A. Commissioners Park
Address: Queen Elizabeth Dr & Preston Street, Ottawa ON K1P 1B1
Services for Visitors: parking $ (available across from the Dows Lake Pavilion, at the corner of Preston St. and Queen Elizabeth Driveway) – washrooms (available in Dows Lake Pavilion) – wheelchair accessible – child-friendly – dog-friendly (on leash)
Description: Follow the winding pathways and take in the explosion of colour in gardens filled with over 250,000 tulips in the spring. In summer, the tulips are replaced by thousands of annual flowers, which create beautiful scenic views with Dows Lake in the background. Located at the corner of Preston Street and the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, Commissioners Park extends over 8.95 hectares. It was built from the 1920s to 1950s on the site of a former lumberyard owned by J.R. Booth.
B. Dow’s Lake Pavilion Boardwalk Garden
Address: 1001 Queen Elizabeth Dr, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5K7
Services for Visitors: Parking $ – Bicycle Racks – Washrooms – Wheelchair Accessible – Child-Friendly – Café and Eating Areas
Description: Dow’s Lake Pavilion offers an ideal scenic location to enjoy Ottawa’s historic Rideau Canal. Come walk the boardwalk and experience the charm of one of Ottawa’s best-kept secrets as the Dow’s Lake boardwalk is decked out with beautiful annual color.
C. ‘Share The Flame’ Olympic Garden
Address: 450 Queen Elizabeth Dr, Ottawa, ON
Services for Visitors: Parking $ – Washrooms (nearby) – Child-Friendly – Dog-Friendly (on leash) – Café and Eating Areas Nearby
Description: Alongside the Rideau Canal, down from the Lansdowne Gardens you will find the Olympic Garden. Like our athletes, the tulips and other flowers in this garden are outstanding performers. Commemorating the 1988 Olympic torch relay, Olympic Flame tulips provide the backdrop to Vilem Zach’s sculpture “Share the Flame”. In the spring, “Olympic Flame” tulips are paired with “Jan Seignette,” a tulip with reversed colours surrounding the bronze statue bearing an Olympic torch.
A two-kilometre stroll along the Rideau Canal from Commissioners Park will lead you to this garden.
D. Lansdowne Park Gardens
- Civic Gardens
Address: 1525 Princess Patricia Way, Ottawa, ON K1S 5J3
Services for Visitors: Parking $ – Bicycle Racks – Washrooms – Wheelchair Accessible – Child-Friendly – Café and Eating Areas
Description: A vibrant celebration of Ottawa’s horticultural heritage, raised beds display a variety of plants and themes, with 7 beds of plants of Indigenous importance. 2017 plantings mark a centennial celebration of the start of the Victory Garden initiative.
2. Heirloom Orchard
Address: 1525 Princess Patricia Way, Ottawa, ON K1S 5J3
Services for Visitors: Parking $ – Bicycle Racks – Washrooms – Wheelchair Accessible – Child-Friendly – Café and Eating Areas
Description: Lansdowne Park features more than 800 trees, including an orchard of 37 heirloom apple trees. The best time to visit the orchard is in early summer while the apple trees are in full bloom, or late summer (July/August) when the apples have formed.