For sneak peeks of our (almost!) weekly blog posts or just to chat, follow us over on Instagram!
This past long weekend, we found a new (to us!) trail in Arnprior- the Macnamara Nature Trail. I get really excited when I hear about a trail that’s a bit longer (this one was around 6 km) because most of the trails I haven’t visited yet tend to be on the shorter side.
We headed out on a beautiful fall day, stopping nowhere along the way. Even though we’re (honestly) very burnt out on the idea of COVID, we still want to be responsible as the numbers rise. Even though Arnprior is a little ways from us, there ended up being only a handful of people on the trail. This made it incredibly easy to maintain social distancing, so it felt like a good fit for the day.
The Macnamara Nature Trail proved to be a lovely trail that wasn’t too hard, and felt like a relaxing walk through the woods. The fall colours were stunning, and there was a nice lookout over the marsh along the way too.
Posted signs at the trailhead noted that dogs are not allowed on the trail, and that it wasn’t currently being maintained because of COVID.
Fall was in full effect on the Macnamara Nature Trail recently.
Getting There
The Macnamara Nature Trail is close to the Ottawa River in Arnprior. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.438412, -76.336478.
There was a sign by the side of the road that we easily spotted before heading into the parking lot. In the lot, there was space for only a handful of cars. Despite this, the trailhead looked quiet and we had our choice of spots. There were no washrooms at the trailhead.
The trailhead was at the back of the parking lot, with a big bulletin board posted beside it. I had looked at trail maps online before coming, so when I saw the map posted with only one loop, I figured it had to be an older version. Turns out I was right, and we had two loops to choose from once we were out there. Who could choose though?? We hiked them both.
The Trail
We set out along an unassuming, well worn path. Only a few hundred metres in, we began spotting trail markers. The first markers we saw were bright orange circles with arrows attached, to point us in the right direction. Later on, they were joined by blue markers, and the two styles switched back and forth seemingly randomly as we travelled along. At any rate, the trail was so worn into the dirt, and the trail markers so frequent, that we never felt we were at risk of losing the trail.
Trail markers were plentiful and easy to spot.
500 metres in, we crossed over a short boardwalk, conveniently placed to keep our feet dry. At .6 km, we noticed a trail split off to our left with a sign high in the tree indicating it was the Nopiming Loop.
We decided to continue straight ahead, only because when I had looked at the map previously it seemed that the loop in front of us was longer, and we weren’t totally sure exactly HOW long it was. So we decided we would save the shorter loop for the way back and we could decide then if we wanted to add it on.
Trail sign for the Nopiming Loop.
Lime Kiln Ruins
A longer boardwalk brought us through a swampy section, and we traversed one more before arriving at the ruins of an old lime kiln around the .9 km mark. A little platform had been built above the ruins giving us a great view into the structure of the kiln. Oddly enough, there was a number 5 posted on the platform.
Upon returning to the real world and doing a bit more Googling, I found a trail guide that explained what was at the various numbered spots along the way.
Just beyond the ruins, the trail split to form the loop we were going to hike. We headed off to the right, for no real reason.
Checking out the kiln up close.
The Terrain
So far, the trail had been fairly easy to traverse and it continued on in this manner. Here and there was the occasional rock or root scattered about, but for the most part we found ourselves walking along on packed down earth.
The trail also widened and thinned out as we travelled along. In some spots it was wide enough to walk side by side whereas in others we found ourselves having to walk single file.
Around 1.2 km, the forest floor began to be littered with a plant I’ve never seen before. They were tall and skinny, with no leaves at all, and there were thousands of them! Pressed to describe them, I would say they looked like shoots of asparagus before it goes to seed, but that’s not quite right. It was really cool!
Just before hiking 1.5 km, we hiked up a slight incline. We found ourselves at what seemed to be another split, with a wide trail running off to our left and right. Fortunately, the trail markers made it very clear that we needed to turn to the left to stay on the looped trail, and we did so. The number 15 was posted along with the trail markers.
The terrain along the Macnamara Nature Trail was varied, but generally pretty easy to traverse.
Lookout over the Marsh
The trail continued on, easy to follow and to hike. Then, at 2.8 km we came upon the split for the lookout over the marsh. We turned to our right, hiking just a short distance before arriving at a boardwalk that was… Safe but in need of repair. The boardwalk was in place to bring us out to a tall platform over the swamp, and it was obvious that the freeze thaw cycle hadn’t been kind to it. In fact, where it was intended to connect to the stairs leading up to the platform, it had shifted so much there was actually 2-3 feet between the boardwalk and the stairs.
Regardless! The view over the swamp was lovely, especially with the fall colours.
Looking out over the marsh.
We headed back the way we had come, turning right when we reached the trail split again. Then, we noticed the number 8 posted at the split.
We passed by a huge metal bin on our way back to the trail split. Stopping to open it, we realized it would normally hold bird seed, and that there was a line strung up where a bird feeder could be placed. There was also a little bench, so during times that the trail is maintained this could be a great spot for some birdwatching. Unfortunately when we were hiking there was no bird seed, and therefore no birds.
Back at the Nopiming Loop
We were back at the split for the loop having hiked 3.5 km. Just a few hundred metres later we decided to turn right to add on the Nopiming Loop.
Almost immediately, we found ourselves crossing a long metal bridge. Which my daughter affectionately began calling the “fancy bridge.”
The trail split to form a loop so quickly after leaving the bridge that we almost missed it. A section of trail headed off to our right so abruptly that it would have been easy to miss. But even if we had, we would have been just fine continuing straight ahead as it would have brought us back eventually.
Ultimately, we did decide to head straight. This section of the trail was similar to previous sections. Some rocks, some roots, some small hills, but generally pretty easy.
Fancy bridge!
Cheater Trail
When we had hiked 4.2 km, we noticed a split in the trail with yellow markers leading off to our right. Since I vaguely remembered there being a “cheater trail” that I had seen on the map making this loop shorter, we decided to skip the yellow markers and stick with the orange to hike the whole loop.
Soon, we began to see houses through the treeline. We followed the orange markers to our right, although it did seem there was a trail down from the neighbourhood leading into the forest on our other side.
The trail ran parallel to the road for a short while, and we could clearly see a neighbourhood through the trees. But quickly enough it wound deeper into the forest again. At the 4.65 km mark we noticed another trail split with yellow markers. Assuming this was the cheater trail, it would have shaved off only 400 metres or so.
We crossed over a small footbridge before traversing the steepest hill we had come across yet, but it was still quite manageable. The next section of trail was also the rockiest we had seen it so far.
Engulfed in fall colours.
Another Lookout
Just under 5 km we noticed a different set of yellow markers. Following these brought us to a lovely little sitting area with a beautiful bench and a great view over the marshy section that the “fancy bridge” had brought us across.
The trail remained slightly more technical than it had been previously until it dropped us back off at the bridge. Heading back, we turned to our right when we reached the original trail split.
Trail Thoughts
By the time we arrived back at the parking lot, we had hiked just under 6 km. It had taken us 2 hours and 20 minutes, but that was with a toddler hiking a lot of the way. And that tends to go slowly.
We really enjoyed the Macnamara Nature Trail. I think a lot of our love for it came from the time of year that we went. The trees along the route were just stunning. And the views over the marsh made even better by a few pops of red here and there.
But it was also just a nice, easy trail that got us a great walk in the woods. Not too short, not too long, the Macnamara Nature Trail was just right!
Easy hiking on a great trail.
I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!
Map and Elevation Gain
My map of our GPS tracked route along the Macnamara Nature Trail.
Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.
Elevation gain along the trail.
Gear We Brought
- Wool Socks
- Hiking Boots
- Hiking Poles
- Mountain Warehouse Day Pack
- Nalgene
- First Aid Kit with Tick Removal Tool
- SOL 2 Person Bivvy
- Compass
- Snacks
- Ergobaby Carrier
