Public lookout offers hidden view of Chaudière Falls
It was once called “The Second Niagara” — a swirling cataract where the Ottawa River plunged 15 metres over a series of limestone ledges with a roar that explorer Samuel de Champlain wrote in 1613 could be heard “two leagues away” (roughly 10 kilometres).
“The water falls … with such impetuosity on a rock that with the passage of time, it has hallowed out a wide, deep basin … the water whirls about to such an extent, and in the middle boils so vigorously, that Indians call it Asticou, that is to say, a kettle,” Champlain wrote in his journal.
You’ll need your imagination to picture the Chaudière Falls as they were before the river was harnessed by a hydroelectric dam, and especially during a summer drought that has reduced the flow to a fraction of what it can be.
However, a viewing point on the west end of Albert Island gives visitors a view of the falls that was blocked for more than a century by industrial development. First previewed last summer during the Canada 150 commemoration, the viewpoint was built in partnership between the National Capital Commission, the Zibi development and Hydro Ottawa, which operates the hydroelectric plant on the falls.
The 400-metre arc of the ring dam was built between 1907 and 1909. There are 50 spans in the dam and operators add or remove wooden timbers to control the river’s flow through the complex. Only once have all 50 spans been opened wide: during the record flooding along the Ottawa River in April and May of 2017.
“The NCC has sought for decades to create public access to Chaudière Falls, which were once the great wonder of the region,” said CEO Mark Kristmanson. “People would visit Chaudière Falls like they would visit Niagara.”
Although the viewing platform is open to the public, access isn’t obvious. The best route is from Albert Island, just at the south side of the Chaudière Bridge. There is no car parking, so you’ll need to park on the Ontario or Quebec side and walk onto the island. Biking would be easier. Eventually, direct access will be added from the Ontario side near the Canadian War Museum and via the Zibi commercial-residential development.
“There’s still connections to be made through the Zibi lands,” Kristmanson said. “These agreements are complex, they take some time. It’s now on the horizon to have full public access. It will be quite a beautiful addition to this area. With the Zibi development coming along ... this whole sector of the city will be an amazing place.”