Winter is such a beautiful season, especially here in Ottawa. But it can be tricky to know exactly where to go to get out on the trails, because a lot of the trails we’re used to hiking in the summer are closed. Or they have different rules in the winter, like trails that are groomed strictly for cross country skiing, or closed to dogs in the winter.

But there are still a lot of great choices for hiking in the winter, if you know where to look! We do our best to get outdoors even in the winter, and our snowshoes definitely help with that. Below are some of the places we’ve explored and loved during the winter months!

Gatineau Park

Of course, Gatineau Park is a great place to get out and play in the snow.

There are only a few trails in Gatineau Park that are designated strictly for hiking (versus snowshoeing) in the winter. These trails are groomed once a week, which makes it easy to walk along them with just winter boots. Dogs are allowed on each of these trails during the winter:

The Lauriault Trail is a 5 kilometre hike that has it all! Not only are there some great views, there’s a beautiful waterfall, AND really cool ruins. It’s an easy hike that’s perfect for a short walk in the park.

The Sugarbush Trail starts right at the Gatineau Park visitors centre. It’s a really short trail, coming in at just 1.9 kilometres long. When we hiked it, we added on Trial 13 in order to make it just a little bit longer. The Sugarbush Trail is nice and wide, for walking side by side with friends or family members, and has some cool features, like a rock shelter. For a really easy, short walk, this trail is perfect in the winter!

The Pioneers Trail

The Pioneers Trail is the only trail that’s designated for hiking in the winter that we haven’t been out on. It’s on the list for this winter!

There are also lots of trails in Gatineau Park that are just for snowshoeing, or are combination snowshoe and fat bike trails. Trails on the NCC’s map of Gatineau Park that are pink are available for snowshoeing. Gatineau Park tends to keep its snow earlier (and later) than other areas in Ottawa, which is great for winter hiking!

Some of the trails we’ve snowshoed and loved are:

Trails 60 and 61 are perfect for anyone wanting to experiment with snowshoeing. They are two separate loops, and you can decided to complete one (for a shorter hike) or both, making your trip a bit longer. Despite the short overall distance of these trails, and their proximity to the Gatineau Park Visitor’s Centre, you still get the feeling of escaping into the forest when you’re out exploring them. The Visitor’s Centre rents snowshoes so if you’re REALLY new to snowshoeing and want to try before you buy, these trails could be the ticket!

Let’s be honest, Wolf Trail is a great trail any time of year. Which makes it extra special that it’s open for snowshoeing in the winter! Dogs aren’t allowed on the trail in the winter, but that doesn’t seem to stop people from heading out- every time I’ve snowshoed this trail in the winter, it’s been pretty packed down. Wolf Trail is just over 8 kilometres long, so it makes for a good half day hike. And the views remain fantastic throughout the winter.

Trail 73 is CHALLENGING because of its length. But totally worth it. At a distance of 13.7 kilometres, this trail is more for those who have experience being outdoors in winter. Trail 73 winds beautifully through the forest, and brings you around Lac Philippe before returning to the trailhead. There are a couple of spots to have a campfire along the way, if you wanted to make it a really fun trip!

These trails are great because they’re really close to Gatineau. Alone, they’re a little over 5 kilometres, but you could also add on Trails 68 and 76 to head out for a longer trip! The snowshoeing on these trails is a bit hilly, but not too challenging. Perfect for the start of the season when your snowshoeing muscles might not be as strong as they normally are!

I’ve had a real soft spot for this trail ever since I saw a little guy celebrating his birthday at one of the cabins along the trail a few years ago. This trail is just under 9 kilometres, and there are actually two cabins that are heated throughout the winter to offer a warm place to rest and hang out for a bit.

Greenbelt Trails

A lot of the trails in the Greenbelt on our side of the river are set aside for cross country skiing in the winter. But there are a few that are available just for snowshoeing, which is nice, because they’re just a little bit closer to home.

The trails at Stony Swamp are open for snowshoeing, and I absolutely LOVED the Jack Pine Trail. There was a ton of wildlife around when I went to visit, which made our walk through the woods incredibly fun. Plus, the way the Jack Pine Trails are laid out, there are lots of options to make the hike shorter or longer, depending on what you’re looking for.

These trails aren’t too far from the Jack Pine Trail, and are covered in critters as well. With a cool boardwalk and lookout over the wetlands, these trails make for a really nice (short) winter hike.

The Mer Bleue trails are at their most beautiful in the summer and fall. But the trails are open for snowshoeing too, and would still make for a great winter walk.

Conservation Areas

Conservation Areas are amazing places throughout Ontario that don’t always get as much attention from hikers in Ottawa as Gatineau Park and the Greenbelt do. Often, it takes a little bit of a drive to get to these places, but it is SO worth it! Especially considering that these spaces are open for hiking year round, are inexpensive to access, and are dog friendly. I’ve also found that the trails at conservation areas tend to be really well managed, and really well marked, making them easy to follow.

Some of the trails we’ve done at Conservation Areas that we liked are:

The Forest Hike Trail is 4 kilometres long start to finish, and makes for a nice, easy hike through the forest. There are other trails in the area that you could add on to this hike to make it a little longer if you wanted to, and there are some very cool buildings near the trailhead to check out. There’s also a park, picnic tables to eat at, and outhouses, so this is a place you can really spend some time at, even if you have little ones. Bring the family dog too!

Marble Rock is a conservation area in Gananoque without a lot of frills. There’s basically a sign and a parking lot at the trailhead, and that’s it. Regardless, I LOVED hiking here and thought it was totally worth the drive. The trail was really cool, with awesome rocky spots, and because of the distance we were able to cover. The trail at Marble Rock is made up of two loops, so you can decide to do a shorter hike of 7.1 kilometres, or add on the second loop to make your hike 10.6 kilometres. We hiked the longer hike with our pup (although she spent a lot of time being carried).

The Baxter Conservation Area has a total of 5 kilometres of trails throughout the area. It’s south of Ottawa, nestled beside the Rideau River. The trails here are really flat and easy, and super well marked. Plus, dogs are so welcomed here that they even provide poop bags at the trailhead! For a nice, easy stroll through the woods in the winter, Baxter is a great place to be.

Morris Island might have been my absolute favorite winter hike last year. I’m STILL daydreaming about how beautiful it was. The day that I went, it had snowed recently, and the trees looked absolutely stunning. There are a few different trails that can be put together at Morris Island, and lots of great spots to look out over the Ottawa River. The trails aren’t too challenging, and they’re really well marked. Once again, dogs are welcome here year round.

We visit this conservation area all the time. It’s right in Barrhaven, and super easy to get to! An easy walk along the river takes you underneath the Vimy Memorial Brodge, which is awesome in any season! This trail is the first hike I ever took my daughter on, when she was five weeks old. So you know it’s easy!

The Mill Pond Conservation Area is a little further from town, but that just means you have an excuse for a day trip! It’s easy hiking at this conservation area, and with it being a little further away, you might get lucky and have the place all to yourself like we did.

This is definitely one of our new favorites. The views over Westport are too stunning to pass up, especially considering how easy the terrain at Foley Mountain is to hike! With 10 kilometres of trails, you can put together the perfect snowshoe for yourself, and then head into Westport for hot chocolate.

Provincial Parks

I wish every provincial park was open year round. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. But there ARE some that are open in the winter, and they shouldn’t be forgotten when it comes to winter hiking!

Go to this page to see what the operating dates are for different Ontario Provincial Parks. And then bookmark it- trust me! It’s really hard to find.

Of course, Algonquin Provincial Park is open year round. Can you believe we haven’t been yet? Hopefully we’ll be able to add some hikes to this list by next year!

Murphy’s Point Provincial Park

Murphy’s Point Provincial Park is open year round as well, and is pretty close to Ottawa! They have three trails that are available for snowshoeing- the Sylvan Trail, the Silver Queen Mine Trail, and the Point Trail. They also have cross-country skiing trails, but we haven’t tried that yet!

Frontenac Provincial Park

Frontenac Provincial Park is also open year round. We’ve hiked (and liked) the Arkon Loop, and our friends over at www.thingstodoinkingston.ca recommend the Small Slide Lake Loop.

Silent Lake Provincial Park

Silent Lake Provincial Park is a favorite of ours, because we happen to spend a lot of time near Bancroft, ON, already. Not only is it open for hiking (we checked out the Bonnie’s Pond Trail last year), but it’s open for winter camping as well. Maybe it could become a favorite of yours too!

Hidden Gems

In addition to the trails mentioned above, there are some hidden gems in and around Ottawa that shouldn’t be missed in the winter.

South of the city is the Ferguson Forest Centre. It’s a really neat tree nursery that has hiking trails and a dog park that are open to the public year round. We’ve hiked the Turtle Trail a lot, and last year I took the baby snowshoeing on the Alf Campbell Trail.

The Crazy Horse Trail is TRULY a hidden gem, mostly because the trailhead can be tricky to find. But with a little looking, you can find yourself on a trail that’s super close to home, but still gives you the feel of getting away from it all. The Crazy Horse Trail is 6 kilometres long, and perfect for a snowshoe in the winter.

Calabogie

Calabogie is a perfect destination for a quick getaway, and is of course known as being a ski town. However, there are some pretty cools trails winding through the forests there. The Manitou Mountain Trail, featuring the stunning Eagle’s Nest Lookout is a hike that can be approached from two different trailheads. This allows you to take longer hikes of 9 or 18 kilometres, or a shorter hike of only 2 kilometres that still gets you to the lookout.

Nearby, there are also the Madawaska Nordic Trails. We’ve only checked out the Red Pine Trail, which isn’t open for snowshoeing in the winter, but there ARE snowshoe trails available. These trails would be a better choice for beginners in Calabogie because the terrain is much flatter than the trails that run up and around the ski hill in town.

Heading in the opposite direction, Larose Forest is a real treasure for those out in the east end. We have a tradition of snowshoeing there every New Year’s Day, and we tend to stick with the trails that branch off of Parking Lot 7. One day we’ll check out the others and report back, we promise!

I almost forgot about the Cedar Grove Trail in Marlborough Forest! There are tons of trails running through this forest south of the city, and many of them are for motorized vehicles. The Cedar Grove Trail is only for hiking though, so there’s no risk of running into (or being run over by) people enjoying the forest on wheels. The Cedar Grove Trail is an easy 4 kilometre hike, and dogs are allowed year round.

Mont Morissette Regional Park, in Outaouais, is worth the drive! At the summit, there’s a heated cabin, an outdoor fire pit, and a viewing platform with stunning views. And not too far away, an 18 metre observation tower (and a fire tower!) offer stunning 360° views, the likes of which I haven’t seen anywhere else close to Ottawa.

This trail is really cool because when the Rideau Canal was built, it formed a small island. And now, you can hike from one end of that little island to the other- hence the name of the trail! It’s an easy hike, but accessing the trail isn’t for the faint of heart- we had to walk over a set of locks to get there. On the western tip of the island, a pair of Adirondack chairs are perfectly placed for you to sit and look out over the water. Think about bringing your favorite hot beverage along!

1000 Islands National Park

1000 Islands National Park is so close to Ottawa that if you haven’t gone already… You need to! In the warmer months, there’s biking and paddling in the area, as well as hiking. In the winter, trails on the east side and west side of Jones Creek are open for hiking. Or, you can check out the trails near Mallorytown Landing– don’t forget to soak in the view over the river when you’re done. There are lots of great little restaurants in Gananoque to check out, so it’s definitely worth making a day of it!

This forest in Kanata is home to a huge network of shared trails. On any given day, you may be sharing them with bikers, hikers, runners… The list goes on! Trails are open in winter, and there are so many different loops that it’s worth revisiting again and again. Just keep an eye out for fat bikers!

These hiking trails near Pakenham are nice and easy, and loop through the woods in a number of different combinations. Since the Reserve is a bit out of the way, it’s not as busy as trails close to town. That makes it ideal for a peaceful snowshoe and helps you feel like you’re really getting away from it all.

Where to Next?

Is your favorite winter trail on this list, or did we miss it? We’re always looking for cool spots to check out, no matter what the season is. So if you have a suggestion, let us know in the comments!