Quick Answer: Ottawa is surrounded by easy day trips, from Gatineau Park and Perth to Kingston, Montreal, Prince Edward County, and Vankleek Hill. For craft beer fans, Beau’s Brewing. is the standout stop, with Lug Tread on tap in the town where it was born.
Ottawa is a genuinely great city. Parliament Hill, the Byward Market, the canal in winter - there's always something going on. But sometimes you wake up on a Saturday and just want to get out of town for a few hours, see something different, and wind up somewhere you didn't expect.
Good news: the region around Ottawa is stacked with day trip options. Whether you're heading into the Ottawa Valley, looping through Eastern Ontario's small towns, or making the drive to Montreal a proper adventure rather than a blur on the 417, there's no shortage of reasons to point your car somewhere new.
And if you happen to land in Vankleek Hill - well, we have opinions about that.
Why the Ottawa Region Is Perfect for Day Trips
Ottawa sits right where Ontario and Quebec meet, which gives day trippers an unusually good mix of landscapes, towns, and experiences within easy reach.
Head west and you’re into the rugged Ottawa Valley. Go east and the St. Lawrence corridor leads toward the Thousand Islands.
Kingston and Prince Edward County are a comfortable two-hour drive, Montreal is under two hours away, and the Gatineau Hills are practically in your backyard.
The roads are easy to manage, the drives are genuinely scenic, and unlike many Canadian getaways, most of these trips do not demand a full weekend to feel worthwhile.
Day Trip 1: Vankleek Hill and Eastern Ontario's Ottawa Valley
Best For: Craft beer fans, anyone who likes a charming small town, cycling, antique shops, local food
Distance from Ottawa: About 70 km east on the 417 - roughly 45 minutes
Vankleek Hill is known as the "gingerbread capital of Ontario" for its ornate Victorian architecture - there are over 200 designated heritage buildings packed into a town of around 2,000 people. Walking around on a warm afternoon is something else.
Stop at Beau's Brewing.
The anchor of any Vankleek Hill day trip is Beau’s Brewing, a local fixture since 2006. It’s the place to enjoy Lug Tread Lagered Ale on draft, right in the town where it was born, surrounded by the brick buildings that have shaped Vankleek Hill since the 1870s.
The full beer lineup runs year-round and seasonal, including Barn Burner Session Ale (easy, crisp, excellent for a day out), Juiced AF New England IPA (hazy, fruity, very drinkable), Beau’s Lite for those keeping things easy, and Wonder Crush when you're in a summery mood. Seasonal taps rotate, so checking ahead is always worth it.
The Taproom is your anchor point for the day - and if you want to take a piece of the trip home, the Barn Burner can glass, a Lug Tread tee, or a VKH snapback from the shop make solid souvenirs.
After Beau's, Vankleek Hill has antique shops, a handful of good spots for lunch, and easy cycling routes through the surrounding county to fill out the rest of the afternoon.
Day Trip 2: Perth - Heritage Buildings, Craft Beer, and a Very Large Cheese
Best For: History fans, foodies, people who like walking a beautiful small town
Distance from Ottawa: About 85 km southwest, under an hour on the 7
Perth is one of Ontario's oldest military settlements and it looks the part. The downtown core is full of limestone and sandstone buildings from the 1800s, many of them still in daily use. Perth Town Hall, Code's Mill, the Perth Museum inside a restored 1840s stone home - it's the kind of place where the built environment tells a story without any explanations.
There's a genuinely good restaurant scene here, a collection of galleries and studios, and - for fans of unusual history - a monument to the world's largest cheese, a 22,000-pound wheel made for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It gets weirder and better the more you read about it.
The drive from Ottawa along Highway 7 also passes through some of the prettiest countryside in Eastern Ontario, so don't rush it.
Day Trip 3: Kingston - History, Water, and the Thousand Islands
Best For: Families, history enthusiasts, anyone who wants waterfront and things to do
Distance from Ottawa: About 195 km west on the 401, roughly two hours
Kingston is the go-to for a proper day out when you want a city-sized experience without a city-sized drive. It was briefly the capital of Canada, the oldest penitentiary in the country is here, Fort Henry overlooks the water like something out of a military history book, and the waterfront is legitimately beautiful.
The 1000 Islands start just east of Kingston, which means you can tack on a boat tour and suddenly your day trip has earned a second story to tell. The Heart of the Islands cruise runs three hours and takes you through one of the most recognizable landscapes in the country.
If you're stopping here on a Toronto-to-Ottawa road trip (or the return), Kingston is the natural halfway point that deserves more than a gas station visit.
Day Trip 4: The Gatineau Hills (Gatineau Park)
Best For: Hikers, swimmers, anyone who wants to be in nature without going far
Distance from Ottawa: Less than 20 km - this is basically a drive to the edge of the city
Gatineau Park is enormous - over 36,000 hectares of Canadian Shield, and the access points are essentially inside Ottawa's back door.
In summer, the hiking trails and swimming lakes (Meech Lake, Lac Philippe, Lac la Pêche) are the main draws. In fall, the colour is genuinely world-class - the mix of maple, birch, and oak puts on a show that draws visitors from across the country. In winter, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing take over.
It's not really a "destination" day trip in the usual sense, but for anyone who hasn't actually explored the park, it reframes how close to wilderness Ottawa actually is.
Day Trip 5: Montreal - Make the Drive Count
Best For: Food lovers, culture, people who like saying they went to Montreal for the day
Distance from Ottawa: About 200 km east on the 417/40, under two hours
Montreal is technically a day trip from Ottawa. It's a very good one. You get the Plateau, Old Montreal, the Jean-Talon Market if you time it right, some of the best bagels in North America, and a city that runs on a completely different energy than anywhere else in Canada.
The practical move is to leave early, get there before the lunch rush, walk Mile End and Old Port, eat well, and head back before the Sunday-evening return traffic on the 417 starts stacking up.
If you're coming from Toronto and planning to continue to Ottawa, this stretch - Toronto through Prince Edward County, Kingston, Vankleek Hill, then Ottawa - makes for one of the best road trips in the province. The Vankleek Hill stop at Beau's sits almost exactly between Kingston and Ottawa, which makes it the natural spot to stretch your legs, grab a pint, and make the last leg of the drive feel earned.
Day Trip 6: Merrickville and the Rideau Canal
Best for: Canal history, boutique shopping, a genuinely picturesque village
Distance from Ottawa: About 75 km southwest, under an hour
Merrickville is called "the jewel of the Rideau" and it earns the nickname. The village sits on the Rideau Canal - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - at the point of the three locks that mark the canal's midpoint.
The Blockhouse Museum, the walking tour of heritage properties, the boutiques and studios on Lawrence Street - this is a very easy half-day trip that punches well above its size.
For anyone who wants to follow the Rideau Scenic Heritage Route all the way from Kingston to Ottawa - a 281-kilometre drive along the canal - Merrickville is one of the highlights you'd plan a stop around.
Day Trip 7: Prince Edward County
Best For: Wine, beaches, farm-to-table food, cycling
Distance from Ottawa: About 175 km west, roughly two hours
Prince Edward County is having a moment that shows no signs of ending. The limestone-rich soil produces excellent wine - particularly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay - and the wineries have been followed by farm-to-table restaurants, boutique hotels, and a general sense that someone decided this peninsula was going to become a destination and succeeded completely.
Sandbanks Provincial Park is one of the largest freshwater sand dune and sandbar systems in the world. The beach in summer is genuinely beautiful, though the park fills up - booking a day pass in advance is the move.
Picton is the main town and worth an afternoon on its own. Wellington on the lake is where many of the best accommodations are. The Drake Devonshire has waterfront rooms and a restaurant that makes the trip worthwhile on its own.
Making the Trip from Toronto a Day Trip to Ottawa
For anyone driving from Toronto to Ottawa, the direct route is about 450 km on the 401 - roughly 4.5 to 5 hours. Taken that way, it's a long drive. Stretched into a day trip (or weekend trip) with stops, it becomes one of the better road trips in Ontario.
The natural routing:
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Toronto - Head east on the 401 and let the city fade in the rearview. The drive opens up quickly once you clear Scarborough.
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Port Hope or Cobourg (about 1 hour) - Both sit right on Lake Ontario and make for an easy first stretch of the legs. Cobourg has a sandy beach, a beautiful Victorian-era town hall, and a boardwalk worth a slow lap. Port Hope is quieter, with a heritage main street and the scenic Ganaraska River running through the middle of town.
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Prince Edward County (about 2 hours) - Take the exit toward Trenton and cross into the County for wine, farm-to-table food, and Sandbanks Provincial Park - home to one of the largest freshwater sand dune systems in the world. If you're doing this stretch in fall, the County's back roads through the vineyards are worth the extra time.
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Kingston (about 2.5 to 3 hours) - The halfway point, and a proper one. Fort Henry overlooks the water from the hill above the city, the waterfront is genuinely beautiful, and if you want to add a boat tour through the Thousand Islands, this is where you board. Give yourself a couple of hours here.
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Vankleek Hill - Beau's Brewing. (about 4 hours) - This is the stop that turns a long drive into a good story. Pull off the 417 about 45 minutes before Ottawa, walk into the Beau's Taproom, and let a pint of Lug Tread on draft do what it does. Pick up a classic flannel or a camp mug from the shop while you're there. You'll be glad you stopped.
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Ottawa (about 4.5 to 5 hours total) - Arrive refreshed rather than road-worn. That's the whole point.
The Vankleek Hill stop works perfectly at the end of the Kingston leg - you've been driving for a few hours, you want somewhere real to stop rather than a highway rest area, and a pint of Lug Tread at the source is a genuine reward.
Stock up at the taproom, pick up a classic flannel or a camp mug for the cottage while you're there, and pull into Ottawa refreshed.
The where to buy page has retail locations throughout Eastern Ontario and Quebec if you need a Beau's fix closer to home.
A Few Practical Notes for Ottawa Day Trippers
Here are a few notes to get the most out of your Ottawa day trip:
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Timing: The 417 west out of Ottawa and the 40/417 east to Montreal can both stack up on Sunday evenings. Build in buffer if you're returning on a weekend.
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Seasons: The Ottawa Valley and Eastern Ontario are beautiful year-round, but fall (late September through mid-October) is the time to be driving these roads. The colour is exceptional. Gatineau Park specifically draws visitors from across Canada for the fall foliage.
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Getting Your Bearings: The Beau's taproom in Vankleek Hill is open through the week and on weekends - check the events page before heading out, because there's often something worth timing your visit around.
Make the Most of Your Next Ottawa Day Trip
The best Ottawa day trips do not need to be complicated. Pick a direction, give yourself time to wander, and make the drive part of the fun instead of something to rush through. From Gatineau Park and Perth to Kingston, Montreal, and Vankleek Hill, there is plenty within reach of the capital, and a stop at Beau’s makes the day feel even more worth it.
Ready to start somewhere close? See what's on tap, check out the Beau's shop for road trip gear, or find Beau's near you before the trip begins.