35 things to do in Ottawa during a pandemic summer

This summer is different than others summers, but can we all agree it’s better than last summer!? Usually our 50 things to do in Ottawa post is getting tens of thousands of hits and many of us are out exploring and visiting places. This summer is different and you may fall into one of the following categories, or maybe you fall into all of them depending on the day.

• You’re going to stay close to home.

• You’re going to go out and about, but only on solo adventures.

• You’re ready to start testing the waters at attractions again or getting together with friends.

We’ve been reaching out to attractions in the area, talking to parents, and we’re getting ready to go and try out as many things as possible! We can give you a sense for what to expect, so that you can decide if the activity is right for you and your family.

We’ll be updating this post as we get more information, but here are 25 ideas and things to do during a pandemic summer in Ottawa (keep checking in for updates!).

Staying close to home

Camping in the back yard - stay home and set up a tent in the backyard or even in the living room (using your personal judgement on what is safe for your children at their age)

Have fun with a splash at home (without a pool) - we’ve put together some ideas for games and ways to stay cool in the backyard this summer.

Reading in a hammock

Visit the National Gallery from home - the Gallery has a virtual tour that you can do from the comfort of your home (though they’re also opening up soon too!)

Create cards and art for seniors in isolation - we have 3 local businesses accepting drop offs and you can create some art while brightening up someone’s day!

Read all the books! The Ottawa Public Library is open again (with some restrictions) and they are participating in the TD Summer Reading Club and running a summer reading draw.

Experiment with making new drinks - we found some fun things to try in the archives (like making your own gingerale or watermelon juice) but you can also just Google or Pinterest ideas and experiment with fun and interesting drinks that you made yourselves.

Take an online class or online camp - there are lots around the city including folks who are running small workshops (like learning German through art run by a local artist) and camps on their own, to bigger organizations like Outschool that run hundreds of classes every week.

Take an online fitness class - you can support local small businesses that have brought their online classes online, like Salsa Babies and Fitmom Ottawa.

Try learning a new craft - maybe cross stitch which we created a tutorial for!

Solo adventures

Fallingbrook Waterfall

Fallingbrook Waterfall - did you know there is a really cool and accessible waterfall in Orleans?

Go for ice cream - we’ve listed some great east end and west end options to go out for an iced treat this summer.

Go exploring - there are lots of sites to be seen without going into any attractions or interacting with strangers. We’re going to be updating our challenge from last summer soon, but for now, go and check out some ideas for places where you can take fun photos around town!

Go on a hike - we’ve listed 5 family friendly hiking trails in the area on the blog.

Go camping - Ontario provincial parks are open for overnight and day visits. Facilities such as showers, laundry, group camping, picnic shelter rentals and swimming pools will remain closed for the season.

Child in a small sit on kayak

Go kayaking or stand up paddle boarding - there are relatively inexpensive options for child sized kayaks and SUPs and they pick it up really young and easily. You can then take them out onto bodies of the water in the city or find some lakes to visit to explore.

Mer Bleu - there are all kinds of walking paths at Mer Bleu for you to explore. You may even get a chance to feed some sweet winged visitors! (though that may depend on the time of year)

Petrie Island - go for a dip and explore the grounds at Petrie Island. There are times when the beach can get quite crowded so just watch for that when you decide to visit.

Out and about

Arbraska Lafleche is open again for both their caves tours and aerial courses. They have special Covid-19 procedures including needing to reserve ahead of time, smaller group sizes and they aren’t accepting cash. They’re also allowing for cleaning and rest time for equipment and waivers will be signed digitally on your own devices.

Brockville Aquatarium will likely open soon as the lockdown restrictions ease. In the meantime, you can check out their virtual tour. For in-person visits you must book online and it is now more of a guided tour experience than an immersive one. Guests most go through a screening process on arrival and wear a mask.

Check back soon to find out when the Canada Agriculture Museum is opening. They have Covid-19 procedures in place including limited numbers, required use of masks, directional signage, and washing and sanitizing stations.

Check back soon to find out when the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum is opening. They have Covid-19 procedures in place including limited numbers, required use of masks, directional signage, and washing and sanitizing stations.

Chute Coulonges - Chutes Coulonge is open for hiking, ziplining and obstacle courses. They have no Covid-19 information on their web site but we’ve heard that it was quite quiet for those visiting and that distancing wasn’t a concern.

City wading pools - the city has opened their 53 wading pools for the summer with reduced admissions numbers to allow for physical distancing. Check out the city’s site for more information.

Check back soon to find out when the Diefenbunker will open! You can book online or buy tickets in person, however numbers are limited so you may need to wait outside if people are in the museum longer than expected. You must wear a mask while in the museum. Although you cannot touch or engage with any of the exhibits, there is still lots to see and learn about!

Eco-Odyssey - They are open! We heard last summer that they’re signing people in one at a time and staff is behind glass, workers kept their distance and there was lots of hand sanitizer and cleaning products. This helped visitors feel confident that things were being kept clean.

Flying Squirrel - Flying Squirrel is temporarily closed, but should be re-opening this summer as lockdown restrictions ease. Check back soon!

Toddler at a splash pad

kids at the diefenbunker by a sign that says “out of bounds to all male personnel”

Little Ray’s Reptiles - Little Ray’s is open for small group private tours. Everyone wears masks but you may want to state ahead of time how comfortable you are with how close staff get to you and the kids so everyone is on the same page.

Marked - located in Carleton Place Marked has a range of activities including obstacle courses, water guns, axes throwing, batting cages and paintball. They’ve opened with Covid19 protocols including booking in advance, online payments and waivers. Lara are her family recently visited the obstacle course.

Mont Cascades - Mont Cascades is now open and have measures in place, including masks for staff if they can’t be distanced from you, wiping down the handles on tubes between each ride, and having people wait at a distance in lines. They are also letting people know it’s better to arrive changed and avoid the change rooms and that you will have to go wait in your car if there are downpours instead of the club house. (We’re going to be visiting soon and will update with first hand information)

Parc Omega - The park is open! Last summer Misty headed to the park with her kids and found it very safe. You are in your vehicle for much of the trip, and when you’re out walking there’s enough space for social distancing. Strict cleaning measures for the bathrooms were in place.

Pirate Life - Pirate Life is limiting 10 people per trip and has zones to keep groups apart (though the groups aren’t always more than 6 feet apart). They require all staff and audience to wear masks. They are also sanitizing commonly touched surfaces between every cruise. (Check out our blog post on our Covid summer visit)

Youth zip lining at arbraska lafleche

Saunders Farm is opening this summer for their Maze Days and Campfires. Book your tickets online!

Splash pads - the city has opened most of their splash pads for the season if you want to get out and cool down.

Wesley Clover Parks Drive In Theatre - take in a movie at the drive in. You can stay safely in your vehicle the entire time or have some interaction with others if you head to the bathrooms. Guest blogger Stephen visited last summer and shared his experience on the blog.

Five ways to keep kids entertained at a cottage

We’re a cottaging family and spend at least two weeks at cottages every summer.

The packing list for the cottage may be long, but based on my years of cottaging with children I thought I’d make a list of my five favourites for keeping the family entertained.

I realized after writing it that my list falls to the less sporty type family so you may want to include some type of sporting equipment or balls or something too ;)

1) The super noodle

If you’ve ever been in a lake with children you know that, regardless of how well they can swim, their favourite place to be is attached to you. This is okay when you can stand up, but once you’re in water above your head, it can feel a bit like you’re about to drown. I quickly figured out that I needed multiple noodles in order to keep myself and a child up above water, but once I found the super noodles from Costco I was sold on spending $20+ on a noodle.

The super noodle will hold me and at least two, sometimes three children above water. It will even allow me to stay mostly above water as children catapult themselves off docks and into my arms. 

My general rule with the super noodle is that adults always get them first, as the only reason we invested in them is to help the adults stay afloat with the children who will undoubtedly try to sit on top of their heads while they’re trying to tread water. When all the adults are out of the water I’m willing to share and let the kids experience the fun of the super noodle too.

2) Child sized kayaks

We previously wrote about kayaks on Kids in the Capital and I still think they are one of the best investments if you go to a cottage with any regularity. They cost about $100 and I have seen children as young as four master them really quickly.

Kids can spend a lot of time just trolling around close to shore while you supervise, the ones who are a bit more nervous about swimming out further or who just are less inclined to swim a lot can kayak themselves to floating docks, and you can go on a family kayak ride. Note: make sure you have some kind of towing rope on your kayak or theirs and an easy way to attach the kayaks together. I often end up towing kids back, but it’s well worth it to have had them kayak independently to start.

3) An art kit

Arts and crafts are a must at the cottage - especially for rainy days or quieter evenings. We come up with all kinds of projects while we’re at the cottage and many include crafting.

·      Painting rocks and sticks.

·      Scavenger hunts.

·      Simple paintings and drawings.

·      Creating a memory game.

·      Box monsters.

4) Books

Adults and kids alike bring many books to the cottage. We have comics and novels and activity idea books.

You’ll find people reading in hammocks, in bunkbeds, and sitting by the lake.

We’re a bookish family so we may lean a bit more heavily to the books than others, but I think the cottage is a great time to get a lot of great reading done – make it part of what you expect at the cottage! The Ottawa Public Library allows you to take most books out for three weeks (and they can often be renewed for another three), which is usually a perfect length of time for a cottage vacation.

5)   Lego and puzzles

Some kids are less outdoorsy than others – I have one like that in particular. While they might love it if we’d let them play on electronics all day, that’s simply not an option. Instead we make sure there are Lego or 500-1000 piece puzzles to play with. These cottage projects are perfect for the kids who want to stay indoors while the others are in the lake, and they are great for quiet creative time.

We can rarely find an activity that all five of us want to do at once, and now that our kids are a bit older (with our youngest being 8) we’re able to simply accept that we can split up and do what each of us wants to do. Having lots of options for every personality type has really helped everyone enjoy their time at the cottages.

What are your cottage must haves to keep everyone busy and entertained?

10 things to do with kids in Ottawa this summer

Summer vacation is rolling out the welcome mat for kids all across the Nation’s Capital. And if your kids are like mine, then they are ready to run off some energy and have some fun! Every summer my family and I make a “bucket list” of things we must see and do as a family to make summer awesome! This year our list is a little longer than 10, but here are our top 10 things to do as a family in Ottawa this summer:

1) Visit the new Canada-themed park at Mooney’s Bay

If you haven’t been to the new Canada-themed park at Mooney’s Bay with the family yet, pack a picnic lunch and plan a day or even a few hours to take in the play structures, slides and swings that each represent a different province or territory. The park is located next to Mooney’s Bay Beach—a great spot to cool off on a hot summer’s day!

2) Check out the new Canada Goose Arctic Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature

The  Arctic Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature just opened June 21st and is filled with interactive activities, games, interesting facts and educational fun for the entire family. This new permanent gallery is full of unique ways to celebrate Canada's Arctic!

3) See the Northern Lights Sound and Light bilingual show on Parliament Hill

The Sounds and Lights show is always impressive, but with Canada 150 it’s a must-see summer event this year! Grab some snacks and a picnic blanket and head down to Parliament Hill in the late evening from July 11th to September 16th to enjoy Northern Lights, a show about the foundations of our nation and so much more. For tips on how to make the evening a memorable one, check out our tips here.

4) Check out MosaiCanada 150

MosaiCanada 150 is a FREE horticultural event featuring paintings, sculptures, artistic works, as well as 40 impressive horticulture arrangements (some larger than life!). MosaiCanada 150 is held at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau from June 30th to October 15th and is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. This unique horticultural event is a part of the ongoing activities celebrating Canada 150.

5)  Watch an outdoor movie

Every year we try to watch an outdoor movie and this year we not only plan on returning to the Port Elmsley Drive-In, but also grabbing a lawn chair and going to one of the more urban outdoor movies. Capital Pop-Up Cinema runs local outdoor movies that look like a lot of fun– here’s their schedule: https://www.capitalpopupcinema.com/2016-schedule.

6) Be wowed by La Machine at the end of July

I keep seeing the La Machine event pop up in my Facebook newsfeed and every time I see it, I can’t get over how impressive it looks. From July 27 to the 30th these big machines – including the dragon, LongMa, which according to the event website, stands 12 metres high, 5 metres high and weighs 45 tons, will be roaming the downtown streets of Ottawa. This incredible weekend is a part of the ongoing celebrations for Canada 150.

7) Visit a summer fair

Cotton candy, demolition derbies, carousels, concerts, live entertainment, and more, Ottawa offers many local summer fairs including these:
July 14-16: Almonte Fair 
July 28-30: Beachburg Fair
August 10-13: Navan Fair
August 17-20: Arnprior Fair
August 18-27: The Capital Fair 
August 25-27: Chesterville Fair 
September 7-10: Russell Fair 
September 14-17: Richmond Fair 
September 21-24: Carp Fair 
September 28-October 1: Metcalfe Fair 

8) Pretend we’re pirates at Pirate Adventures Ottawa

If you have ever wanted to bring out your inner Jack Sparrow or Jake the Neverland Pirate then this 75-minute interactive pirate-theatre cruise may be for you! Located at Mooney’s Bay this pirate ship adventure includes costumes, face painting, treasure maps, and much more!

9) Actually make it through the Mile Maze at Saunders Farm

Jumping pillows, an amazing play structure, and of courses mazes! Saunders Farm is a lot of fun and one of these days I WILL make it through the mile maze without having to ask complete strangers if they can help me find my way out. ;)

10) Connect with nature at Eco-Odysee

Beautiful scenery, water maze adventures, exploring and puzzle solving – Eco Odysee in the Outaouais is a great way to spend a summer’s day outside and in nature.

So, what’s on your must-do summer list this year? Share by leaving a comment! Happy Summer