My Road Trip to Ottawa – Chute de Plaisance, Chemin du Roy, Neuville, Parc Oméga

Hi guys! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Our mother-daughter road trip is ending today! 👩‍👧One week of happiness. I will share my favourite hidden gems during my driving in this blog.

Start point: Ottawa/Gatineau

1, La Chute de Plaisance

2, Parc Oméga

3, Traversier Le Passeur

4, Chemin du Roy

Destination: Quebec City

a person standing next to a body of water

1， La Chute de Plaisance.

Let’s start with the furthest one from Quebec City – La Chute de Plaisance. I found this spot between Montreal and Ottawa/Gatineau.

▶️History background: Back in 1850, the first mill in the Petit-Nation was located here. The waterfall was a slide for wood transportation in the summer.

▶️How to enjoy the most of it: It will take about 2 hours to visit this site. Prepare hiking shoes, because we need to go down and then come up. Ask the reception lady to give you a briefing about this site. We really appreciated that. And don’t forget to take a close look at those artefacts.

▶️Why I love this spot: The forest trail is not hard for kids, we can both visit the upper and lower part of the waterfall. And we found a lot of beautiful and dangerous mushrooms on the way. Picnic tables are provided.

Entrance fee: 7$ per adult and free for 12 years old and under.

sunny tour guide quebec road trip

2, Parc Oméga

When you reach Montebello, you won’t miss the sign of Parc Oméga.

This park is a drive-in zoo, you will need a half-day to visit it. And don’t forget about the carrots.

▶️History background:

The owner Oliver Favre was born in Alsace, France. Before he came to Canada, he worked in the insurance industry all his life. In 1996, Favre joined the vast Oméga Park project in Montebello. He said, “It is a project of a lifetime”. An inspiring story for new immigrants.

▶️How to enjoy the most of it: Prepare at least 4 hours to enjoy this wonderland thoroughly. Order an easy lunch in the rest area. Buy your carrots in advance. Do some research on Google if they have a special offer. The entrance fee is between 13$ to 33$ per person.

▶️Why I love this spot:

Feeding the animal from our car! They are so close to us. Not only drive-in, but we can also actually take the forest trails and enjoy mini hiking with family and friends. We love the bear family, the buffalo, and the bambis are everywhere. Oh, I have to say, the animals in this zoo have vast land to chill. They are happy.

sunny tour guide quebec road trip

3, Traversier Le Passeur.

▶️History background: The ferry services between Carillon and Pointe-Fortune have existed since 1833 when Jacob Schagel, an innkeeper from Carillon, started using a barge with long oars as a ferryboat.

▶️How to enjoy the most of it: From Montebello to Carillon and Pointe-Fortune, take the route 148 along the riverside. When you reach Grenville, switch to Route 344 and continue, you will reach the Traversier Le Passeur. We stopped at Casse-Croute (Snack bar) in Hawkesbury for mini poutine and homemade ice cream.

▶️Why I love this spot: You will drive on Ottawa river shore. Just enjoy the amazing river view, cute town, sweet shops, wheat field and the tree tunnel. (I can’t take photos when I drive, but it was really a refreshing driving experience.)

a person is walking down the street

a side view mirror of a car window

a close up of a dry grass field

4, Chemin du Roy

If you are like me, drive on the Autoroute 40 very often, you will notice plenty of signs written “Chemin du Roy”. According to my personal experience, the highlights of this road is between Portneuf to Old Quebec. So take the Chemin du Roy, and next time, don’t complain that it is boring to drive from Montreal to Quebec. lol.

▶️History background: Before 1700, there was no proper road that led us from Quebec City to Montreal. In 1706, the Conseil supérieur (grand council) decreed that a road be built along with the river shoreline bear settlements. Thanks to the statute labour of his «corvées du Roy», the Grand Voyer (senior road surveyor) Eustache Lanouiller de Boisclerc began work in 1731. When construction was completed in 1737, the Chemin du Roy was 7.4 metres wide and stretched over 280 kilometres, crossing through 37 seignories. resource

▶️How to enjoy the most of it: Take the exit at Portneuf. And just follow the sign of Chemin du Roy (Route 138). You can just drive through or, like us, we stopped and bought some local homemade food on the way. The road is popular just purely for the river view and ancient villages. It takes about 1-2 hours to drive from Portneuf to Old Quebec.

▶️Why I love this spot: The Marina Portneuf! A MUST! And on the sides of the road, the farmer’s shops offer some fresh veggies and traditional meat pie, apple pie, yummy. And, of course, you won’t miss the amazing ancient style homes, XIX churches in Neuville. Don’t forget the St-Laurence River view. This is definitely one of the highlights during our trip. And the road can lead you directly to Old Quebec, to be more precisely, Château Frontenac the start point of Chemin du Roy.