Ottawa | Naturally Ottawa

Canada geese rest in the shallows of Lac Deschenes on the Ottawa River, while dozens of white-sailed boats race in the distance — Canada Geese and Regatta – Lac Deschenes, Ottawa River

A photograph of sunset over the Rideau Canal from the Corkstown Footbridge. — Sunset from the Corkstown Footbridge

A View from the top of Green Mountain in Early Spring — View from Green Mountain

Maple leaves glow red and gold in a sunbeam through the forest canopy. — Forest Light

Twilight on the Corkstown Footbridge. A bright planet and crescent moon hang in a dark, navy-blue sky. A faint orange glow lingers behind the distant Gatineau Hills. — Twilight on the Corkstown Footbridge

A marsh lies in the floodplain of the Mississippi River. — Mississippi River Wetland

A white canoe rests on the shoreline of a small creek where it enters the Mississippi River. Lush, green vegetation covers the shore. — Exploring the Shoreline

A view from the Corkstown Footbridge of the colourful trees lining the Rideau Canal. — Autumn Colours on the Rideau Canal

A small balanced rock sculpture is silhouetted against the apricot glow of dusk on the Ottawa River. — Rock Balancing

Evening at St. Andrews Lake, Barron River

A shallow creek runs under the shade of leaning cedar trees — Poole Creek

At sunset, glowing clouds reflect in the still water of the Rideau River. — The Rideau River

Alexandra Bridge and Statue of Samuel de Champlain

A patch of sunlit shoreline reflects in the still dark water of a creek. — Reflections

“Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

Little breezes dusk and shiver,

Through the waves that run for ever

By the island in the river

Flowing down to Camelot”

– Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shallot

The Rideau River doesn’t flow down to Camelot, although the old City Hall, perched on its island just upstream of the Rideau Falls has its own, nostalgic mistique. But my romance with the Rideau River has not waned in the twenty-odd years that I’ve lived in Ottawa. In fact, it has deepened.

The bow of a canoe points along the shoreline of the Rideau River — Canoeing on the Rideau River

The Rideau River runs for almost 20 kilometres through urban Ottawa, although the section along which I spend most of my time is the 12 kilometre stretch from Carleton University to the Rideau Falls. Several times a week, from late spring until mid-autumn, I ride my bicycle along the bordering pathways. Once or twice a month I put my canoe in at Strathcona Park, and paddle up the river, with camera and binoculars beside me and a big fly trailing behind in the current in the vain hope of picking up a muskie. Or I walk down with my rod and waders to a favourite ledge, where I cast to the big bass that lurk at the edge of a deep channel.

On any day, I never know what wildlife I will find at the river. In the winter, mallards and goldeneyes congregate in the swift, open reaches. In the spring and autumn, migratory waterfowl pass through: buffleheads, loons, black ducks, common and hooded mergansers…. In the summer, the river and the woods teem with birds: more mallards, wood ducks, great blue herons, mergansers, double-crested cormorants, spotted sandpipers, and songbirds of every kind. More than once, I’ve lifted my head to the piping alarm of blackbirds to watch a Cooper’s Hawk fly swiftly across the river. The Royal Swans, released from their winter captivity, glide along the shoreline.

A spectacular, multi-coloured male wood duck swims in the river. — Wood Duck

A pair of white swans swim along the grassy, far shore of the Rideau River, which ripples in a breeze. — Royal Swans on the Rideau River

Not just birds frequent the Rideau. Bullfrogs groan in the shallows, and muskrats wind between lilypads and pickerelweed. I’ve cruised my canoe up to somnolent snapping turtles, and cautiously edged toward wary painted turtles. On an evening bicycle ride, I’ve exchanged curious stares with an otter. In the dawn of another day, I’ve paddled quietly past a doe and fawn drinking at the water’s edge. The Rideau River provides a natural refuge and a ribbon of life through the heart of Ottawa.

A pair of painted turtles bask on the shoreline of the river. — Painted Turtles

An enormous snapping turtle basks on a whitened log, her clawed, rear leg dangling toward the water. — Snapping Turtle

The abundance and diversity of wildlife attests to the health of the Rideau River, especially considering the number of people that come to enjoy its offerings. Some people come to fish. Some come to cool their feet in the clean current — especially at the shallow, limestone ledge that spans the river at Strathcona. Some come to feed the ducks. Some come for exercise, to walk, run or ride along the pathways. Some come merely to enjoy the views, to quiet their minds beside the water, or to hold hands with a sweetheart.

Balloons float over the Rideau River, while two wading fishermen cast lures into the stream. — Sights Along the Rideau

Two children and their mother play along the shoreline under the boughs of a tree. — Back to Nature

A young couple sit together on a log on the far, wooded shore of the river. Several towers loom in the distance. — A Quiet Refuge

I have lived in Victoria, Vancouver, Halifax, Edmonton, and Toronto. I have visited most other Canadian cities at one time or another. I don’t know any urban, natural space that exceeds the beauty of the Rideau River. In another place — a New York, a London, or a Tokyo — it would be celebrated and promoted. In books and movies, lovers would embrace and part on its shady banks. Photographers would immortalize it. Poets would write of it. In modest Ottawa, though, it rolls on almost unheralded. Perhaps we like it that way. Perhaps that’s the secret of its charms.

Tag: Ottawa

Landscapes

The Rideau River