Trails

ValleyExplore.com is an online guide to walking, biking, driving, cross-country skiing, canoeing and waterfall trails in the Ottawa Valley, Ontario. The guides provide information, maps, and photographs in an easy to navigate format to connect you to the numerous beautiful locations in the Ottawa Valley.

County of Renfrew officials took steps towards the development of a county-wide trail strategy by organizing a series of four public meetings on trails in 2006. A February 2007 draft report summarizes the results of these meetings and describes the County’s network of trails as they existed at that time.

The report lists improved heath, strong economies, strong communities and healthy environments as four main benefits of trails. It notes that volunteers do the majority of the work to develop and maintain trails and need to be recognized for their efforts. It identifies access to the County’s abandoned rail lines as a high priority. The County has made a big step in this direction by purchasing the Renfrew to Calabogie segment of the old K & P rail line and developing it as a multi-use trail.

Renfrew County has an abundance of water: lakes, wetlands, and rivers, including the Ottawa itself. The 2007 report points out that in terms of total length of trails for non-motorized use, the County trail system is primarily represented by canoeing trails. Yet more could be done to identify and promote canoe routes in the County. For example, an “official” system of portages around the dams and rapids along the Renfrew County portion of the Ottawa River is lacking.