Where to See Fall Foliage In and Near Ottawa

If you’ve recently stumbled upon this post, I’ve updated it due to COVID-19 travel restrictions here.

This year, I am invested in seeing and capturing as many places in and around Ottawa with fall foliage as possible. I gave myself a “to-do” list of where to go and scheduled it in my calendar to make sure I wasn’t planning other things. This week has started to become prime fall foliage cover in and around Ottawa and I wanted to share a few places I’ve been (and will be visiting).

Fall is my favourite time of year, even though it’s a whirlwind of trying to cram as much in as possible before the cold hits here in Ottawa. I look forward to the fall colours every year and this year has been no exception!

The best tool to see how the colours are doing is a Google search for “Place + Fall Foliage Map”. Day trips from Ottawa include Ontario Parks, upstate New York and Quebec. I wrote a small post on what I wanted to do in Ottawa and I included a few places within the City to check out the colours. Here’s my round-up of the best places to visit in and around Ottawa to experience fall.

1. In Ottawa: Hog’s Back Falls, Rideau Canal, Major’s Hill Park, Parliament Hill, Arboretum

2. Gatineau Park: Fall Rapsody has started and my favourite fall hikes are: Pink Lake, King Mountain, Meech Lake, Carbide Wilson Ruins

3. Hikes with great lookouts: Eagle’s Nest, Rock Dunder, Barron Canyon Trail, Champlain Lookout

4. Day Trips from Ottawa: Adirondacks, Lake Placid, Calabogie, Mont St. Marie, Mont Tremblant

A few interesting ways to see the fall foliage are: Calabogie chairlift, Biplane Adventure, Fall Rapsody bus shuttle, bike along the canal, helicopter ride

Where are your favourite places to see the fall colours in Ottawa or within a day’s drive?