Two hours from Montreal, Ottawa quietly lines up one of the best summer weekends a family can have: a wildlife safari where your kids hand-feed deer out the car window, Canada’s largest waterpark with 35 slides, two renovated city beaches on the Ottawa River and the Rideau, world-class museums with free admission for kids under 17, and an aerial adventure park 15 minutes from downtown. Pack a cooler and go.

🦌 Parc Omega: Drive-Through Wildlife Safari

About 90 minutes from Montreal (and less than an hour from Ottawa), Parc Omega runs a 12-kilometre drive-through safari route where bison, elk, wolves, and bears roam in open habitat. The real crowd-pleaser for kids: you can buy carrots at the entrance and feed the deer directly from your car window. They will stick their heads right through the sunroof. Summer hours run 9 AM to 7 PM, so there is plenty of time to combine it with a beach stop on the way back. If the kids have energy to burn, the Interzip zipline launches you across from Ontario to Quebec at 50 km/h, 40 metres above a river gorge.

📍 Where: 399 route 323 Nord, Montebello, QC (about 90 min from Montreal, 50 min from Ottawa)
🗓️ When: Open daily 9 AM to 7 PM. Tickets at parcomega.ca.

💦 Calypso Water Park: Canada’s Biggest Slide Park

Just 20 minutes east of Ottawa in Limoges, Calypso is the largest waterpark in Canada: 35 slides, 100 water games, two lazy rivers, and a massive wave pool. It opened for the 2026 season on June 13 and runs all summer. The park added a new arcade and fresh menu options this year. On a hot July weekend, expect crowds, so book online ahead of time and arrive early. This is the kind of place where kids disappear for six hours and come out exhausted in the best way.

📍 Where: 2015 chemin Calypso, Limoges, ON (20 min east of Ottawa)
🗓️ When: Open daily through the summer. Tickets at calypsopark.com.

🏄 Mont Cascades: Waterslides in the Gatineau Hills

If Calypso is the megaplex, Mont Cascades is the chalet version: a scenic waterpark 25 minutes from Ottawa tucked into the Gatineau Hills. Sixteen slides total, a big activity pool with waterfalls, a picnic area, and a restaurant. The setting is genuinely beautiful and it tends to be a bit less hectic than the larger park. Currently open 10 AM to 6 PM daily through August 9. A great pick for younger kids or anyone who wants slides without the full-day commitment.

📍 Where: 448 montée Cascades, Cantley, QC (25 min from Ottawa)
🗓️ When: Open daily 10 AM to 6 PM through August 9. Tickets at montcascades.ca.

🏖️ Westboro Beach: Ottawa’s Freshly Rebuilt City Beach

Westboro Beach reopened in 2025 after a $21-million overhaul and is now the most modern urban beach in the region. Situated on the Ottawa River with views across to Québec, it features a zero-carbon pavilion with a 100-seat restaurant, a seasonal café, outdoor showers, accessible washrooms, and a dedicated lifeguard station. Lifeguards are on duty daily from noon to 7 PM through August 30. This is a legitimate beach day, not just a splash. Get there before noon for a good spot on summer weekends.

📍 Where: Kichi Zībī Mīkan (formerly Sir John A. Macdonald Pkwy), Ottawa
🗓️ When: Lifeguarded daily noon to 7 PM, June 20 to August 30. Free.

🌊 Mooney’s Bay Beach: Rideau River Classic

On the east shore of the Rideau River just south of Carleton University, Mooney’s Bay is the family-friendly workhorse of Ottawa’s beach scene. Sandy and spacious, with a canteen, picnic tables, BBQ pits, play structures, volleyball, and tennis courts all in one spot. Lifeguards on duty daily noon to 7 PM. Water quality is monitored daily by Ottawa Public Health and posted to the Swim Guide app before you go. Easy parking, easy afternoon.

📍 Where: 2960 Riverside Dr, Ottawa (Mooney’s Bay Park)
🗓️ When: Lifeguarded daily noon to 7 PM, June 20 to August 30. Free. Check the Swim Guide app for daily water quality.

🌿 Canadian Museum of Nature

One of Canada’s great natural history museums, the CMN has four floors of dinosaur fossils, gemstones, Arctic mammals, and ocean life in a beautifully restored Victorian building in the Glebe. Through August 21, kids aged 5 to 12 can join daily nature-packed programs (8:30 AM to 3 PM) designed to spark curiosity about the land and living things. The permanent galleries alone are easily a half-day. Worth combining with a walk down the Rideau Canal to grab lunch.

📍 Where: 240 McLeod Street, Ottawa (The Glebe)
🗓️ When: Open daily. Summer nature programs run through August 21. Tickets at nature.ca.

🔬 Canada Science and Technology Museum: Free for Kids Under 17

The Canada Strong Pass makes admission free for anyone under 17 this summer, which makes this an easy yes. The museum covers everything from vintage train engines to hands-on science labs, with a tinker space, cloud and fireworks demonstrations, and outdoor activities including a lighthouse and period trains. It is genuinely interactive in the way kids’ museums should be. Budget two to three hours. Adults pay, kids ride free.

📍 Where: 1867 St. Laurent Blvd, Ottawa
🗓️ When: Open Tuesday to Sunday. Admission free for kids under 17 with Canada Strong Pass. Tickets at ingenium.ca.

🌲 Camp Fortune: Aerial Adventure in Gatineau Park

Fifteen minutes from downtown Ottawa in the heart of Gatineau Park, Camp Fortune runs an aerial adventure course with rope bridges, suspended walkways, net gangways, and ziplines at various heights. It’s the kind of activity that takes nervous eight-year-olds and turns them into kids who won’t stop talking about it on the drive home. Multiple difficulty levels mean younger kids and older ones can tackle the course at the same time. Book online, especially on weekends in July.

📍 Where: 300 chemin Dunlop, Chelsea, QC (15 min from downtown Ottawa)
🗓️ When: Open daily through the summer. Tickets at campfortune.com.