Petrie Island Park — Attraction in Ottawa

My wife and I love this place! It's busy, but there's lots of space and parking, beautiful beaches, many areas to picnic, pull up a boat, set up a shelter, play recreational sports, sit on the beach, go on a number of trails, read displays at an interpretive centre, book sites for get-togethers, and enjoy the Ottawa R. There's a cantine area as well, serving some food, snacks and drinks. Our one criticism is that they want you to swim inside the buoys of the supervised areas, but they don't go deep enough for you to do any more than just wade. I did see the odd person swimming outside, further down the beach, but the river bottom is littered with deadheads, rocks and murky water, so it's not the best, but still fairly good. Things to note: you have to pay for parking and there are no pets allowed. We'll...

Nice area. Big main beach (though there's no shade so bring an umbrella or little tent). There are public washrooms. There is also a little side beach. I think this is mostly used by families- there's picnic tables there and a play structure with a little roped off area for the little kids to swim.

Nice trails that loop around the water and through the woods are right off the beach/parking lot.

Lots of parking but get there early. You have to pay to park (it's pretty cheap) but there is a small area on the main road to park on if you don't mind a 5 minute walk. These fill up fast though.

Lots of birds here too- sparrows, herons, bitterns, orioles, warblers...and turtles in spring! We saw many turtles today sunning on logs and a huge snapping turtle walking through the...

We enjoy coming to Petrie Island with the kids for the beautiful beaches, decent fishing spots (the kids caught their first fish off the dock), and wildlife (we've spotted herons, turtles, frogs, and seen many beaver-chewed stumps). It's a shame that parking isn't free during the summer season, seeing as there are many spaces available. As well, you really have to be careful about the water quality - check the Ottawa E. coli monitoring site and ensure that the levels are acceptable on the day you plan to visit. Otherwise, the sandy beaches are great for small kids and there are plenty of nice...