5 Best Places to get Ice Cream in Ottawa's East End

Our family likes to try ice cream wherever we go! And since we live in the east end of Ottawa (Orleans) we’ve obviously sampled all the places to get ice cream in our neighbourhood. Stay tuned as we travel around Ottawa sampling the best cool treats our city has to offer.

Chocolat favoris

180 Vanguard Dr, Orléans
When choosing the 5 “best” I polled my kids, and of course they declared Chocolat favoris to be their favourite. There’s something about the fun flavor and dipping choices that makes this so exciting for kids - also, the “kooky” cones are the most requested.

Menchie’s

4471 Innes Rd #102, Orléans

Frozen yogurt, and all the candy you can dump on top? Kids will say “yes please!” (Parents…our wallets may hurt a little here.)

Marble Slab Creamery

3722 Innes Road, Orleans (across from Toys R Us)
OK confession: we have not actually tried the ice cream here, but it’s on the to-do list! Canadian and locally made, this is definitely a winner for those who like their ice cream to be made close to home.

Laura Secord

Place D’Orleans shopping centre
I realize a trip to the mall is not what you had in mind for ice cream. BUT, I have to admit, Laura Secord’s ice cream is my fave (if parents get a vote??) It’s a very traditional hard ice cream, and I go for plain chocolate every time. Plus, I love the little piece of molded chocolate they stick on top!

Dairy Queen

2002 St. Joseph Blvd, Orleans
We couldn’t make a list of the best ice cream around without mentioning Dairy Queen. Located along St. Joseph in the heart of old Orleans, this place has been around for a long time! And when you’re craving a Blizzard, you really NEED a Dairy Queen Blizzard!

Visit 3 museums in 3 days for $35

Need something to do over the long weekend? Our local museums are offering a passport option for the entire weekend!

Canadian Museum of Nature

With the long weekend coming up, you can choose to visit three museums over the three-day weekend for only $35. The cool part is that each accompanying child (aged 17 and under) receives a minimum 30% discount on general admission. Choose from this list:

• Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

• Canada Aviation and Space Museum

• Canadian Museum of History

• Canadian Museum of Nature

• Canadian War Museum

• National Gallery of Canada

• Canada Science and Technology Museum

Get more details and information on all the specific discounts by visiting Canada’s Capital Museum’s Passport website! You can purchase your pass at any of the participating museums, or head downtown to the Capital kiosk!

Haunted Walks Ottawa - Mackenzie King Estate

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

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Some people say that Canadian history is boring. Perhaps they have never done the Haunted Walk Experience at the Mackenzie King Estate.

Two years ago, my wife, Sandy and our son, David, did a haunted walk tour around downtown Ottawa. Haunted walk are the tour guides who wear the black capes and carry the lanterns. We enjoyed our experience as we learned a lot of history about the city and was not too scary for children. 

When I saw they also offered haunted tours at Mackenzie King estate, it was on our summer to-do list!

We arrived at P6 parking lot well ahead of our 8:15 pm meeting time and explored a few of the trails. We were greeted by our black-cloaked tour guides who provided us with flashlights and also suggested applying a coat of bug spray. 

At 8:30 pm, we met our tour guide, Natasha, and we were off to hear ghost stories and explore the grounds of the estate. 

Mackenzie King is one of our most well-known prime ministers. King led us through a good portion of the Great Depression and World War II. He may be equally as well-known for participating in seances and believing in spiritualism. Ripe fodder for a ghost tour. 

The estate is divided up into two distinct areas. The first is Kingswood where Mackenzie King purchased his first property in 1903. Natasha took us to the main cottage and shared a few spooky stories about the cottage. King was particularly close to his mother and was devastated when she passed away. We were allowed to explore inside the rooms with our flashlight. I felt like I was on an episode of Ghost Hunters. 

We proceeded to the second and more grandiose section of the estate, Moorside. King developed this area after he became prime minister. He would receive foreign dignitaries and heads of state at Moorside. Natasha shared more information about King and some of the strange sightings at Moorside. 

We were again allowed to explore inside the building with our flashlights. After hearing some of the stories, David succeeded in scaring me! He snuck up behind me and said, “Hello Father.” I could have sworn it was Mackenzie King himself.

Our last stop was the Abbey Ruins. This was the scariest and most spectacular area of the estate. King was interested in architecture and would save portions of buildings that were being demolished. These included the parliament hill building which had been destroyed in the 1916 fire. We were treated to a clear sky where we could see the stars and moon. Natasha shared her creepiest stories and we all gripped our flashlights a little bit tighter. And they say Canadian history is boring. 

If you go - it is advised to bring mosquito spray as a good portion of the tour is outside in the evening so that means bugs. Also, coming to Mackenzie King Estate is not too difficult as all the parkways are open. Once the tour is done the main parkways are closed so this means taking back roads back to the highway. It may be helpful to have a GPS or a good map. As mentioned, the tour was not crazy scary and would be suitable for an older child, especially if he/she is into history. 

For more information and schedules visit, www.hauntedwalk.com

Full disclosure, Stephen’s tickets were covered by Haunted Walk, but all opinions are his own.

Family Travel: Camping in Gatineau Park

KITC would like to welcome back guest blogger, Stephen Johnson. Stephen Johnson is an Ottawa writer who loves to write about family travel.  During the summer, you will most likely find him and his family at a local fair or festival. During the winter, a beach in Mexico is a likely bet.  

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Monday may now be my favorite day of the week to go camping. We normally visit Gatineau Park - Lac Philippe on weekends. At times, it can feel like half of Ottawa-Gatineau is in the park escaping the summer heat. This year, we decided to visit on a Monday and it felt like we had the park to ourselves.

We arrived at the Lac Philippe entrance mid-afternoon and received the keys to our yurt - Wanakiwin. Yurting is the perfect option for our family. We are not hard-core campers but love to get out in mother nature. Wanakiwin has a gas barbecue, fire pit, wood stove and bunk style beds providing a comfortable experience in the outdoors. Wanakiwin also means peaceful place in Ojibway which perfectly described the site.

After settling in to the yurt, the first order of business was to prepare some supper. Of course, with the gas barbecue at our disposal, hamburgers were on tap. We also roasted up some corn and red peppers. Nothing screams summer more than eating barbecue food outside.

Once done our supper, it was still hot so we wanted to take a dip in Lac Philippe. Breton beach is my favorite beach at Lac Philippe and the greater Ottawa-Gatineau area. The beach and lake are classic Canadiana with clean water, beautiful woodlands as scenery and loons providing the backing soundtrack.

When we arrived at the beach there were only five or six families still enjoying the water. This was due to our early evening arrival and the day of the week. We loved the serenity. The lake was a perfect temperature having been warmed by the hot summer sun. My son, David, wife, Sandy and I spent the better part of two hours just wading in the lukewarm water. David enjoyed looking at snail shells. I normally have to work Monday nights and thought I could easily get used to this go to the beach lifestyle.

We saw a beautiful sunset at Breton beach and also took this as our cue that we should head back to our yurt. One of the must-dos while camping is to have a campfire. Preceding our trip to Lac Philippe, I mixed up my words and asked David if he was looking forward to having a forest fire. Luckily, Gatineau Park is still intact and we had a wonderful campfire. The best part was burning marshmallows and eating s’mores. We also had an unexpected visit from a raccoon who just casually ambled near our campfire. He did not seem particularly impressed when we tried to scare it off. After a few minutes, he just went away on his own accord.

The next morning we had a delicious breakfast of eggs and beans with coffee. It was time to leave our campsite but David wanted to extend our time in Gatineau Park. Several years ago, we found a lake in Gatineau Park that was teeming with frogs. David loves to observe wildlife and true to form, the small lake was chock a block full of little Kermits. (David will not disclose the site, similar to how people who fish do not give away their favorite fishing hole!)

Having enjoyed our early week nature excursion, we arrived back in Ottawa recharged ready to face city life again.

If you go - Lac Philippe is located inside the boundaries of Gatineau Park and is about a 35 minute drive from Ottawa depending on traffic.

It is well-advised to book campsites, yurts, etc. well ahead of time as spots can fill up quickly, particularly on weekends. https://reservations.ncc-ccn.gc.ca/

Lac Philippe also has some outstanding hiking trails with the Lusk Cave trail being the most well-known. We have never made it all the way to the cave but friends have mentioned you would want to bring extra water shoes and a change of clothes as it is wet inside the cave.

Free things to do with kids in Ottawa

There are times to splurge and do the BIG activities with your kids, but who can afford that all summer long? We’ve come up with a list of over 30 free things to do with kids in Ottawa over the summer months!

1) Free times at all the museums :

National Gallery of Canada
Thursdays 5–8 pm. Also, kids 11 and under are free at ANYTIME!! Check out their Family Sundays starting in September.

Canadian Museum of Nature
Thursdays 5–8 pm

The Canadian Agriculture and Food Museum
Daily 4–5 pm

The Canadian Museum of History
Daily 4–5 pm

The Canadian Science and Technology Museum
Daily 4–5 pm

The Canadian Space and Aviation Museum
Daily 4–5 pm

2) Visit to the library

All their programs are free too, but you have to sign up in advance!

3) Park hop

Get out of your neighbourhood and explore some new parks! Some of our readers’ favourites include Millenium Park, Walter Baker Park, Brewer Park, and Balena Park.

4) Park-ticipate

Speaking of parks, the Park-ticipate program is a free, informal drop-in program offered by the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex-Orléans at various local, rural and urban parks throughout East Ottawa. Children aged 4 to 10 are invited to join staff in this fun-filled program of crafts, games and sports.

5) Visit the parliament buildings

Although Centre Block is closed for tours for many years to come, you can still do tours of the grounds, Senate and House of Commons!

6) Yoga on the hill/zumba on the hill

If tours aren’t your cup of tea, grab your workout gear and head to the hill with the kids for yoga or zumba!

7) Free Festivals

Canadian Tulip Festival May 10–20, 2019 (Admission to Commissioners Park, the Tulip Plaza & Festival Pavilions are free of charge.)

WestFest June 7–9, 2019

Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival June 20–23, 2019

Capital Ukrainian Festival July 19–21, 2019

Ottawa International Busker Fest August 2-5, 2019

Lumière Festival August 24, 2019

8) Sunset ceremonies (RCMP)

In addition to the Sunset Ceremonies in June, you could also pay a visit to the RCMP stables!

9) Shenkman Arts Centre Summer Series

Head to Shenkman for a weekly dose of fun at their summer lunchtime series. These free concerts will take place at 12:30 pm every Thursday in July and August.

10) Fire Station

Call your local fire station and set up a tour!

11) Outdoor movies

Check out this great list of local outdoor movies from Ottawa Kids!

12) Head to a beach!

We’ve got a list of all the local swimming holes around Ottawa. If you’re squeamish about lake swimming (or they’re closed due to e. coli) then check out one of our great outdoor pools!

13) Northern Lights Show on Parliament

If you’re looking for a fun nighttime outing, the light show on Parliament Hill runs all summer until September 8th!

14) Family-Friendly Hikes

There are so many local hikes to enjoy in our area. Check out our list of 5 family friendly hiking trails!

15) Bank of Canada Museum

16) Get free passes to the museums at your local library

A quick tip about those passes, which seem impossible to get. Don’t just go to your local branch to try to find them - check online and find out where they’re available, and then make a trip to that library to snag one!

17) Hog’s Back Falls

Take a bike ride or drive to Hog’s Back and enjoy a beautiful walk by the falls.

18) Rockliffe rockeries

Some spectacular lookouts can be found at Rockliffe Park!

19) Mackenzie King Estate

Access to the National Capital Commission’s parks is free year-round! It’s always a fun outing to go for a hike or to explore the different ruins across the property.

20) Mer Bleue

Mer Bleue is the perfect spot for a picnic, hike or feeding the amazing chickadees!

21) Visit the Humane Society

You wouldn’t think of this as a fun free outing, but who doesn’t love taking a peek at the cats, bunnies, pups and more! You can also inquire about volunteer opportunities or other ways to support the Humane Society! Full tours and “behind the scenes” are available, but there is a cost.

22) Walk or bike along the canal any day

23) Nokia Bike Days on Sunday

24) Explore Lansdowne Park

There are a number of fun and free activities at Lansdowne Park, so check out the City of Ottawa’s schedule. You could also just do a park visit, have a picnic, or browse the Ottawa Farmer’s Market on Sundays!

25) Changing of the Guard

Changing of the guard takes place most days this summer,

26) Drive through Gatineau Park

Remember Sunday drives? They’re totally still a thing! Take a beautiful drive through the park, and maybe you can stop at La Cigale for an ice cream? (not free - but had to be suggested!!)

27) Tour Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall is the place to be all year round! A tour of the grounds or residence is super fun, and in the winter there’s free skating for groups!

28) Take a ride on the bus

OK hear us out - we realize the bus may not be fun for YOU. But if you’re a family that typically drives to most destinations, the bus will be the best part of any outing - especially if you get the kids sitting in the middle of the “accordion.” Ages 5 and under are FREE - 6+ is $1.75.

29) Byward Market

Tour the Byward Market - the new Pedestrian Street is perfect for little ones to play and rest!

30) Public Art

Do a scavenger hunt of all the statues or public art on display in our capital!

31) Public Spaces events at the National Arts Centre

The NAC’s renovations have led to some super fun programming in many of their public spaces. Check out their listings for more details!