrobin, Ontario…read moresince 1967. A full service marina where we specialize in repairs to most brands of Outboard Motors and SternDrives. Contact us today about winter boat storage.We also rent pontoon boats, offering families and friends a unique opportunity to explore the beautiful Ottawa River.

Dow's Lake is a man-made lake on the Rideau Canal. It's the site of many fun activities and there…read moreare several restaurants there with beautiful views of the water. You can rent canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats/paddle boats in the summer. In May there's the Tulip Festival which is technically in Commissioner's Park, but this park surrounds Dow's Lake. In the winter when the lake freezes over, you can skate on it, and it's connected to the Rideau Canal, so you can skate for a pretty good distance. There are 3 restaurants at Dow's Lake. Over the years they have changed, but currently the restaurants are Lago, Umbrella Bar, and Mexi's (aka Mexicali Rosa's). There's a paid parking lot nearby ($3.50 per 30 minutes up to a maximum of $14), or street parking ($0.25 per 6 minutes) a bit further away, or free parking on residential streets in neighbouring Little Italy (3 hour limit as per by-laws).

Dow's Lake Pavilion is a short distance away from the airport and Ottawa's downtown core. I like…read morethat you can escape from your daily routine to this picturesque area without doing a road trip. There are canoes and pedal boats that you can rent. You are required to sign a waiver, wear a life jacket, and put down a $20 deposit. You can use cash, and debit and credit cards, except for American Express. Sadly, Amex doesn't seem to be as widely accepted as it used to be. There are lockers where you can store your belongings when you are on the water. I recommend coming with what you truly need. I parked in the lot across from the Pavilion. Parking is $3.50 for 30 minutes, to a maximum of $14. I paid by credit card, which was great. I didn't risk parking on the street, but I know that I can now. It's cheaper that way, but you do have to be cognizant of the time. You can also dine here after a fun time out on the water. We ate at Mexi's. You have the option of dining in the restaurant or sitting out on the patio. I missed the tulip festival. Perhaps I'll plan my vacation and take them in next time. (254)

One day, I came here, to the wrong park but it was a great error. I think I was mesmerized by the…read moredocked boats and pulled in. Lots of parking. Nepean Sailing Club. I didn't go in but I don't think it's private. Well kept. Beautiful pathways. Lots of benches for sitting and gazing out at the vast water. Friendly cyclists. Lots of geese. I took my dog the whole way in a big C shape and came back. Great exercise. Loved it here and I'll return. I have to find more friends with boats...

Dick Bell Park is a beautiful park by the Ottawa River. There's a marina there and the Nepean…read moreSailing Club is there too. There's a good length walking path, lots of open green space for picnics on the grass, or they have a few actual picnic tables as well (some even have charcoal grills where you can cook your food). There is a very high concentration of commemorative park benches in this park. More than I have seen in any other park in the city. (as an aside, I looked up the commemorative park bench program in Ottawa, and for around $3500 you can purchase a commemorative park bench, chose your text on the plaque, chose it's location in any municipally-owned park, you donate it to the city, and the city will maintain it in perpetuity. I think this is a beautiful way to remember a loved one. However, Dick Bell Park is apparently full and cannot accommodate anymore commemorative benches. I guess it is a popular location). Lots of people fish at this park. It's very picturesque as it's by the water and in the summer you can see lots of boats in the water. I've never been there at sunrise or sunset, but I'm sure the view would be spectacular at those times. There's free parking on-site.

After just arriving into the city and checking into our hotel at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, we…read morepaid for the boat tour just minutes before departure at the bridge with the dock just below on the Rideau River in Ottawa Ontario in Canada. The price was around $40. It was on the Paula-D Boat at 7pm for an hour and a half tour. We were entertained with views of the river and commentary from the guide of the historical landmarks, Parliament Hill, Rideau Falls, the Prime Minister's Residence, several Diplomat foreign official buildings and the Supreme Court. The open-air vessel offers a bar and canteen. We ended around 8:30 pm with a beautiful sunset.

We took the River Boat cruise on May 16, 2026 and were quite dissappointed. There were 6 adults and…read moretwo children in our group. We were overcharged by $40 which is now being reviewed and hopefully we will get a refund. The cruise itself was just above an hour, and it was supposed to be 1.5 hours. The PA system had issues so we couldn't hear the guide well. To top it off there was a crowd of people dancing and singing, which didn't help at all. My husband and I have taken this cruise a couple of times before and we had the best experience then. Too bad that we recommended this to the rest of our group.

It's difficult planning out the day. You research, make reservations, buy tickets, and do…read moreeverything you can. Then the traffic takes longer than anticipated, you got lost on the way, the card was declined because you forgot to call your credit card company. For some people, these little disasters ruin trips. Me? Just roll with it. For our schedule we wanted to do a canal tour, but it wasn't going to work for itinerary, so we opted for the river cruise instead. I am very glad we had done so. Rolling down the Ottawa river was a welcome break from all the walking, and you get to see these beautiful views of the city from the water that you otherwise would be completely unknown to you, like who really shot JFK. Our guide was a sweet and cheery girl, she enjoyed talking with guests and answering questions. The other staff were quite friendly, the boat was clean, and even had a bar (thank you sweet baby Jesus!) which allowed for my wife and I to enjoy a glass of wine on the river. Definitely recommend.

If you are in Ottawa and don't have much time this is the way to see the city, the boat is not the…read moremost beautiful but is big and they have food and drink on board, I really enjoy the tour on this boat, they guy explaining everything was awesome he was funny and he new a lot of stuff so I learn a lot about Ottawa and we know that a lot of Canadian history is in Ottawa, take the tour of u wanna see the city from another perspective, this was my favourite boat ride tour ever!!!!

Relaxing boat cruise & tour, beautiful view of the Rideau canal, locks & some history of Ottawa…read morefrom a wonderful guide! Overall great experience!

Staff were great, however not really worth the $60 price tag. Only minimal views from the canal and…read morelimited visibility. Tour information was nice, but would be better to save the money and take a bike ride or kayak instead

Great cruise ' from the moment i was solliciated on the road to buy cruise tickets i had a feeling…read morethe experience would be great ' we took a cruise on the Ottawa river - dont get fooled some sell tours on the canal ! We were able to see all 3 parlement buildings from behind, the different museums, the different embassadors house and the house of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , our tour guide Katherine was very eloquent and smart she knew exactly how to explain the history of Canada and did it in a very Dynamic way, i understand both french and english and she didnt neglect any of the language ! This boat goes very close to the Rideau falls its too nice ! Brian gave us a great deal! On the tickets The boat is in a good condition for a one hour tour There is 3 floors, and third floor is all open, we got some rain during the tour but all went well ! It reminded of my canadian history classes in high school

We took the sunset cruise…read more Thought it would be a fun and relaxing activity on a family vacation. The sunset and scenery sure was beautiful. The boat boarded on time and passed some scenic sights of Gatineau and Ottawa, including the Parliament building, Rideau falls, Rideau canal, and the residence of the Prime Minister. It was lovely to see all of the Ottawa sights from the different vantage point of being on the boat. Unfortunately, I didn't find it as relaxing as I expected it to be (given that it was a sunset cruise). About 5-10 minutes after departing from Gatineau, music from singer and guitarist Danny Richard blared the whole rest of the ride. The music was loud on both the top and middle levels of the boat, and it was so loud on the middle level that it was difficult to have any conversation. When I questioned the workers at the concession stand about the volume of the music and about the excursion being a "sunset cruise," I was told that this is the way the sunset cruises are on Saturday/Sunday always are. To be clear, the description on their website for the sunset cruise tour said "The Sunday Sunset Cocktail Cruise is perfect for any occasion. Come relax and watch the sunset while you cruise the Ottawa River aboard the spacious Empress of Ottawa. Light live music provides the soundtrack to your evening as the sunset transforms the water into a brilliant, shimmering gold." Wish the music hadn't been so loud. (It certainly wasn't what I would describe as "light.") It seemed to be more of a party boat atmosphere than that of a relaxing sunset cruise. . .

The Rideau Canoe Clyb is Ottawa oldest (as far as I know) functioning sports and recreation club…read more It is definitely one of the most established sports clubs in Canada. It offers a number of incredible programs. One is the competiton kayak-canoe stream that starts out introducing children of 10-12 to paddling with lotsbof summer fun. It progresses into a serious National and International competitive program. The Club offers summer camps for children that are fun while teaching them basic paddling. They paddle and swim and play all day. The Club also have programs for seniors, dragon boater and for anyone wishing to learn paddling. Incredible atmosphere, very friendly stuff and if you are looking to get fit there arw few better ways.

Our work has been using the Rideau Canoe Club for the last 2 years for practices for the Tim…read moreHortons Dragon Boat festival and this year we also did the Rideau Canoe club festival. We have been using Jeff Foss as our coach and can honestly say that he has been amazing. He is very knowledgable and whips us in to shape to be competitive. They provide all the equipment for every practice and all you need to do is show up. We will continue to use the Rideau Canoe club in the future and are excited for the spring to come to start practices again.

The most fun rafting experience out there. I love out guides, Joel, Aaron, and Zach, all of them…read moremake the whole experience fabulous, they take pictures, videos, you can jump into the river, and they're very supportive. The site itself needs improvement from the accommodations to the reception but the rafting was so fun that I barely remember anything else!

Our tour guides name was Nick and he was absolutely wonderful. He described the rapids we were…read moregoing on so we were all prepared and knew what to expect. He commanded us great and we were the only boat who didn't tip or get anyone who fell off. He made it fun and tbh I twisted my ankle and was so scared and he was kind even when I complained. The place is BEAUTIFUL and the lunch included was delicious and vegetarian/vegan included. Where you go for a snack half way the rocks are steep to climb and it was hard to get up so I recommend making a friendly path to get up, tbh that was probably because I had a twisted ankle tho! Only way it would be even better is if they added zip lining and if the half way point bathrooms actually locked or were actual restrooms instead of outhouse style. Still I give this a 10/10, thank you for your great experience nick and Betty