Major's Hill Park: Ottawa Travel Guide (4.8★)

A lawn with Parliament in the frame

Parliament Hill rises straight across the water. From the western edge of Major’s Hill Park you look over the stepped locks of the Rideau Canal to the Gothic Revival towers of the Parliament buildings, a view most visitors only see on postcards.

Turn north and the Ottawa River opens up. The steel trusses of the Alexandra Bridge cross to Gatineau, Quebec, where the curved stone walls of the Canadian Museum of History sit low on the far bank.

The park itself is mostly open grass on a raised headland. Mature trees shade the walking paths, flower beds are planted for the season, and a network of paved paths loops the edges. It is Ottawa’s oldest park, set aside in the 1870s, and the National Capital Commission looks after it today.

The story under your feet

This bluff was the command post for building the Rideau Canal. Lieutenant-Colonel John By, the engineer who oversaw the canal in the late 1820s, had his house here. Its stone foundations are still marked out in the grass.

A bronze statue of By stands in the park, looking out over the waterway he built. The park’s name comes from Major Daniel Bolton, who took over from By on the canal works. Read the interpretive panels near the foundations before you wander off; they make the view over the locks make sense.

Getting to the bluff

You’ll most likely arrive on foot. The park is bounded by Mackenzie Avenue on the east, and the official address is Mackenzie Ave, Ottawa, ON K1N 6Z4.

• O-Train: Rideau Station on the Confederation Line (Line 1) is a short walk south. Head past the Château Laurier and cross toward the canal.
• From the ByWard Market: walk west along any of the market streets to Sussex Drive and Mackenzie Avenue. It takes a few minutes.
• From Parliament Hill: cross the bridge over the canal locks at Wellington Street and climb past the Château Laurier.

Driving into this part of downtown is slow at the moment, and the market area’s paid lots fill up on weekends. Transit or walking is simpler.

What’s within a ten-minute walk

The park is a hinge between several of Ottawa’s big sights. That makes it the natural place to rest between them.

• National Gallery of Canada: the glass-and-granite building just north on Sussex Drive, with Louise Bourgeois’s giant spider sculpture Maman on its plaza.
• Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica: twin silver spires across Sussex Drive.
• ByWard Market: food stalls, cafés and BeaverTails pastries one block east.
• Rideau Canal locks: the flight of eight locks dropping to the Ottawa River at the park’s western foot.
• Parliament Hill: directly across the canal.

Plan on 30 minutes to an hour for the park alone. Stay longer if you’re picnicking or catching an event.

Seasons and big days

The park changes a lot through the year. In May it has long served as a main site for the Canadian Tulip Festival, with beds of colour laid out across the lawn.

Summer brings festivals and concerts. Canada Day on July 1 is the park’s biggest day, with crowds, stages and fireworks views over the river. Autumn colours the trees along the river edge, and in winter the paths are snowy and quiet. Event schedules change from year to year, so check the NCC and festival sites before you plan around one.

Claiming a spot on the grass

Light and crowds decide the best visit here. BestTime’s forecast puts the quietest window at 7am–8am on both weekdays and weekends. At that hour you’ll mostly share the paths with dog walkers and joggers, and the morning sun lights the Parliament towers from the east.

Weekends are a different story. Try not to arrive between 12pm and 9pm on a Saturday or Sunday if you want a calm lawn. That’s the forecast’s busiest stretch, especially in festival season.

A few habits that help:

• Picnic from the market. Buy cheese, bread and fruit in the ByWard Market and carry it over. It’s what the park’s layout invites.
• Bring a blanket rather than counting on benches. Benches are limited, and the best views are from the open grass on the western slope.
• Stay on the paths during events. On festival days, fenced sections and stage areas are closed off, and staff direct foot traffic.
• Sunset faces the river. The western edge looks toward Parliament and the Ottawa River. Find your spot a little early in summer.
• Use the bins. NCC parks are kept tidy, and you’re expected to pack out or bin your rubbish.

Google currently lists the park as open 24 hours. Paths are lit in places, but if you plan an after-dark walk, stick to the main routes near Mackenzie Avenue and the Château Laurier.