Nearby - Local Info, Shopping, Eating and Attractions

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‘Deep River: Almost the perfect place to live’

Deep River is located along the beautiful Ottawa river about 200km northwest of Ottawa City in the community of Laurentian Hills. This section of the river was called La Riviere Creuse (the Deep River) by the French explorers in the 17th Century. The town looks across a mile of river to the rolling Laurentian hills in Quebec. It is a busy, vibrant and friendly town with all the amenities centrally located and other interesting spots for eating and shopping along the highway in either direction.

In winter, Laurentian Hills is known as the entrance point to some of the best skidoo trails in the province.

Deep River’s unique history stems from the Manhattan project and the Chalk River Laboratories (formerly the Chalk River Nuclear Research Laboratories), which to this day provide much of the industry in the area. Deep River was the subject of a McLean magazine article in the 50’s entitled ‘Deep River: Almost the perfect place to live’.

Deep River official town website

Downtown Deep River has a community pool, arena, bowling alley, marina, yacht club, tennis club and library.

See local arts and handicrafts in Valley Artisan’s Gallery and Gifts and discover vintage finds in The Trading Post on Highway 17.

Pembroke

The bigger town of Pembroke, with 14,000 residents, lies 40km to the south of Deep River and offers additional shops and restaurants.

Pembroke was a bustling timber town in the early 20th Century and is famous for its heritage murals as well as hockey and natural beauty.

Winter Recreation

The Deep River Arena hosts programs such as ice and ball hockey, figure and family skating, and in-line skating.

Cross county skiing is a popular winter recreation and there are 30km of ski trails on the the Silver Spoon cross country ski trails east of Deep River. An annual race attracts competitors from all over Canada.

There are trailheads for cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing and skidoo-ing at Ogilivies Cottages with access to vast opportunities for exploring.

Summer Recreation

Summerfest is held every 2 years in Deep River in August and is a three-day family friendly festival

The beautiful Burke’s Beach on the Ottawa river is a short drive from Ogilivie’s Cottages.

There is a 5km hiking trail through mixed forest up the 300m Mount Martin in Quebec. Access to the trailhead is by canoe from Deep River.

Driftwood Provincial Park has a variety Interlocking trail loops from 1 to 4 km long through forests and along the river.

The Ottawa tributary, the Madawaska River, flows through Algonquin Park and joins the Ottawa at Arnprior and is perfect for canoeing and whitewater rafting - see for instance Madawaska River Family Rafting.

101 Things to do in the Valley is a good way to keep abreast of any events that might be on in the Ottawa Valley during your stay.

Museums

Deep River is home to the only clock museum in Canada, with over 400 clocks from the early 1800s to the present, emphasising Canadian clocks.

The Schoolhouse Museum is within walking distance of Ogilvies cottage and worth a visit for its glimpse to a world gone by in the Ottawa Valley as well as the annual Cow Patty bingo.

Places to Eat

The Deep River website has a list of places to eat in the locality.

Algonquin Park

The first provincial park in Canada, Algonquin Park is just 40 km from Ogilvie's Cottages. It offers a wide variety of recreational activities from hiking to boating, canoeing, cycling, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, hunting and dog sledding.

Highlights of Algonquin park include:

• Barron Canyon Trail passes through woods to the rim of a 100m deep canyon formed at the end of the ice age.
• Brent Crater Trail situated in the north-east corner of the park, this trail starts at an observation tower that overlooks a 4km wide crater formed by a metor 450 million years ago.
• High Falls a well-marked trail through mixed forest.

Des Joachims Generating Station/Swisha Dam

This 429-megawatt generating station opened in 1950 with a 120 foot high concrete dam that spans the river a few kilometres north of Ogilvie’s Cottages. A McLean’s article from 1949 called it "the biggest dam' dam I ever see".