We live and train in Ottawa and I volunteered and raced at the inaugural Ironman Canada Ottawa in 2025. Below you will find some tips and answers to the questions you may have about the event. If I missed something let me know! The information below is based on the 2025 course which could change for 2026.
Training in Ottawa Before the Race
Ottawa is a great place to be a triathlete we have a great community and lots of great places to train.
Swimming
On the course
The swim starts at Britannia beach a popular spot for families and picnics. The Ironman swim does not start from the main beach because it’s too shallow. It starts from the point which we all call surfers beach. It’s not an official swim area but lots of local open water swimmers swim from there. Just walk past the bathrooms and snack bar out to the point. There is free parking, but it fills up fast on nice days. DO NOT park illegally you will get a ticket!
The Ottawa River is popular with boaters and jet skis. It’s best to go early in the morning when there is less boat traffic. The course is one loop, but it is not a good idea to go that far out into the river. Most people swim loops out to a buoy that belongs to the local sailing club. Do not go downstream past the buoy as there are rapids and a strong current. Make sure you have a bright coloured cap and a myfloat so you can be seen in the water.
Bring on the Bay Open Water Swim -July 11th
This is a great warm-up race for the Ironman. There is a 3K point to point swim that ends where the Ironman swim starts and a 1.5k swim that starts and ends at the Ironman swim start. It’s a well-organized event with over 1000 swimmers expected this year and it’s for charity.
Other places to swim
Meech Lake it’s a bit of a drive but it’s worth it. There are buoys in the water with distance markers for open water swimming and no power boats. It is regulated so you have to swim the buoy route and you must have a myfloat. There is paid parking ,but it fills up.
NCC River House
It’s open water with lanes! If you just want to swim in the river NCC River House has a pool which is really a dock with a swimming sized pool in the middle. There are two 25m lanes. Swimming is free. The hours and opening dates for 2026 will be here once the season starts. There is almost no parking so make it a brick and ride a bike.
Cycling
On the course
The Ottawa course goes right through the middle of the city. You can train on it but there are some limitations. I am going to break it down section by section.
The T1 to the Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway
The race route goes east in the west bound lanes of a busy road so it’s a no go. You may want to ride up the hill out of T1 to Carling Avenue just to get a feel for it but turn around at the top and ride back down to the mutli-use pathway and ride along it to Deshenes Rapids where you can get on to the Parkway.
The Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway
The westbound parkway lanes are generally closed to traffic on Saturday, Sunday and Holiday mornings between May 11th and October 14th. Last year they were closed until noon. This year’s dates and hours are not available yet but you will be able to find them here https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/weekend-bikedays. When the road is open to traffic it is legal to ride on the parkway but there is a lot of construction between Carling Avenue and Island Park which has resulted in some one lane sections with no shoulder. I do not recommend riding on the road through that section. There is a multi-use path which runs along the parkway all the way to Wellington Street.
NOTE RE THE MULTI USE PATHS
These are used by walkers, runners and cyclists. There is a 20 km speed limit. Please don’t hammer down them on your tri bars. It gives triathletes a bad name.
They are also used by the Canada Geese. WATCH OUT FOR THE GEESE! They see no reason to get out of the way, and they can be pretty nasty! You can ring your bell and yell all you want they will move when they are good and ready!
The Canada War Museum to Colonel By Drive
There is a bike lane on the road through this section. You will have to stop for lights, but you can ride it. This section is always open to traffic.
The out and back on Colonel By Drive
There is a mutli-use path along the canal which can be busy on a nice day. It’s legal to ride on the road but it’s narrow in parts so it’s not a great place to ride. My suggestion would be to include an easy ride on the path just to check it out once.
Mackenzie Ave to Sussex Drive to Princess Avenue
There is a dedicated bike lane on the road until you get to the roundabout in front of the Governor General’s residence. At the roundabout after that Princess becomes the Sir George Etiene Cartier Parkway and you loose the bike lane on the road.
George Etiene Cartier Parkway
As with the other Parkways there is a mulit-use path beside the road and you can legally ride on the road. The section of the road between the start of the Parkway and the NCC River House is narrow. Once you get past the NCC River House there is much more space to ride on the road. The final section of the parkway past the Aviation museum was closed to cars from 8 am to 4 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays last year. If you are looking for a place to ride fast on your tribars this is the safest place to do it. Last year there were lots of other athletes out on this section every weekend.
On the return trip the course goes through Rockcliffe Park. It’s a really nice ride and car traffic is one way only.
The section in Quebec
You may want to ride this once, but we generally avoid it and come back on Wellington. The road is not in great shape and you have to make two left hand turns in multi-lane traffic.
Overall
Last year we trained on the course on the weekends starting at Britania beach around 8:00 am so we could ride on the Parkway all the way to Wellington. Did extra loops on the closed section of George Etiene and tried to get back before noon so we could ride the on the road all the way back.
If you plan to start at Britania you can park there for free. If it’s full try going down Carling to Andrew Haydon Park.
Strava Route https://www.strava.com/routes/3362839080213344884 (it has some irregularities as Strava wants to use the paths- don’t ride the section on Carling as indicated on the map- use the path as indicated above).
One final note about cycling in Ottawa. Do not leave your bike unlocked and if you can, do not leave your bike unattended on the bike rack of your car. If you have to leave your bike on a car bike rack make sure it is locked. I wish it was not so but Ottawa has some pretty sophisticated bike thieves.
CN Cycle for CHEO
This community event on May 3rd uses a big part of the IM course and it’s completely closed to traffic. The 70 km ride includes all three parkways. This is a community event with thousands of cyclists of all abilities not a race so don’t hammer on your bars.
Other places in ride in Ottawa
Gatineau Park
Lovingly referred to by us locals at “The Gats”. It’s not flat so it’s not like the course but it’s a great place to ride. There are 32.5 kilometers of winding roads through the park. The road is in good shape and last year it was closed to cars all day Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and non-holiday Monday’s and until noon Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Monday’s. This year’s hours will be here once they are available. There are deer and bears in the park. You are more likely to see deer than a bear, but bear sightings are common. In general, the bears will ignore you if you ignore them, just give them some space. The deer can be more of a hazard crossing the road.
There are lots of flatter places to ride on the rural roads outside of the city.
The Run
Good news here! You can run the whole course anytime. There are places where the course uses the road but there is a multi-use path beside it you can run on. The section behind Parliament Hill may not be open in Winter.
Strava Route https://www.strava.com/routes/3369727947890726926
Bathrooms and water along the course
Most of these are NOT open before the May long weekend
Britannia Beach- public bathrooms have limited hours but there are port-a-potties in the parking lot
Westboro Beach- has water and bathrooms but hours are limited
Remic Rapids- has a port-a-potty – you can buy water at the bistro when it’s open
Canada War Museum- has water and bathrooms when it’s open- winter friendly
Parliament Hill- bathrooms and water by the guided tours- winter friendly
Along the canal – there are almost no public bathrooms -water fountains on Queen Elizabeth at Corkstown Bridge and Fifth Avenue
Bathroom’s at Paterson Creek when it’s open and Dow’s lake Pavilion which are rarely open. In swimming season there are usually port-a-potties by the swim area in Dows lake.
The Dominion Arboretum- bathrooms in the main building open limited hours- winter friendly
The Experimental Farm- Bathrooms and water by Maple and Scenic Driveway also open limited hours- winter friendly
There is nothing on the Cornel By Drive side but there are bathrooms in Vincent Massy Park if you go left on Heron at the bike turn around- also open limited hours
Rideau Hall- Bathrooms and water and it’s open even in the middle of winter- these are our go to!- winter friendly
NCC River House- water and bathrooms when it’s open
Canadian Space and Aviation Museum – water and bathrooms when it’s open- winter friendly
In Summer there are also port-a-potties along Sir George Etienne Cartier
Major’s Hill Park – water and bathrooms open limited hours
Run K2J 