Bikepacking Tours
4,296.6 km over 58 days on 14 tours
- QBC Merrickville Camping This was my first time hanging with the [Ottawa Queer Bike Club](https://qbcottawa.org), it was a lot of fun! We went camping to Merrickville. The ride was no-drop at a party pace, with plenty of rest stops and shadow. It worked well to start from the Bowesville train station.
- Tour de Petite Nation: 2025 This route was planned by [Doug van den Ham](https://www.reddit.com/user/DvdH_OTT/), I rode it in 2025. Below are Doug's notes, with some of my modifications. So, if I was going to do a long weekend from Ottawa (3 nights), I'd do something like this. I’ve kept most of the routes on the shorter side of things. My take is that you get to camp a bit quick and if you feel like a bit more ride, you can always drop the gear and do a bit of local exploring. **Day 1: Ottawa to Montagne Noire** - Route option 1 (mixed surface): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51393389) - Camp: [Park Montagne Noire](https://www.parcdesmontagnesnoires.ca/h%C3%A9bergements) - Note: The staff will send an email with self-check-in instructions if you arrive after 5pm. - The ride / climb up to the either of the lookouts on the mountain is worth it. If it’s a clear day, you can see Mont Tremblant and Mont St Marie from the tower. Plus the sunset from the tower is amazing and it’s pretty easy to get back down the service road to camp even in fading light. Montagne Noire also has small cabins for rent. - From Montagne Noire, the closest grocer is Marche Faubert in Montepellier (7km) or Intermarche in Ripon (6km). **Day 2: Montagne Noire to Lac Simon** - Route option 1 (paved): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51393510) - All paved roads (some better than others) really good café at Café des Orties, just south of the route on Rue Principle in Ripon. And an excellent bakery / cafe (open Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings) at km 14. - There's a little restuarant at the south end of Lac Simon. - The route up the west side of Lac Simon has some stunning views - and wickedly steep climbs. - The camp ground at the north end of Lac Simon is very nice and has a great beach. - Route option 2 (adventure): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51393662) - I would not recommend taking the ‘adventure’ option solo. It follows some fairly remote trail sections with limited cell coverage. However, from Lac Mulet, you can ‘bail-out’ and take the gravel road back towards Lac Barriere and rejoin the Route Option 1 at 21km in. - Camp: [Lac Simon](https://www.sepaq.com/ct/sim/) - Lac Simon is a beautiful camping area. There’s a good range of options for accommodation ranging from basic spaces to ready-to-camp units. The beach is excellent. - There’s three Depanneurs in Duhamel, just a few kms north of the campground. **Day 3: Lac Simon to Plaisance** - Route Option 1 (mixed surface): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51393806) - This mixed surface route jumps back and forth between the lakes and forests and the farm lands that make up the north-south valleys of the region. - St. Andre-d'Avellin is has a few opportunities to resupply and there is water available at the start of the Joseph Louis Papineau Trail as you leave town. - The waterfall at km 78 is quite spectacular if you venture a few hundred meters south from the bridge. - Route ends at the Parc National Plaisance info centre, but figure on a few more kms to get to the camping areas. - I really liked "Crèmerie Café Notre-Dame" by Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, amazing gelato - Route Option 2 (paved): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51408169) - There's lots of options for stopping for food / drink in both Cheneville and St-Andre-Avellin. - Camp: [Plaisance National Park](https://www.sepaq.com/pq/pla/) - [read my review in ottawa by bike](https://ottawabybike.ca/routes/ottawa-to-plaisance) - Note that Plaissance is part of [Velo Quebec’s Bienvenue Cyclists Program](https://www.sepaq.com/camping/annexes/bienvenue-cyclistes.dot) - You’re also a relatively short ride from Montebello and the whole highway 148 corridor has quite cycling friendly with lots of options for food. **Day 4: Plaisance to Ottawa** - Route Option 1 (Quebec side, paved): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51408673) - Route Option 2 (Ontario side, mixed surface): [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51408579) - On the way back I liked stopping at "Sunrise Bites" in Navan, their "hand taco" is the best! - Route Option 3 (Ontario Side, paved): [eljojo.bike](https://eljojo.bike/tours/plaisance-2025)
- Plaisance 2025 It's becoming a yearly tradition for me to visit the [Plaisance Park](https://ottawabybike.ca/routes/ottawa-to-plaisance), this year I learned about [Bienvenue Cyclistes!](https://www.routeverte.com/en/hebergements/parc-national-de-plaisance-2/), which allows you to camp for a cheaper rate without reservations this year I tried to spend more time on the Ontario side, for an easier ride next to less cars
- Camping at the Canadian Shield Bikepacking Summit I had the privilege of attending the [2025 edition of the Canadian Shield Bikepacking Summit](https://bikepacking.com/event/canadian-shield-bikepacking-summit-2025/), this was my ride to Wakefield and return. It's great to meet and camp next to world-class bike riders, hear their stories over the fire and share the path too!
- TdMeO 2024 I joined my friend Jeremy Cole on his trip around Ottawa, Kingston, Cardinal, Saint-Zotique, and Montréal. Unfortunately I developed some knee pain and couldn't ride the last part back to Ottawa, so my friend Willem van der Jagt drove me back home. Thanks to Jeremy, Willem, and everyone else for making this a wonderful trip!
- camping at wesley clover parks I wanted to try out a hammock camping setup so I stayed for a night at [Wesley Clover Parks](https://wesleycloverparks.com), just 20kms away from downtown Ottawa. It's a great campsite with amenities. I had to call them to book a tent site.
- Pembroke-Fort-Coulonge Tour Wanting to grow my [Wandrer](http://wandrer.earth) map, I decided to explore west of Ottawa, towards Fort-Coulonge and Pembroke, passing by Shawville and exploring parts of the [PPJ Trail](http://www.cycloparcppj.org/index_en.php)!
- Bikepacking to The Opinicon Decided to go for a weekend one-nighter, visit The Opinicon, and camp at The Rideau Locks. I also got to explore some of the Cataraqui trail.
- Plaisance Camping Book Camping: [Parc national de Plaisance](https://www.sepaq.com/pq/pla/index.dot?language_id=1). Read my review [here](/rides/3-overnighter-at-plaisance). 🗺️ [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41120844?privacy_code=PTiJKhbqslHXdLjc)
- Taylor Lake camping This tour starts off [Pink Lake](/routes/17-pink-lake-in-gatineau-park) and takes off right at [Meech Lake](/routes/8-gatineau-meech-champlain). I'm very grateful for this tour, Watson showed me the ropes on how to go bikepacking. From getting bear bells to setting up my tent and following proper practices. This was an incredibly hard ride up, pushing for many hours in the dark using lights on the bike, it was honestly great times though, the views were incredible and it felt very rewarding to conquer each climb. - [Book Camping](https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/camping-and-accommodations-in-gatineau-park) in NCC website - make sure to book at least 24H ahead! if you forget, you can call the Park and they'll figure out. - [Off-Track Travel's tips for Camping in Gatineau](https://offtracktravel.ca/gatineau-park-camping/) - [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40857172?privacy_code=p2Mo88bXNwF8zLe0)
- berlin -> postdam
- Eurotour 2022: Germany, Belgium, Netherlands Eurovelo 12 with Felix https://en.eurovelo.com/ev12
- Exploring Chile During my 2022-2023 holiday season in Chile, I set a personal goal to do a lot of biking, and I'm proud to say that I exceeded my own expectations. I had a fantastic time exploring the beautiful scenery on two wheels and pushing myself to new levels of physical endurance. Unfortunately, my trip was marred by an accident that occurred during one of my rides. However, I learned a valuable lesson from the experience and remained positive throughout the remainder of my trip. Despite the setback, I had a wonderful time in Chile and returned home feeling invigorated and accomplished.
- Ottawa to Montréal This is was my first tour ever. I honestly never thought I would be able to travel by bike. It was certainly a challenge but it paid-off tremendously, since it gave me the courage to keep riding my bike around the world! The route is roughly Ottawa to Cumberland (Ontario), take the ferry, and then continue on the Route Verte until Montréal. Next time, I'd like to try the [Prescott-Russel Trail](https://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails/view/prescott-and-russell-recreational-trail). I decided to treat myself and stayed at [Manoir Chamberland](https://www.manoirchamberland.com/), a lovely boutique hotel hosted by their own owners. Delicious breakfasts by the terrace and hot-tub after a long day of riding. Since this was my first bike tour, rest days were key to recover from long rides. Montebello has a great [Mountain Biking](https://montebellovelo.com/?lang=en) trail too, which you have to visit! - 🗺️ [Ride with GPS](https://ridewithgps.com/collections/31982?privacy_code=a016bdiwU6aKibJr)