Seasonal Activities
This section lists activities that span the whole of (or a large part of) a season, often due to the activities' connection with the outdoors and reliance on the weather.
Listings in this section may include (amongst others) self-guided walking tours and guided walking tours, outdoor concerts and shows, sporting and recreational activities. The dates cited are for summer 2009 to spring 2010, though we assume that some of these activities will be available the following year, between approximately the same dates.
Winter
Visit the Animal Barns at the Canadian Agriculture Museum
Skating on City of Ottawa Outdoor Rinks
Public Skating at City of Ottawa Arenas
Woman Alive - Physical Activity Program for Women on Limited Incomes 
| Name: | Visit the Animal Barns at the Canada Agriculture Museum |
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| Description: |
Admission to the animal barns and the play structure at the Canada Agriculture Museum is free from November 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010. The barns are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Note that the barns are closed on December 25, 2009. Thanks to Danielle for submitting this activity! |
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| Website: | http://www.agriculture.technomuses.ca/english |
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| Activity number: | 30012 |
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| Name: | Skating on the Rideau Canal |
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| Location: | From Hartwell's Locks to Dow's Lake, from Dow's Lake to NAC |
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| Dates: | Late December to March, weather permitting |
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| Description: | For ice conditions call 613-239-5234 (updated daily) |
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| Website: | www.capitaleducanada.gc.ca/ |
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| Activity number: | 30006 | |||
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| Name: | Public Skating at Rideau Hall |
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| Description: |
The skating rink at Rideau Hall is open from January 4 to March 14, 2010. Public leisure skating: Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. |
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| Website: | www.gg.ca |
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| Activity number: | 30015 |
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| Name: | Skating at City of Ottawa Outdoor Rinks |
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| Description: |
At last count, there were 246 outdoor rinks in the City of Ottawa! Too many for me to list here, but the two websites listed below can help you find a rink close by. |
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| Website: | The City of Ottawa's Outdoor Skating page can be found at http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/parks_recreation.html A great website by Chris Taggart which maps out all of the rinks on one map can be found at http://www.christaggart.com/labs/ottawa-outdoor-skating-rinks/ This website lists outdoor rink conditions, and is updated by rink users and by rink operators: www.ottawarinkconditions.ca |
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| Activity number: | 30014 |
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| Name: | Public Skating at City of Ottawa arenas |
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| Description: |
City arenas offer public skating, family skating sessions, adult skating sessions, 50+ skating sessions and pick up hockey for adults. Schedules vary by arena. All arenas offer skating from October 1 to March 31; some arenas offer skating year-round. See website for details. Check individual arena listings prior to going as schedules are subject to change. Public skating fees are $6.25/family (2 adults, 2 children). |
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| Website: | List of City of Ottawa Arenas: http://ottawa.ca/residents/parks_recreation/skating/index_en.html Search Public Skating Schedules: http://ottawa.ca/residents/parks_recreation/skating/index_en.html |
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| Activity number: | 30008 |
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| Name: | Cross-Country Skiing |
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| Description: |
There are a number of free and frugal cross-country trails in and around Ottawa. Obviously there is an initial cost in buying or renting cross-country skis, but once you have the equipment you can enjoy many winter hours in the great outdoors at little or no cost. Cross-County ski trails in and around Ottawa: The City of Ottawa runs the Mooney's Bay Ski Centre, which is located at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility at Mooney's Bay Park, 2960 Riverside Drive (telephone: 613-247-4883). This facility offers 5km of classic ski trails and charges $2.55/person per day (children under 12 ski for free). OK, so $2.55 x 4 is actually $10.20 and therefore $0.20 over my frugal limit - please forgive me!There are urban cross-country ski trails at the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre, 300 avenue des Pères-Blancs. Access to these trails is free and there is free parking on site. (For more info call 613-580-2424 ext. 28464). Note that these trails are multi-use trails. Several more cross-country ski trails are located around the City and can be found using the NCC Greenbelt map (pdf); (page 1 shows trails in the City's west end and page 2 shows trails in the City's east end). Larose Forest offers good cross-country ski trails for beginners and is located less than an hour outside of Ottawa. The trails are located in dense woods, which makes for a nice outing but does mean that the trail conditions can be a bit sketchy if there hasn't been a recent heavy snowfall. Parking is available near the trailhead. Donations are encouraged through donation boxes on site. (Thanks to Lisa for this info!) Several area cross-country ski trails are described on the Ontario Trails Council website. To find the location of a trail, click on the trail name, then click on "GPS", found under the Location heading on the right-hand side of the page. Of course, some of the most notable cross-country ski trails in the area are in Gatineau Park (which charges a daily rate that is not frugal by our standards - see the Gatineau Park website for more info). |
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| Website: | An excellent website by Michael McGoldrick about cross-country skiing in the National Capital Region can be found at http://mcgoldrick.ca/xc-skiing/ xcottawa.ca now offers trail reports to let you know what the trail conditions are like. |
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| Activity number: | 30011
Mention Frugal Fun Ottawa and get 10% off |
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| Name: | Snowshoeing |
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| Description: |
Snowshoeing is a great winter activity for the whole family. There are almost 20 kilometers of dedicated snowshoeing trails in Gatineau Park, including two beginners' trails accessible right from the Visitor's Centre. Access to all the snowshoeing trails is free, as is parking.
The Baxter Conservation Area, just south of Ottawa, is a great location for snowshoeing and is described in this article in Ottawa Outdoors Magazine. There is a $5/vehicle gate fee at the Baxter Conservation Area. Several area snowshoeing trails are described on the Ontario Trails Council website. To find the location of a trail, click on the trail name, then click on "GPS", found under the Location heading on the right-hand side of the page. |
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| Website: | The Ottawa Rambling Club's website lists useful tips for beginners: http://orc.ncf.ca/snowshoeing.html |
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| Activity number: | 30012 |
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| Name: | Tobogganing |
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| Location: | Various, see Description |
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| Dates: | Whenever there is enough snow! |
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| Description: |
The following hills are City of Ottawa approved sledding hills (the City's sledding website, listed below, also includes notes on each hill and is worth checking out):
There are also tobogganing hills at the following locations:
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| Website: | City of Ottawa approved sledding hills: http://www.ottawa.ca/toboganning/sledding_hills_en.html Tobogganing safety tips: http://www.healthunit.org/injury/winter/tobogsled.html |
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| Activity number: | 30009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Name: | Woman Alive - Physical Activity Program for Women on Limited Incomes |
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| Location: |
Offered at:
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| Description: | Woman Alive provides affordable physical activity for women on limited incomes. The program includes fitness classes and a health education component. |
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| Website: |
See page 139 of the Ottawa Recreation Guide Fall-Winter |
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| Event number: | 50007 |
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Frugal Favorite
Fan Favorite
Almost Frugal
For Grown-Ups