Merrickville

Merrickville is a village of 1200 people on the Rideau Canal in eastern Ontario.

The Rideau Canal passing through Merrickville

Understand

Merrickville, a village of picturesque Victorian-era stone houses perched along the waters of the Rideau Canal, modestly claims to be Canada’s prettiest village, a claim not without merit. (It isn't a self-granted title; the national non-profit organization "Communities in Bloom" called them that in 1998.) As Merrickville is half an hour from the edge of urban Ottawa, it is a popular destination for summer day trips.

Get in

The nearest passenger rail is in Smiths Falls, Ottawa or Brockville. The nearest airport is Ottawa-Uplands (YOW ^IATA), at the southern edge of that city. Merrickville itself is reachable from Ottawa by car or (seasonally) by boat.

By car

From Ottawa, take Highway 416 to Kemptville, then old Highway 43 one town westward to Merrickville.

From Brockville, take Highway 401 east to Maitland (exit 705) then head about half an hour straight north.

By boat

The Rideau Canal passes through the heart of Merrickville on its way from Kingston to Ottawa. Small craft can dock at Aylings Boat Yard or at the canal locks.

• 🌍 Aylings Boat Yard, 220 Forced Road, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]am-6pm. Rentals, docking, ice, fuel and marine service. Rideau King boat tour of canal/locks $90/person, charters available. 

Get around

The village itself is small and easily covered by bicycle or on foot; a canoe permits exploration of the local shore and the canal.

See

The best way to see Merrickville is by walking, popping into shops and admiring the heritage houses.

• 🌍 Blockhouse Museum (Merrickville Blockhouse National Historic Site of Canada), St Lawrence & Main St, e-mail: [e-mail]. 10am-5pm daily (summer), weekends only in spring/fall, closed in winter. This tiny fortress, built in 1832, housed up to 50 soldiers who guarded the Canal. Restored in 1966, it now contains local artefacts and archives reflecting the history and industry of the canal and the surrounding urban and agricultural community. By donation.. 
• Industrial Heritage Complex, County Rd 2, Merrickville lock station, ☎ [phone]. A group of historic buildings which serve as a museum of local Merrickville industry, Collection includes foundry tools and products, woollen mill machinery, home making products, furniture and machinery for power generation. Free.. 

Do

Paddlers may follow the Rideau Canal from Kingston to Ottawa, either going through each lock or portaging around them.

Walking trails:

• Rideau Trail. Kingston to Ottawa hiking trail system. Free maps of the trails can be downloaded from the website. Free, donations accepted at the website.. 
• Tip to Tip trail, 673 River Road, Burritts Rapids. Hiking trail from the canal, 4km or about an hour's walk. 

Spa:

• 🌍 Spa Sans Souci, 306 St. Lawrence St. (at the corner of Brock St W), ☎ [phone]. Tu-Sa 10am-5:30pm or by appointment. 

Buy

Merrickville is filled with small boutiques operated by local artists, artisans and craftspeople.

Artwork

• 🌍 Canal Gallery & Frame Shop, 230 St Lawrence St. (Larkspur Lane Mall), ☎ [phone]. Tu-F 12pm-5pm, Sa 10am-5pm, Su 12pm-4pm. Original art, custom framing, books, prints, canvas transfers. 
• 🌍 The Grotto Artworks, 110 Main Street E. (beside the courtyard patio of the Baldachin Inn and Restaurant), ☎ [phone]. Winter (January-Victoria Day): Sa-Su 11am-4pm; Summer: Th-F 11am-4pm, Sa-Su 11am-5pm, other times by appointment. Artists' gallery with local crafts (pewter, pottery, jewellery, wood turnings, woven silk scarves, soapstone carvings, gourds and glass) and original works of art in oil, collage, acrylics, watercolour and mixed media. 
• Gray Art Glass, 635 St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]am-5pm. Creative glass art made from recycled crystal. Studio and gallery open daily for demonstrations. 

Fashion

• 🌍 Dorée's Habit, 212 St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone]. Women's clothing and accessories, unique selection of scarves, jewellery and purses. 
• Rowland Leather, 159 St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. These $160-260 leather handbags had been manufactured locally in a restored 1847 stone Kemptville Store building, with short-term B&B suites above the store being rented for $175/night (with continental breakfast) at www.merrickvillesuites.ca. The owner has since retired, but his merchandise is still available at the spa. 
• 🌍 A Touch of Whimsy, 236 St. Lawrence St. (at the corner of Brock St W), ☎ [phone]. Ladies clothing, jewellery and accessories. 

Other items

• 🌍 Alloy Foundry (Village Metalsmiths), 117 Mill St., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Oldest operating Canadian cast-iron foundry, producing anything from signs and plaques to street fixtures. Next to the locks. 
• 🌍 Miller's of Merrickville, 323 St. Lawrence Street, ☎ [phone]. 10am-5pm. Country store and outdoor “Garden Fixins’ Courtyard” with vintage candles, hardware, clocks, tin barn stars, lighting, earth rugs, wreaths, garland, linen, hand-crafted decorations, pictures and frames, signs, toys, games and whimsical garden accessories. 
• 🌍 Mirick's Landing Country Store, 106 St Lawrence St., ☎ [phone]. 10am-5pm. Today's example of yesterday's country store; quilted bedding, braided rugs, framed prints and wall hangings, candles, furniture, books and decorative items. 
• 🌍 Mrs. McGarrigle's Fine Food Shop, 311 St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. January-February: Su-Th 10am–5pm, F-Sa 10am–6pm; March-December: Sa-Th 9:30am-6pm, F 9:30am-7pm. Cooking classes, Friday night take-out dinners, gourmet foods, kitchen gadgets and housewares. Mrs. McGarrigle's famous handmade Canadian mustards are manufactured on-site for export. 
• 🌍 Rideau Woodland Ramble, 7210 Burritt's Rapids Road, ☎ [phone]. Trees, flowers, vines, seasonal gardening supplies, open mid-April to November "to capture the imagination of gardeners and collectors". 

Eat

Goose and Gridiron

• 🌍 Downtowne Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe, 165 St. Lawrence St. (at Wellington St W), ☎ [phone]. 11am-5pm. Ice cream, ice cream cakes and confections made locally. 
• 🌍 Gad's Hill Place, 118 St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Dining in a Victorian setting. 
• 🌍 Mainstreet Family Restaurant, 112 Main St. West, ☎ [phone]. Su-W 7am-8pm, Th-Sa 7am-9pm. 
• 🌍 Yellow Canoe Café, 108 St. Lawrence St. (across Main St. from the Merrickville Locks), ☎ [phone]. M-F 11am-4pm, Sa-Su 11am-5pm. Licensed restaurant, café, bakery. Sandwiches, scones, soups, coffee, beer, wine, wide variety of desserts. Across from the Blockhouse at the Merrickville Locks. 

Drink

• 🌍 The Goose & Gridiron, 317 St Lawrence St., ☎ [phone]. open 11am. Restaurant and pub, established 1856. Patio, pub fare, burgers, clam chowder, good draught beer selection on tap, large screen TV for sporting events, banquet room. $10-20/main course. 

Sleep

Merrickville has many small, charming bed and breakfast establishments. Two -- Millisle and Wolford -- are among the top 5% of Ontario B&Bs as reviewed by Janette Higgins, author of “Best Places to Bed and Breakfast in Ontario”.

• 🌍 Baldachin Inn, 111 St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone]. Harry McLean’s Pub serves imported and domestic beer and wine. Baldachin Fine Dining Room offers casual dining from 11am, with savoury and organic daily specials. Wi-fi in rooms, non-smoking, pets $10/night extra. $120-230/night. 

Bed and breakfast

• 🌍 Millisle Bed & Breakfast, 205 Mill St., ☎ [phone]. 1840s Victorian heritage home with verandah and all the grace and tranquility of the past. $135-165 (double). 

Camping

• 🌍 Merrickville Lockstation, Main St. at St. Lawrence St., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. 
• 🌍 Lions Club Park Campground, Main Street (St John St. beside the Depot building), ☎ [phone]. 

Stay healthy

The closest hospitals are the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital in Smiths Falls to the west and the Kemptville District Hospital in Kemptville to the east. Each is slightly over a quarter-hour drive from Merrickville at the posted speed limits.

Nearby

Kemptville

An unincorporated village of 3500 people on the Kemptville Creek, a few kilometres south of the Rideau River, Kemptville is the only town on the Highway 416 freeway between Prescott and Ottawa. (It's closer to Prescott than it is to Ottawa.) The University of Guelph operated an agricultural campus in the village until 2015.

• 🌍 Rideau River Provincial Park, 2680 Donnelly Dr, Becketts Landing, ☎ [phone]. On Rideau system, canoeing, boating, camping. 
• 🌍 Saunders Country Critters, 1058 County Road 44, Oxford Station, ☎ [phone]. Farm with private zoo and greenhouses; garden centre with 1500 varieties of annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables. 
• 🌍 Clothier Inn Motel, 8 Clothier St E, Kemptville, ☎ [phone]. 14-room downtown motel, refrigerators, Internet. 

Mountain Township

• 🌍 Sandy Mountain camp and golf, 10152 County Rd 43, Mountain (4km east of Highway 416), ☎ [phone]. Nine-hole golf course, mini-golf, camping and RV park. Showers, toilets, convenience store, ice cream. 

Go next

• Ottawa (downtown), north 75 km (45 mi)
• Kemptville, east 20 km (12 mi)
• Brockville, south 45 km (29 mi)
• Smiths Falls, west 22 km (14 mi)