gatineau park

Dates traveled: August 2015; September 2, 2017; May 12, 2018; August 6, 2018; many others

I’ve never been fair to Gatineau Park.

The first time I remember going was hiking a 2km mostly boardwalk trail around Pink Lake, begrudging that this is what was considered hiking in central Canada.

I lived in Ottawa for six years and never went to Gatineau Park once that I can remember. The outdoors weren’t my thing; I didn’t have a car. I only went to Gatineau a few times when I was 18 to go to Le Bop (now a brewery) or somewhere similar. The only park I conceived of at the time had swings and a slide, usually some sand.

A lot changed in my life between 2013 and 2015. I did a lot of hiking. I spent lots of time outdoors. I drove across the country. Most of the beaches I knew were jagged rock or stone, not sand like I saw in the movies.

The good: Gatineau Park is the closest large nature-y spot in the Ottawa area, accessible by rental car, car borrow, an ambitious bike ride or a bus ride and walk. There are (small) beaches, though normally crowded. I’ve legitimately enjoyed some of the trails, one in particular I remember around Meech Lake.

I wonder what I would’ve thought of Gatineau Park if I went there as a novice nature-seeker. I probably would’ve been surprised by how fresh the air felt on my lungs, the trees and dirt paths, the lookouts. Or maybe I would’ve been so bothered by bugs I never would’ve went back.

It’s nice to go for a hike on the weekend even if you know it’s not going to be the best hike you’ve ever been on. It’s about expectations. And there are still a lot of trails I’ve never been on and probably will never attempt. As accessible as it is for an Ottawa resident, I don’t have a car, and wanting to go for a hike isn’t really a great reason to borrow someone else’s. In a way even though it’s close by, it’s not so close that there’s the potential to visit regularly. It’s not part of my everyday.

If I were to buy a house in the Ottawa area and had to choose now where to do that, it’d be in a rural area near Gatineau Park. I’m either a downtown-ish or big house in the country with lots of land type person; I’m not into the in-between. Houses are a lot more affordable on the Quebec side, even with the higher taxes, and you can be out in farmland while still being relatively close to downtown Ottawa. In Ottawa, the suburbs fill a lot of space between Parliament and the countryside.

I think I take Gatineau Park for granted. It’s not a site I would say an out of towner should visit. I would say say to a local who wants to get out of the city one afternoon that it’s a great place to go, and there are several trails worth doing.

If you’re an avid hiker, though, and you’re looking for your next amazing adventure, there are other places I’d recommend first a few hours further away. Places more for a long weekend.

Gatineau Park is nice for what it is: a park close to a major city where people can hang out and be in nature with relative convenience. It’s no showstopper. It probably was never meant to be. As much as it’s not my favourite, I enjoy spending time there to remember how much stress berates my posture from being surrounded by the city almost every day I’m alive.