Distance: 146km
Estimated total time, including stops: 3.5 hours
Highlights: Passing by Canadian Forces Station Leitrim, Aviation Museum, RCMP musical ride stables, Rideau Hall (Governor General's official residence), 24 Sussex Dr (Prime Minister's official residence), Rideau River & Canal, Gatineau Park, National Arts Museum, Parliament buildings, Federal/Supreme Court, War Museum, Ottawa River Parkway

Join us for a beautiful ride through vibrant and historic Ottawa. Commentary will be provided via CB to participants as we pass by museums, parks and landmarks on this leisurely ride. Stops will be made at Champlain Lookout in Gatineau Park and Bate Island on the Ottawa River.

Distance: 267km
Estimated ride time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
with stops: 6 hours
Highlights: Locks at Burritts Rapids, Jones Falls, Rideau Ferry and Smiths Falls. Shopping in Merrickville, Newboro and Westport. Murals in Athens.

This ride generally follows the Rideau Canal as it meanders through woods and farmland between Ottawa and Kingston. Crossing the canal several times, you will enjoy some of the best roads and scenery in this part of Ontario. Numerous restaurants in Merrickville, Athens, Jones Falls, Westport and Smiths Falls are available for lunch.

If you find yourself running short of time, you may want to return directly from Smiths Falls via Roger Stevens Drive, which cuts out about half an hour.

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Driving directions (pdf document)
Downloadable Garmin gdb file
Downloadable Garmin gdb file (shorter version via Roger Stevens Drive)
(files are compressed and may be saved to your hard drive; uncompress by opening the zipped files)

Distance: 236km
Estimated ride time: 4 hours
with stops: 6 hours
Highlights: farm country of Eastern Ontario, a ferry ride, hilly terrain and twisty roads of Western Quebec. Historic villages include Val-des-Bois, Wakefield, Old Chelsea.

Explore the hilly Laurentians of western Quebec! This ride features long sweepers on Route 309 to Val-des-Bois, and tight twisties south from Val-des-Bois to Val-des-Monts, then long sweepers to Wakefield. Enjoy the Quebec cuisine at Wakefield or Old Chelsea before returning to Manderley. Both Wakefield and Old Chelsea, adjacent to Gatineau Park, feature ice-cream parlours and bistros very popular with local motorcyclists. From Old Chelsea, take the twisty Notch and Mountain roads to the other side of Gatineau Park, then cross the Champlain Bridge to Ottawa. Your return to Manderley will be via the Experimental Farm in Ottawa so you should see lots of tulips on your return.

Note that this route includes a ferry ride across the Ottawa River. Cost of the ferry: $5 per motorcycle.

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Driving directions (pdf document)
Downloadable Garmin gdb file
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Distance: 187km
Estimated ride time: 3.5 hours
with stops: 5 hours
Highlights: farm country of Eastern Ontario, a ferry ride, hilly terrain and twisty roads of Western Quebec. Historic villages include Wakefield and Old Chelsea.

An alternative to the Val-des-Bois ride, this route follows the same route through Ontario. After crossing the Ottawa River by ferry boat to Masson, you will continue north uphill to Buckingham, then turn left to cross the Du Lièvre river to take country roads to Perkins. The roads from Perkins to Wakefield are particularly scenic with long sweepers. From Wakefield you may hug the Gatineau river on another country road, then head south on Route 105 to Chelsea. Old Chelsea, adjacent to Gatineau Park, features an ice-cream parlour and bistros very popular with local motorcyclists. From Old Chelsea, take the twisty Notch and Mountain roads to the other side of Gatineau Park, then cross the Champlain Bridge to Ottawa. Your return to Manderley will be via the Experimental Farm in Ottawa so you should see lots of tulips on your return.

Many Quebec roads are in rough shape. In particular, the country roads between Buckingham and Perkins, and south of Wakefield along the shores of the Gatineau River can be very bumpy. Riders of these roads should slow down and take extra care.

Note that this route includes a ferry ride across the Ottawa River. Cost of the ferry: $5 per motorcycle.

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Driving directions (pdf document)
Downloadable Garmin gdb file
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Distance: 350km
Estimated ride time: 5 hours, 20 minutes
with stops: 7+ hours
Highlights: Balderson Cheese Factory, hilly and twisty roads north of Perth, long sweepers, ice cream in Pakenham

Highway 511 north of Balderson, Calabogie Rd and Centennial Lake Rd to Griffith are the holy grail for motorcyclists in eastern Ontario. Add to this ice cream and cheese at Balderson Cheese Factory and you have an irresistible combination for our chapter! While the best twisties are found between Calabogie and Griffith, the long sweepers on highways 41 and 132 to Renfrew, and 52 and 20 to Pakenham are scenic and enjoyable too. The area is quite rural, but a diner can be found just after turning onto highway 41 in Griffith, and places to eat can, of course, be found in Renfrew and Pakenham. This is a long ride, but worth it if you have the time.

Larger map
Driving directions (pdf document)
Downloadable Garmin gdb file
(file is compressed and may be saved to your hard drive; uncompress by opening the zipped file)