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We’ve headed out to Shirley’s Bay quite a few times, but never got around to posting about it on the bog because… we really didn’t see what all the fuss was about.
Before, we had always gone in the spring and early summer. We were swarmed by mosquitoes and the trails near the river were super wet and muddy. And one time when we were there one of the bridges over a small creek was broken. Plus, the trails themselves are through this kind of… shrubby field? So they’re just not all that pretty.
But the last time I went was a few weeks ago, with my daughter. A few new bridges had been built, and there were no mosquitoes in sight. Making the trails infinitely more enjoyable in my books. Plus, I decided to walk the entire trail system, which got us out to the Ottawa River, and Shirley’s Bay Park. My daughter ADORED the rocky beach because she’s two and loves every rock she’s ever seen. We had a blast throwing rocks into the water, so now I’ve decided that I judged these trails too harshly at first.
Dogs are allowed on Trail 10, although not allowed on the “Shoreline Trail” at Shirley’s Bay Park. However, there are a few great spots along Trail 10 with access to the river so if your dog is a swimmer, this might be the spot for them.
Her favorite spot along the trail.
Getting There
There are two parking lots that can be used to access the trails near Shirley’s Bay.
At Shirley’s Bay Park there’s P1. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.365313, -75.883287. The parking lot there is huge. At the Park there are universally accessible outhouses, picnic tables, and a boat launch. When you look on the NCC’s map it notes that the “Shoreline Trail” starts at the park and is 100 metres long. This is really just a stretch of rocky beach that you can walk down, versus an actual trail.” However, the beach was really cool, so if you’re just looking to spend some time near the water without having to go too far, this is definitely the place to start!
Looking for a longer walk, we started our day at P2 off of Carling Avenue. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.353941, -75.860602. There was space for about 50 cars in the lots, but no facilities at the trailhead.
Our Route
Looking at the map, I knew we wanted to takes Trail 10 out to the river, and then use the Greenbelt Pathway West to make a loop on our return. The Greenbelt Pathway West is universally accessible, but Trail 10 is not.
The NCC’s trail map (not showing waypoints).
There was a map posted at the trailhead, and we set out on an incredibly wide, flat path. As with most of their trails, the NCC had marked the path with “waypoints” along the way. 50 metres along we reached Waypoint B and turned to our right, to complete the trail in a counter-clockwise direction.
In another hundred metres we had reached Waypoint C. Here we had a choice. We could go straight ahead to Waypoint E, or take a slightly longer route by heading to our right, in the direction of Waypoint D. Naturally, we chose the longer route.
The terrain shifted slightly from hard packed dirt with gravel over top to grass overtaking it in some sections.
We spotted a few trail 10 markers in the trees along the way but the trail was so wide it would be impossible to lose it regardless.
What the waypoints look like. Maps are posted here as well.
Closer to the Ottawa River
We passed Waypoint D after walking for 700 metres, and kept with the trail. We crossed over a short footbridge, then arrived at Waypoint E after walking 1.2 km. Here, on my right hand side, there was access to the trail from Hastings Street (coordinates 45.361463, -75.865614). I stuck with the trail ahead of me to continue our loop.
We crossed over another small bridge, and began to spot footpaths leading out to the Ottawa River as we walked along. Along this section of trail there were a few good spots where you could get down by the water and let your pups off for a swim.
Around the 1.5 km mark I noticed a trail marker off to my left, but that would have led me through a section that was almost completely flooded. I stuck with the wide, dry trail to the right and found another offshoot that brought me out for a beautiful view over the river.
What the first part of the trail looked like.
Changes in the Terrain
The trail began to change here, turning from flat to terrain that had a few more roots and rocks scattered about. We were also immersed in a forest where before we had been walking through an area filled with just…. Scrubby brush.
At 2 km we crossed over a fancy new bridge (stopping to drop rocks into the swamp beneath it). Beyond this, I began to see leaves and twigs that had been pushed along the trail by moving water. It was obvious that this section of trail sometimes gets VERY wet.
Then, we came to the trail split where Trail 10 met with the Greenbelt Pathway West. There were a few fenced off sections here, as new trees had been planted recently.
Onto the Road
There was no Waypoint posted at this split, although it would have been helpful. I went to the right, knowing that we had to stick with the river. At 2.45 km the trail spat us out onto the road. We followed it until we got onto Shirley Blvd, and then followed that road until we spotted a lovely little section of rocky beach right out at the river. Then, we spotted a trail that continued to take us northwest, and brought us to Shirley’s Bay Park, where there was an even bigger beach! And a lot more people.
My daughter had a ton of fun watching the big kids throw even bigger rocks into the water, before we decided to head back the way we had come and finish off the loop.
By the time we had run around the beach a ton, I had logged roughly 4 km on my watch. However, the NCC notes that the entire length of Trail 10 is 4.2 km, so our distance was probably slightly off by that point.
Looking out over the Ottawa River- worth it!
Heading Back
Taking the road back and then getting back on the trail, we soon arrived back at the trail split where the fences were up. Here, I had 4.8 km on the watch.
This time I went to the right, which brought us onto the Greenbelt Pathway West. This section of the trail is universally accessible- it’s about 2 metres wide, very flat, and made up of hard packed dirt with tiny gravel pressed into it.
At 6 km the trail split at Wapoint A. To our right, the Greenbelt Pathway West continued on. We turned slightly to the left to get back onto Trail 10 and return to the parking lot. This section of trail was surrounded by cedar, and probably the prettiest section we had seen so far.
Getting back onto Trail 10.
On Trail 10 Again
A few hundred metres later, we crossed over Davidson’s Side road. One more foot bridge and a small garter snake, and we found ourselves back at the parking lot. All in all, we had walked just over 7 km. We covered that distance in 2 hours and 11 minutes. Which, let me tell you my friends, is pretty good with a toddler in tow!
So, do I LOVE Shirley’s Bay like so many others seem to? Not yet, and definitely not in the spring when the mosquitoes are at their fiercest. But, do I think it’s a great spot to get close to the water and into the woods without too much effort? Absolutely.
Plus, I’ve heard it’s a great spot for birders, and I could see how Trail 10 would be popular with dog owners who want to take their pups out for a swim. So at the very least, I like it.
There’s been a lot of maintenance done on the trails in recent years, which is a good thing considering how wet they can get!
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 GPS tracked route of Trail 10 + the Greenbelt Pathway West.
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.
