Community Profile SMITHS FALLS, ONTARIO

Smiths Falls: Hit the road, trail or water in a community made for outdoor recreation

BY AMY HOGUE

id you know you don’t need to head to the city to find groomedD trails, world-renowned waterways and challenging outdoor recreation options? Only 40 minutes from west- Ottawa, the small town of Smiths Falls is a town made for outdoor recreation, and there is no better place to put your foot, pedal or paddle to the test than in this close- knit Eastern Ontario community.

One look at Smiths Falls and it’s easy to understand why outdoor activity is so popular. Here, visitors will find a stunningly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site just begging to be explored, along with a network of trails that wind through greenery, waterfront paradise and quaint rural streets. • Explore Canada’s Longest Aquatic Playground Dip your paddle in the clear waters of the Rideau waterway Whether it’s paddling on the Rideau Canal, hiking or cycling that runs through the centre of Smiths Falls, and experience on waterside trails or between area communities, hitting the beauty of one of Canada’s largest recreational the green for a quick nine, or competing in an obstacle playgrounds, the Rideau Canal! It’s no wonder the Rideau challenge that will leave you covered in mud, Smiths Falls Canal was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site; this has it all. stunning piece of aquatic architecture is a recreation hot spot for boaters from around the world. Plan your next outdoor adventure in Smiths Falls, and get moving in one of Eastern Ontario’s most active communities. There is no end to the options available when paddling on the Rideau Canal – plan your journey in advance and use the town of Smiths Falls as a stepping stone for your exploration of the Rideau waterway, or stay right in town and

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Recreation explore the area at a more sedate pace. Popular waterway • Hit the Green – Henderson style trips include paddling to Poonamalie Locks, roughly two Nothing can compete with a good game of golf for outdoor hours round-trip, or setting off into the Swale for great bird- recreation, and where else are you able to play on the same watching and close-up views of this exceptional natural golf course that fostered LPGA Major Champions, Brooke wetland. You can also plan a longer trip to one of Smiths and Brittany Henderson? Find out what’s so special about Falls’ neighbouring communities, or travel all the way to the Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club, and why it’s produced Kingston or Ottawa for a multi-day adventure. many top golfers like the Hendersons, including more than a dozen players who went on to become PGA of Canada Golf In the heart of Smiths Falls, Lower Reach Park, Centennial Professionals. Park, and Victoria Park all border the waterway, and are a great place to stop and spend a few hours, or to relax with a Located only a few kilometres from Smiths Falls, the Smiths picnic lunch and watch boaters lock through. You can moor Falls Golf & Country Club offers a professionally designed your canoe or kayak in Centennial Park, only a short walk course that is a strong test for any golfer’s skills. The course to the downtown core where local eateries can slake your winds its way through wooded areas, with challenging appetite, or at Victoria Park Campground & Marina, for a greens scattered amidst scenery like Otter Creek, sparkling nominal fee. Only steps from Lower Reach Park is Heritage streams and sedate ponds. House Museum, where you can combine outdoor activity with some educational fun, to round out your day! You can play a quick 9-hole game, or do the full 18-holes on this challenging course, and spend the day enjoying the sun, fresh If you don’t own a boat, don’t worry, you can rent a kayak, air and natural beauty of the Smiths Falls region’s topography! canoe, paddle boat or stand-up paddle board from Niknaks Be sure to take a minute to browse the pro shop, or relax in the Paddle Shack, located near the water tower in Centennial restaurant and lounge after your day on the green and enjoy a Park. Niknaks offers rentals for day, weekend, or week-long hearty meal and a cold refreshment (or two!). adventures on the Rideau waterway. Or bring your own - you can put in at Centennial Park, Lower Reach Park, or any And you can combine your game with some local genealogy! number of spots in town along the waterway. Located on an original Irish homestead, the Club has played host to events for descendants of Irish emigrants, including If staying aboard a houseboat is more your style, rent from a Gala event kicked off by the Irish Ambassador as part of locally-owned companies in the Smiths Falls area, or book the Town’s Irish Legacy Project. now for 2018 when European canal boat company Le Boat sets up their North American headquarters in Smiths Falls Make the short drive south of Smiths Falls to Lombard with a fleet of 16 state-of-the-art self-navigating boats and Glen Golf Club, another exceptional course situated on travel all the way to Kingston or Ottawa! 160 picturesque acres. Founded more than 50 years ago, Lombard Glen offers a choice between playing a quick nine, Info: or full 18-holes, with a beverage cart that will quench your NikNak’s Paddle Shack: www.niknakspaddleshack.ca thirst while out on the fairway. Rideau Canal Museum: www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/rideau/ index This semi-private professionally designed golf course will Heritage House Museum: www.smithsfalls.ca/culture- be of interest to both novice and experienced golfers, with recreation/museums-history/heritage-house/ challenging water hazards found on nine different holes, and Leboat: www.leboat.ca/en/vacations/destinations/canada scenic fairways. A 280-yard driving range, practice bunkers, Waterway Get-A-Way Houseboat Rentals: www. chipping green and putting area will make sure you’re at the waterwaygetaway.com/ top of your game before heading out on the green! Victoria Park Campground: http://smithsfallschamber.com/ parks-camping/ Info: Lombard Glen Golf Course: www.lombardglen.com Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club: www.smithsfallsgolf.com Downtown Smiths Falls: www.downtownsmithsfalls.ca

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Recreation

competitors to the community annually.

Smiths Falls is also home to Sport X, the largest cycling store in the Ottawa Valley, where the owners and staff are passionate about everything cycling-related. Sport X offers a full line of bikes, accessories, along with an on-site repair shop. If you’re in need of a bike to use for your explorations, Niknaks Paddle Shack rents by the day (or longer). Pick up a map from the Smiths Falls & District Chamber of Commerce to keep you on track!

Info: Cataraqui Trail: www.cataraquitrail.ca Sport X: www.sportx.ca Smiths Falls Cycling Routes: www.cgis.com/ cpal/?map=Smiths%20Falls NikNak’s Paddle Shack: www.niknakspaddleshack.ca Map My Ride (Smiths Falls): www.mapmyride.com/ca/smiths- falls-ontario/

• Cycling Smiths Falls With such spectacular natural surroundings, Smiths Falls is the ideal place for cycling! Waterside trails, quiet rural streets, and stunning natural environments make Smiths Falls a picturesque place to pedal on two wheels. While the Smiths Falls scenery may be an incentive for outdoor play, from a cycling perspective the series of trails that run through the town of Smiths Falls are only one small piece of the bigger picture.

To begin with, Smiths Falls sits at the head of the Cataraqui Trail, a year-round shared-use recreation trail that begins in

Smiths Falls and runs to Strathcona. For day trips, Smiths Falls is centrally located in the Ottawa Valley, less than a 30-kilometre ride from a number of other urban areas, making it an easy day-trip adventure destination.

The town can also be used as a launch pad for longer journeys through the surrounding countryside. There are a number of online websites that identify the many trails and cycling routes heading out of Smiths Falls, as well as their length, time for travel, and nearby amenities. • Activities Afoot! The waterside network of trails, tree-lined streets and rural Picture the rural beauty of winding, waterfront paths, environment are only a few of the reasons why Smiths picturesque tree-lined streets and peaceful country roads… Falls has been a popular cycling destination for decades. if you haven’t been out of doors during the summer or fall Smiths Falls is home to Canada’s longest running triathlon, in Smiths Falls, you are missing out, and there’s literally held each year in June, an event that draws hundreds of no better way to explore this community than on two feet.

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Recreation

Whether you’re looking for a sedate walking experience, or a challenging running route, Smiths Falls has everything you need to get around.

For walking or running, Smiths Falls is part of the multi-use Cataraqui Trail as well as the Rideau Trail, a 387-kilometre network of trails between Kingston and Ottawa. There are also a number of walking paths throughout the town of Smiths Falls that can take you from the downtown core to the Rideau Canal at Centennial Park, and on to Lower Reach Park and the adjacent splash pad, ball diamonds, and dog park.

If you enjoy running with company, there are a number of running groups in the area, and several fundraising runs that take place throughout the year. Besides the Smiths Falls Triathlon (the longest running triathlon in Canada), there’s also the Spring Fling Running Thing that takes place on the Cataraqui Trail every April, and if you have little ones, there’s the companion Little Thing Running Thing that takes place • Get Dirty for a Good Cause during the Healthy Living Festival, the third Saturday in June. Looking for an excuse to get dirty? You’ve found it in Smiths

Falls! What better excuse can there be to get dirty than by Whether you’re walking or running, make a detour through participating in one of Smiths Falls’ local obstacle challenges Downtown Smiths Falls and sit back for a refreshing break and mud runs! For a small community, hosting two of these at one of the local cafés or eateries found there. You can competitions is an accomplishment, and an indication of spend some time strolling the scenic downtown, or wander how dedicated the community is to both outdoor recreation the waterfront area, local museums or galleries for some and a worthy cause. intellectual stimulation at the end of an active day. New for 2018: Heritage Walking Tours will be offered to visitors The Urban Jungle Obstacle Challenge is a great way to inclined to explore the Town’s unique architectural heritage spend a hot summer day, while competing in a five-kilometre over the course of a two-hour walk in the downtown core. or ten-kilometre obstacle course of trains, walls, stairs, rails, and (of course) lots and lots of mud! Join the crowds Info: of competitors for this fun annual event that takes place in Rideau Trail: www.rideautrail.org August, is suitable for all fitness levels, and is a fundraiser Cataraqui Trail: www.cataraquitrail.ca for community projects. Spring Fling Running Thing: www.sfrunningthing.com Downtown Smiths Falls: www.downtownsmithsfalls.ca If you just can’t get enough mud, the Rise Above the Mud Obstacle Challenge is another event where you can get your hands – or all of you – dirty in Smiths Falls! Held at the end of September each year, Rise Above the Mud offers a 10-or-5-kilometre course and is a fundraiser for the Smiths Falls Hospital Foundation. This event welcomes hundreds of participants each year, and is a challenging competition that is perfect for those just dipping their toes in the mud (pun intended), or experienced competitors looking for a challenge.

Whether you try the Urban Jungle Obstacle Challenge or the Rise Above the Mud Obstacle Challenge – or both! – you’ll

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Recreation be supporting a good cause. activity. The topography in the Smiths Falls area is perfect for snowmobiles, with snow-covered trees lining pristine trails, Info: untouched woodlands, and waterside treasures creating a Urban Jungle Obstacle Challenge: www.theurbanjungleocr.com winter wonderland for snowmobilers. Rise Above the Mud Obstacle Challenge: www.sfchfoundation. com/events/smiths-falls-gauntlet-obstacle-challenge/ The Cataraqui Trail is a trunk snowmobile route, part of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs’ (OFSC) network of trails, and there are a number of snowmobile clubs in the area. Join a club and find out why good company makes everything more enjoyable! • Four Season Recreation In Smiths Falls you can enjoy recreation in all four seasons! Info: The Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre is one location Gerry Lowe Rink of Dreams: www.smithsfalls.ca/culture- where you can hit the rink, take in a Junior A hockey game, recreation/sports-leisure/facilities/gerry-lowe-memorial-sens- or walk or run indoors in the winter months. A new indoor rink-of-dreams/ walking track inside the arena is a popular way to stay active Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre: www.smithsfalls.ca/ on rainy or snowy days. culture-recreation/sports-leisure/facilities/memorial-community- centre/ Right next to the community centre sits the Gerry Lowe Ontario Federation Snowmobile Clubs: www.ofsc.on.ca/ Memorial Rink of Dreams, an outdoor multi-purpose complex that is open year-round for ball hockey, basketball, and in the winter months ice hockey and public skating. Take part in a pick-up hockey game, or try out your best figure skating moves – the Rink of Dreams offers outdoor fun for all ages!

If snowmobiling is more your thing, you’re in the right place in Smiths Falls, where snowmobiling is a favourite wintry

Ingrid Bron, Coordinator Economic Development & Tourism Town of Smiths Falls 613-283-4124 Ext. 1127 [email protected]

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