September 24, 2025 · Common Empire
The Best Fall-Colour Rides in Ottawa–Gatineau
Ask any local rider for their favourite time to be on a bike, and most will say the same thing: autumn. The heat and humidity break, the light turns golden, and the hardwood forests of the Ottawa Valley explode into red, orange, and gold. For a few precious weeks in late September and early October, riding here is as beautiful as anywhere on earth. Here is where to chase the colour.
Gatineau Park: the main event
Nowhere shows off fall like Gatineau Park. Its sugar maples turn the whole park into a canvas of crimson and gold, and the climb to Champlain Lookout rewards you with a view over an entire valley ablaze with colour. The NCC's annual Fall Rhapsody celebration marks peak foliage, and the park's parkways become a pilgrimage for cyclists. Go early on a weekend morning to beat the crowds — and if you can catch one of the car-free mornings before they end for the season, even better. (See our full guide to cycling Gatineau Park for routes and where to start.)
The Ottawa Valley backroads
West of the city, the Valley toward Calabogie and Renfrew offers fall colour with a fraction of the traffic. Quiet paved and gravel roads wind past lakes and hardwood ridgelines, and the punchy climbs feel a little easier when every crest opens onto another wash of colour. It is leaf-peeping at its most active and least crowded.
Lanark County's rail trails
For a gentler day, the rail trails through Lanark County are hard to beat in autumn. The Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail rolls through forest and farmland between Carleton Place, Almonte, and Pakenham on a flat, traffic-free surface — perfect for a relaxed colour ride at any pace, with cafés and trail towns along the way to warm up in. Pause at the Pakenham five-span bridge as the maples reflect off the Mississippi River.
The riverside pathways
You don't have to leave the city to ride into autumn. The Ottawa River and Rideau Canal pathways string together kilometres of tree-lined, car-free riding right through the heart of Ottawa. On a calm fall morning, with the water still and the leaves turning, a simple pathway spin becomes something special — and it is open to riders of every level.
Make the most of the short season
Peak colour is fleeting — often just a week or two — and it varies year to year with the weather, so watch the forecasts and the fall-colour reports and be ready to go when it turns. Autumn mornings can start near freezing and warm up beautifully by midday, so this is prime layering season (our seasonal guide has you covered). And bring a camera or phone: you'll want to remember it through the winter.
Chase the colour with us. Check our Rides page and our guide to cycling Gatineau Park, then join a no-drop group ride to enjoy the season together — because the best views are the ones you share.
Autumn is the region's reward for surviving another summer of climbing and another winter of waiting. Don't let it slip by from behind a windshield — get out on two wheels and ride straight into the colour.