The Ottawa Outdoor Club organizes day and weekend, environmentally-sound, outdoor recreational activities year-round at minimal cost for residents of and visitors to the Ottawa and Gatineau communities. Day outings are planned for nearly every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. Weekend trips are typically to destinations in Ontario, Quebec, and the mountain ranges in New York and New England.
Upcoming activities
See our schedule for what's coming up.
With spring here, we are hiking on Sundays. On April 18, we'll start our walks along the canal or the river on Thursday evenings. Later in April, we'll start doing some canoeing on Saturdays or Sundays. We'll soon start bicycling on Saturdays.
We meet at the Sandy Hill Community Centre at 250 Somerset Street East (map).
Who we are
Club members and visitors range in age from post-high-school to retirement age and, like Ottawa itself, are of many nationalities. We welcome children who are with their parent(s) or guardian(s).
All outdoors activities are open to everyone. If you're not a member, we still look forward to seeing you; we'll ask you for the non-member fee and, if canoeing, the canoe rental fee, but you can apply the non-member fee fully to your membership fee when you join within a week. (Two caveats: the Thursday evening walks are free to all, and the Wednesday evening canoe outings are an exclusive benefit of membership.) If you don't have a car, we car pool. Just join us at the meeting location for the event, and we'll go from there.
Members of the Club enjoy added benefits, such as Club discounts of up to 12% at local outdoor equipment shops; free introductory courses in activities such as canoe rescue and snowshoeing, as well as subsidized courses in leadership training and wilderness first aid; and notification of social events throughout the year, including parties, movie outings, and other events. We are a volunteer-run club and, as a result, prices are at cost.
Volunteer!
Volunteers—people like you—run the Ottawa Outdoor Club. Help us by donating your time...and have fun while you're doing it! READ MORE...
Join us for
Come alone or with friends; we look forward to meeting you. It's easy to join in:
- consult the events page to see what interests you
- check the requirements for the trip. A reasonable degree of—but not extreme—fitness is expected for most of our outings, as well as appropriate clothing and footwear. If you have any questions about a trip, contact the trip leader in advance at the phone number or e-mail address provided
- meet at the indicated starting location at the time indicated for further instructions and car-pooling
