This hike is part of the Adventure Report Ottawa Hiking Challenge! If you hike this trail, you’re officially working on the Road Trip Edition!

Join our Hiking Challenge Facebook Group to connect with other hikers working on the challenge, and don’t forget to tag us on social media so we can share your progress!

Burritts Rapids is a small town south of Ottawa, along the Rideau River. The creation of the Rideau Canal there resulted in a small island. The “Tip to Tip” Trail is aptly named, because it begins at one tip of the island and ends at the other. Very cool! I love a hike that has a clear beginning and end, or some goal to be reached, like a summit. It just gives me such a pleasant sense of accomplishment. So this hike, while short, is awesome because you walk the length of an island! That’s cool, no matter how short the island is.

The Tip to Tip Trail is perfect for an easy hike, and it has great views of the canal and the river. Plus, the Burritts Rapids lockstation is at the trailhead. I always love checking out the lockstations along the Rideau Canal. I just find them so impressive, and I love seeing how the water moves thru these areas.

Many of the lockstations along the Rideau Canal have beautifully maintained spaces around them with picnic tables and washrooms available for use by the public. Burritts Rapids is no exception. Lockstations can also be camped at, as long as you speak to the lockmaster!

We went out with our newborn daughter and our dog for a fun family hike in late December of this year.

Getting There

Burritts Rapids IS a little ways from Ottawa, especially for such a short hike. But for those of us who live south of the city already, it’s totally worth the trip. And for anyone who wants to head out in that direction, it makes for a great excuse to stop and explore some of the small towns/villages along the way (like Manotick or Kemtpville!).

It takes about fifty minutes to get from Ottawa to Burritts Rapids, taking Highway 416. The trailhead for the Tip to Tip Trail is at the Burritts Rapids lockstation, which you can search for in Google Maps. Or, you can just use these coordinates: 44.982020, -75.786266.

On the Saturday that we went, in mid-December, there was absolutely no one parked in the small parking lot there. In fact, we only saw one other person (and dog) on the trail the entire time we were out there!

There was a sign by the road announcing that we had arrived, so it was really easy to find.

The Trailhead

We started tracking our hike from the parking lot on our GPS. Technically though the trailhead starts at the tip of the island.

Getting to this trailhead was a very unique experience- and I didn’t love it!

In order to reach the trailhead, we had to get from the side of the canal we were on, over to the island. And in order to do THAT, we had to cross a tiny bridge built into the lockstation, with a tiny rail on each side! It was HIGH above the water flowing through the canal, and I have a bit of a fear of heights. If you do too, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The Trail

When I finally shuffled across to the island, there was a sign up with some information about the trail. It was pretty easy to figure out that we needed to turn to our left to start the trail, because to our right was the end of the island.

We found ourselves walking on a nice flat path, with the canal on one side of us and cedars on the other. The path was wide enough that it was easy for us to walk side by side and chat.

We had hiked about 600 metres when we began to see some houses on our right hand side. A few hundred metres later, there was a sign that pointed us in the right direction- right through the backyards of some houses! As much as it’s very easy to follow this trail (because it never leaves the shoreline), that sign was in the perfect spot. Without it, I would have felt way less comfortable following the shoreline behind those houses. We never actually got too close to them- there was at least 30 metres from the houses to the shoreline, but it still felt a little funny.

The Middle of the Island

Near the middle of the Tip to Tip Trail we saw the bridge connecting the mainland to the island. We crossed over the road, and the trail widened, becoming a service road. The road was gated, so I don’t think it’s open to the public. But there WERE tire tracks in the snow when we went, so it’s probably best to stay alert on this section of the trail, just in case a driver doesn’t see you.

The hiking was even easier here, and we strolled along peacefully for another 700 metres. Then, we started hearing the rapids that (we assumed!) the town was named after. They sounded strong and fast moving, and we soon started to catch glimpses of them thru the trees. I love watching rapids, so I was really excited when we saw the trees opening up and allowing us to get closer to the water, after we had been hiking for about 1.9 kilometres in total.

We headed down a small hill to the shore of the Rideau River, where a huge dam had been built. The water was pouring thru it at a furious rate, and we spent some time on the top of the dam taking it in. Please be very careful here!

The Other Tip

Just past the dam, the road ended, so the trail became narrower and began to wind thru the forest again.

Before this, the trail had stayed really close to the shoreline, so it had been pretty windy along the way. On this section of the trail the wind was cut by the trees a little more, which was nice.

We started to see water on either side of us, so we knew the island was becoming thinner and we were approaching the other “tip.” When we reached the end of the island, having hiked about 2.3 kilometres, we got a neat surprise. Parks Canada had put a beautiful set of Adirondack chairs out so that the view could be enjoyed comfortably! It was a really nice touch that I haven’t seen before.

Getting Back

After enjoying the view from the end of the island for a bit, we headed back the exact same way we had come. By the time we crossed back over the lockstation (carefully!), we had hiked a total of 4.5 kilometres. We covered that distance in one hour and eleven minutes. Normally we stop for lots of pictures and take a few breaks, but this time around we were moving pretty quickly because we’re still figuring out this whole “hiking with a baby” thing. She normally gives us a few hours but you never know!

The entire length of the Tip to Tip Trail was nice and wide, flat, and easy to hike on. There was a lot of cool stuff along the way, and even if there hadn’t been, walking alongside the water is always nice. I found out later that there’s also a self-guided walking tour of the town that can be done. We might have to come back and do that too!

The Tip to Tip Trail, and the Burritts Rapids lockstation, makes for a neat half day trip and is perfect for families who like to get outdoors and explore.

I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!

Map and Elevation Gain

Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.

Gear We Brought