Things To Do In Gatineau

Struck by wanderlust after reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels, Joe Kowalski decided to kindle his own passion for adventure by exploring the uncharted rapids of the Ottawa River with a group of fellow college students. There they discovered a multi-channel paradise—the six-mile-wide river churned through dozens of islands, jutting rocks, secluded beaches, and gorgeous waterfalls, as well as calmer paddling runs. Their stories and videos attracted guests, spurring the loosely organized group to band together in 1975 to become Wilderness Tours. To date, they have guided more than one million people safely down the river.

Today, the guides spend most of their time on white water rafting day trips, pausing in their runs to lead body-surfing and cliff-jumping adventures at some of the river's calmer spots. A riverside lunch is also provided to refuel paddlers for the second half of their run.The main resort also makes use of the stunning topography and forests that surround the river during rock-climbing, bungee jumping, and mountain biking excursions. The Wilderness Tours Adventure Resort offers luxury accommodations alongside a restaurant and bar.

After a three-year renovation by renowned course architects Graham Cooke and Stan Brigham, Gatineau Club de Golf unveiled a sleek new course layout in 2010. The site boasts championship-calibre credentials, including a total distance of more than 7,000 yards from the back tees and large bent-grass greens that punish poorly struck approaches with treacherous putts. Generous fairways reward precise bifurcation with excellent lies, but players guilty of errant drives will be pleasantly surprised to find plenty of room to make a bold go at the green. Water makes its omnipresence known as early as the 395-yard second hole, where players must tee off over a pond, negotiate with a creek that crosses the fairway 100 yards in front of the green, and avoid the water that buttresses the green to the left and rear. The 18th hole makes a 90-degree dogleg right around a massive reservoir and a pond stretching alongside the entire right length of the fairway, demanding the same precision as the moat around a driveway.

At Vintage Wings of Canada it is our mission to acquire, restore, maintain and fly classic aircraft of Canadian historical significance. It is our goal to inspire and educate future generations about our nation's rich aviation heritage while commemorating military veterans who gave so much for our simple liberties today.

• For $6, you get 30 minutes of electric kiddy-kar rental (for customers 54" and shorter), plus unlimited access to the park (up to a $13 value). • For $10, you get 20 minutes of gas-powered ATV rental (for customers 54" and taller), plus unlimited access to the park (a $20 value). Mini-A's expansive park delights children ages 1–12 with kid-friendly structures and vehicles that safely allay adrenalin. Youngsters shorter than 54 inches can take the wheel of an electric kiddy kar while zooming for 30 minutes along the asphalt track, securely picking up speed and practicing for their first solo fast-food run. Taller kids can instead cruise for up to 20 minutes in a gas-powered all-terrain vehicle, and both age groups get unlimited access to the park's elaborate play land. Activities such as mini golf, climbing structures, inflatable bounces, and trampolines buoy youthful energy as the slick splash pad cools kids like a blown-kiss from a polar bear.

Nestled against Champlain Lookout, the highest point along the Ottawa River, Storyland's 90 verdant acres augment scenic vistas with a water park, mini golf, petting zoo, and other family-friendly attractions. Guests can sojourn to the top of Champlain Lookout, a prime spot to high-five passing hot air balloon captains and gaze 40 kilometres in all directions. Fairytale Trail invites patrons to meander down forested trails where storybook characters enact fairytale tableaus. Pay tribute to farmyard animals at Storyland's petting zoo, or get legs in shape for bubble-wrap stomping in paddleboats that cruise Windmill Pond. Merrymakers can cool down overheated fun receptors at the Splish-Splash Spray Park boasting inflatable waterslides and fountains of water, and refuel at the Storyland Café.

Operating on the trails that hosted the 2010 Bristol Dryland dog-racing championship, Timberland Tours employs experienced guides and 40 canines to propel adventure-seekers on year-round excursions of Pontiac county. Guides operate from a rustic wooden cabin headquarters, huddled in a circle of tall evergreens, which hosts revellers inside or on an open porch. An adjacent barbecue grill and bonfire pits often blaze with friendly flames, and trophy and photo displays inside the cabin chronicle sledding victories and awards for particularly memorable ghost stories from sleepovers. In winter months, two-person sleds carry riders down wooded trails, and in warm weather lightweight wagons send them soaring along on dog carting trips. Timberland Tours fuels its sleds using highly trained teams of Alaskan pointer, husky, and greyhound mixes.