The Dunrobin area of West Carleton and Rural Kanata is minutes from Ottawa and provides good rides. One of my favourites is to take the twisty River Road to Thomas Dolan parkway, then take the parkway West, through Dunrobin, through an undeveloped forest area, to the Carp road.
Take March road North from the Queensway, passing through the Kanata high-tech region. After you leave the city, the road sweeps left at a traffic light. Turn right at this light, onto regional road 9 toward Dunrobin.
A short distance (less than one kilometre) down, turn right onto Kerwin Road. It’s beside a no-name gas station and general store on the right.
Kerwin winds for a kilometre or two, then straightens out. Keep your speed down in the residential speed zone area.
When you get to a 4-way stop you can either:
- Turn left onto Thomas Dolan parkway, and proceed straight, through Dunrobin, through several kilometres of forest, until you come to a stop sign at the bottom of a hill, at regional road 5. This is the Carp Road, and you can turn left to take the twisty section into Carp, or turn right to head for the Quyon Ferry. Or,
- Turn right to head toward the Ottawa river, and ride through several waterfront neighbourhoods. Scenery, and a couple of marinas where you can rest, admire the river, and enjoy a snack.
Ride along with me on that second option here: