A Weekend in Ottawa
Drive from Toronto to Canada's capital for two nights: an evening walk past the Rideau Canal locks to dinner in the ByWard Market, a free House of Commons tour at West Block while Centre Block is closed for rehabilitation, the National Gallery and a canal cruise, then the Canadian Museum of History and Gatineau Park's Pink Lake and Champlain Lookout across the river in Québec.
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Ottawa summers are warm and often humid: in July, highs are usually around 26 °C (79 °F) and lows near 15 °C (59 °F), with afternoon thunderstorms. September is milder, with highs near 20 °C (68 °F), and by early October highs are usually 12–15 °C (54–59 °F), with frosty nights possible. Rain is spread through the year, so a shower on one of the days is likely. The Champlain Lookout, up on the escarpment, is often windier and cooler than downtown. These are seasonal expectations, not a forecast for your travel date; check the Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast the evening before and the morning of each drive.
Admission and parking are separate. Check current conditions before departure.
Drive from Toronto to the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, ride the boat into the mist, then follow the Niagara Parkway north past the Floral Clock and Queenston Heights to the Victorian main street of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the War of 1812 ramparts of Fort George.
A car-free summer day in downtown Toronto: breakfast at St. Lawrence Market, the city ferry to Centre Island, a lakeside boardwalk walk to the beach and cottages of Ward's Island, back across the harbour to Harbourfront Centre and Queens Quay, and dinner on the brick lanes of the Distillery District.
A market-day loop west of Toronto: Canada's largest year-round farmers' market at St. Jacobs, lunch in the Mennonite-country village, the 22 m (72 ft) limestone gorge of the Grand River at Elora Gorge Conservation Area, then the stone streets of Elora and Fergus before the drive home.
Drive from Toronto to Stratford for a morning on the Avon River and in the Shakespearean Gardens, lunch downtown, and a 1:30 pm matinee at the Stratford Festival, then end the day in the limestone town of St. Marys with a walk over the high Sarnia Bridge and dinner before the drive home.
Drive north from Toronto to the top of the Niagara Escarpment above Georgian Bay: scramble through the crevasses and cross the long suspension bridge at Scenic Caves, ride the Open-Air Gondola at Blue Mountain, look for 450-million-year-old fossils on Craigleith's shale shore, and end the day at Collingwood's harbour and old main street.
Two nights in Prince Edward County, the island of farms, vineyards and small towns on Lake Ontario, about 2½ hours east of Toronto: sunset at Wellington, a morning on the sand dunes and beaches of Sandbanks Provincial Park, an afternoon of tastings along Closson Road, then Lake on the Mountain and the free Glenora Ferry on the way home.
A fall-colour weekend from Toronto: the Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst and Lions Lookout over Huntsville on Friday, a full day on Algonquin Park's Highway 60 corridor with the Lookout Trail, the Visitor Centre deck and the Track and Tower Trail on Saturday, then the Dorset Scenic Lookout Tower, the Lake of Bays shore and Bracebridge Falls on Sunday.