One of the most popular attractions at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, and rightly so, is the larger-than-life historic panorama known as the Canada Hall.
The Gatineau River was a wilderness thoroughfare through unbroken Laurentian forest.
Before loggers and farmers cleared its banks, the 275-kilometre long waterway served Algonquin hunters as their main route to the game-rich hinterlands. The river was a link in a vast First Nations trade system joining Huron and Nipissing people in the Great Lakes with Montagnais Innu near Lac Saint-Jean.
The Outaouais-Pontiac Heritage Trail leads to pioneer settlements and historic sites on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, from Aylmer to Fort Coulonge.
For those interested in a heritage of a different kind, Hydro-Quebec’s Rapides-Farmer power generating station on the Gatineau River makes for a truly fascinating and eye-opening visit.
Constructed in 1927 when hydro-electric sites were being developed all across the province of Quebec, the facility has a current production capacity of 98 megawatts of electricity, with a waterfall of over 20 metres.
An interesting ensemble of heritage buildings and other points of interest is located a short walk up Mill Road in historic Wakefield. Mill Road makes for a pleasant stroll as it winds its way uphill a short distance from the village alongside the La Pêche River, which tumbles down the slope to the Gatineau River.
The Glengarry-Prescott-Russell Region of Eastern Ontario is being discovered as a tourism venue. It is a Region rich in many agri-recreational sites, heritage attractions and industrial diversities along the historic Ottawa River. Located off highway # 417, the Region lies between the two metro areas of Ottawa and Montreal. It attracts tourists from both sides of the Quebec-Ontario border and includes towns such as Vankleek Hill, Hawkesbury, L'Orignal, Chute à Blondeau and St Eugène, Hawkesbury, Montebello, Cushing, Carillon etc.
Covering an area of nearly 14,000 square kilometres, and stretching northwest into the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, the La Vérendrye Wildlife Preserve is one of Quebec’s largest parks.
Stamp collectors from novice to expert -- or indeed anyone interested in the history of the postal system -- will enjoy a visit to the Canadian Postal Museum.
Not far from Plaisance, along Route 148, is Parc national de Plaisance (Plaisance Provincial Park). With its 28 square kilometres of islands, peninsulas, and marshes along the Ottawa River, the park is home to a stunning variety of flora and fauna.
