On the May long weekend K and I decided to explore our backyard a little and walk the McNamara Trail located in Arnprior, On . The trail is a 4.5 km trail with an optional 1 km loop, it took us about 2 hours to do. This trail is located on Nylene Canada’s land and you can hear the plant operating in the first part of the trail.
The trail has 19 stops along the way and there is a guide book that talks about each stop. There weren’t any printed books at the kiosk but we were able to pull the guide up on our phone here. The trail was simple to walk, mostly flat and there are boardwalks over the marshy areas. It was amazing how green everything was this time of year and we came across some neat plants, lots of trilliums and some little critters.
If you are looking for a great activity in the Ottawa Valley area I suggest taking time to walk this trail. We did not do the optional 1 km loop to the look out tower this time but are hoping to go back when the fall colours are out and it isn’t so hot so that we can do the additional loop.
The trail is a project of the Macnamara Field Naturalists’ Club , you can provide a donation at the start of the trail towards the organization and they have many events and fundraisers throughout the year, so check out their website for more info. The guide mentions that there is Poison Ivy along a few sections of the trail and biting insects will likely be encountered in summer, long pants, appropriate footwear and insect repellant are recommended. We went on a 27 degree day so the bugs weren’t to bad but we did wear bug spray.
Let me know if you know of some other great hiking trails in the Ottawa Valley/Ottawa area that you would suggest!
