Zippity Doo

Would you rather tiptoe through the tulips or zipline across the treetops? Those who can still count their age on two hands will probably say “zipline”, hands down. Luckily, in Ottawa you don’t have to choose—you can stomp your way through acres of tulips in May, then zipline across the forest throughout the summer and fall (and even in winter, at one location).
Zipline, you say? Picture a pulley that dangles from a sturdy line similar to a clothesline. You’re attached to it via a harness not unlike the kind used for rock-climbing. You close your eyes, hope for the best, launch yourself off a platform high up in a tree—and go zipping down the line to the next platform. Safe in your harness, you whiz above the forest from tree to tree.

Both of Ottawa’s ziplining venues are on the Quebec side. The closest one is at the Camp Fortune Children’s Park, where kids aged five and up can climb across suspended walkways, traverse monkey bridges, clamber over obstacles and zip through the air. The course takes about an hour to complete from start to finish (but sometimes lenient staff let kids run back to the start and do it all over again). The price includes all required equipment and instruction, and we think it’s worth every penny.

Good to know: Get there by 3 pm at the latest (the park closes by 4:30 pm), and bring bug spray (yes, even in October), water bottles and, of course, a camera. If you find yourself hooked, Camp Fortune does have adult courses as well. Reservations are required on the weekend.