Discover the Ottawa Valley by Bike (Arnprior to Carleton Place, ON)

This 80km return tour is a great way to discover some of the small towns in the Ottawa Valley by bike along the Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail (OVRT). The OVRT is an old CP rail line that was converted into a recreational corridor. It is important to note that the trail is unpaved and shared with four-wheelers/ATVs, so it may not be ideal for some road bikes. It is however, entirely flat with no major inclines. The tour will take you most of the day to complete with all the stops, however you can also shorten this tour by changing the start or end points.

The Ottawa Valley is located on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People.

Tour map

`The recently-converted rail line connects many small towns in the Ottawa Valley (Apr 2021)`

Leg 1 - Arnprior to Packenham (14km)

The tour begins in Arnprior, Ontario, about 50km west of Ottawa on Highway 417. Situated where the Madawaska and Ottawa Rivers meet, the town was historically a base for the lumber industry. Arnprior is now a fast-growing community just outside the City of Ottawa’s boundaries. Park at Robert Simpson Park (400 John Street), along the banks of the Ottawa River.

Get on your bike and head down John Street through the heart of Arnprior for about 1.5km.
Make a left onto the Recreational Trail (right before William St.)
After biking about 12km, turn off on Waba Road and then left on Country Road 29 (the main road) to enter the village of Pakenham.

Penny’s Fudge Factory
2483 County Road 29
Pakenham, Ontario
Hours: 11am-5pm Wednesday- Sunday
Closed Monday and Tuesday

3 Apples Bakery
2544 County Road 29
Pakenham, Ontario
11am-5pm Friday, 10am-4pm Saturday, 10am-2pm Sunday

Make a quick fudge stop at Penny’s Fudge Factory on Pakenham’s (now part of Mississippi Mills) main street. Penny’s is famous for it’s more than 50 flavours of homemade fudgy goodness and is located across the street from the village’s most famous attraction - the Pakenham Bridge. Built in 1901, this bridge is the only five-stone arch bridge in North America and Five Span Bridge Park provides a picturesque site by the Mississippi River.

As an alternative to fudge, just 350 metres down the street, you’ll find a brand new gluten-free bakery: 3 Apples.

`Pakenham’s Five Span Bridge, an architectural marvel (Apr 2021)`

Time to get back on the bike. The next stretch is longer but as a reward, comes with a lunch at the end.

Leg 2 - Pakenham to Carleton Place (26km)

Retrace your steps back onto the Recreational Trail.
Continue south for about 25km.
Hop off the trail on Bell Street in Carleton Place.

We’re skipping over Almonte for now, but don’t worry we’ll be hitting this gem of a town on the way back. For now, we head straight to Carleton Place, another town built on the success of the logging industry. Hop off the trail on Bell Street, right before the trail crosses the much smaller Canadian version of the Mississippi River.

The Waterfront Gastropub
12 Bell Street
Carleton Place, ON
8am-midnight

Our lunch spot is the Waterfront Gastropub, with a beautiful patio on the river with menus for brunch and lunch.

Turn right on Bridge St. and left on High St.

Stalwart Brewing
10 High Street
Carleton Place, ON
12-6pm (until 8pm Friday and Saturday)
Closed Monday

If you want to try a local brewery while in town, head around the corner to Stalwart Brewing and enjoy a ‘Down by the River’ brew down by the (not so) Mighty Mississippi.

Leg 3 - Carleton Place to Almonte (11km)

Heading back to the trail, retrace your steps north for about 11km until you hit Little Bridge Street in the heart of Almonte.

You’ve made it to one of the prettiest towns in Ontario. Take a quick walk on the Riverwalk along the water, and Mill Street - enjoy the scenery, and see for yourself why Almonte has become a favourite filming site of Hallmark Christmas movies.

After you’ve paid your respects to James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, who called Almonte home and now has a statue dedicated to him on Mill Street – it’s time to take a short detour away from historic Almonte. Just outside the town centre, you’ll see why this town has become a hub of innovation. We’ll try world-famous chocolate, a novel concept for vodka, a ‘healthy” donut shop, and a fair trade coffee shop ahead of its time – all within a block or two!

From the rail trail, turn right on Main Street, (which soon turns into Ottawa Street), for about 1 km.
Then, turn right onto Industrial Dr.

Dairy Distillery
34 Industrial Drive
Almonte, ON
10am-5pm Monday-Friday, 11am-5pm Saturday-Sunday

Healthy Food Technologies
25 Industrial Drive
Almonte, ON
7am-5pm (open at 8am Saturday and Sunday)

The folks at Dairy Distillery, work with Ontario dairy farms to turn unused milk sugar into its famous ‘Vodkow.’ Across the street at Healthy Food Technologies, Ed has found a technology that can make deep-fried donuts with 50-70% less fat.

`Inside the state-of-the-art Dairy Distillery factory, makers of ‘Vodkow’ (Apr 2021)`

From Industrial Dr., turn right onto Ottawa St.

Equator Coffee Roasters
451 Ottawa Street
Almonte, ON
8am-4pm

Crooked Mile Brewery
453 Ottawa Street
Almonte, ON
2-6pm Thursday-Friday, 12-4pm Saturday

Hummingbird Chocolate
476 Ottawa St.
Almonte, ON
10am-5pm Monday-Saturday (until 4pm Sunday)

If you’re looking for a perfect cup of coffee to go with your newly-discovered health food, head up the street to the original home of Equator Coffee, which seeks to ‘equate’ the benefit of drinking coffee and the farmers around the world that grow it. If you prefer, you may also be able to try more local beer next door at the Crooked Mile Brewery, if it’s open (current hours are limited). Across the street at their sparkling new location Hummingbird Chocolate owners Erica and Doug, former foreign aid workers, handcraft chocolate from their small workshop and have won prestigious awards for their work.

`A few Almonte specialties (April 2021)`

Leg 4 - Almonte to Arnprior (27km)

It’s time for the final stretch. Get back to the trail and bike 27km to Arnprior.
Before returning to Robert Simpson Park, turn right on Daniel Street and then right on Madawaska Blvd. In about 700 metres along Madawaska Blvd, you’ll hit our last stop.

Wes’ Chips
199 Madawaska Blvd.
Anprior, Ontario
10am-7pm (seasonal; March to October)

Wes’ Chips has been a fixture on Madawaska Blvd for more than 60 years when Wes and Monique Dodds bought an old 1956 Ford truck and came up with a their own french fry recipe. The Dodds sold the business after 32 years, and in 2021, the third group of owners took over – a group of three local Anrprior women, who kept the winning recipe the same.

`Some of the finest fries in the region at Wes’ (Apr 2021)`

Make the quick trip back to the starting point at Robert Simpson Park and that’s it –a bike and food tour of some of the prettiest towns in Ontario!

Route Information

Tour Map

Distance covered: Approximately 80km.

Start at Robert Simpson Park, Arnprior
Head down John Street (1.5km)
Make a left onto the Recreational Trail (right before William St.) and continue for about 14km.
In Pakenham, get off on Waba Road
Turn left on Country Road 29 (the main road)
Penny’s Fudge Factory (2483 County Road 29, Pakenham)
3 Apples Bakery (2544 County Road 29, Pakenham)
Retrace steps back onto the Recreational Trail.
Continue south for about 25km. and get off on Bell Street
The Waterfront Gastropub (12 Bell St., Carleton Place)
Turn right on Bridge St.
Turn left on High St.
Stalwart Brewing (10 High St., Carleton Place)
Retrace steps back to Recreational Trail and go back north for about 11km.
Get off at Little Bridge Street, Almonte.
Historic Almonte
Turn right on Main Street (which turns into Ottawa Street)
Turn right onto Industrial Dr.
Turn right onto Houston Dr.
Hummingbird Chocolate (9 Houston Dr., Almonte)
Dairy Distillery (34 Industrial Dr., Almonte)
Healthy Food Technologies (25 Industrial Dr., Almonte)
Turn right onto Ottawa St.
Equator Coffee Roasters (451 Ottawa St., Almonte)
Crooked Mile Brewery (453 Ottawa St., Almonte)
Retrace steps back to Recreational Trail and continue for about 27km.
In Arnprior, turn right on Daniel Street
Turn right on Madawaska Blvd.
Wes’ Chips (199 Madawaska Blvd., Arnprior)
Head back on Madawaska Blvd.
Turn right on John St. to return to Robert Simpson Park.