Trail 51- A 7.5 km Hike in the Ottawa Greenbelt

For sneak peeks of our (almost!) weekly blog posts or just to chat, follow us over on Instagram!

@adventurereport

Spring is always a tricky time of year to hike, with the melt changing trail conditions on a daily basis. So when we wanted to get outside for a hike in mid-March, we knew we wanted something that would be relatively flat and easy to hike along. The Ottawa Greenbelt is the perfect place to find a hike like that. We headed to the Mer Bleue sector!

We’ve already hiked the trails closest to the bog. So we decided to check out Trail 51 for a longish hike that wouldn’t be too taxing.

The NCC lists Trail 51 as being 7.5 kilometres long. In the winter months it’s used as a cross country skiing trail, and posted signs ask that you not step on the ski tracks. Which was totally easy to do because the trail was so wide in most places.

Trail 51 turned out to be the perfect choice for us. It was super flat and easy to walk along for the length of it. In a few different spots birdfeeders had been put up so we got to see lots of little chickadees. Our daughter is at an age now where she loves watching little birds and squirrels, so she really enjoyed this trail too.

Getting There

In order to access the trail, we parked at P20 off of Anderson Road. The lot was a good size, with space for at least forty cars. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.404682, -75.558987.

Near the back of the parking lot there was a posted map, a small garbage can, and an outhouse. There were also a few picnic tables set into the woods next to a little birdfeeder that saw a lot of action while we were there.

The trailhead left right from the back of the parking lot. Like most NCC trails, the map showed different points along the trail, and at each point there was a sign and a map letting us know exactly where we were.

The Plan

We wanted a nice long walk, so we decided we’d take the longest route possible. Our plan was to head all the way out to Point T, hiking the trail clockwise.

In the winter, these trails are shared with cross-country skiers, so there was a sign posted asking that we not walk on the ski tracks.

Starting out, the trail was super wide, so that was easy to do. We walked along a trail as wide as a road, and reached Point A after only going 200 metres.

In order to head to Point B, we needed to continue straight. Point C was to our right, and to our left was Trail 50, which heads out into the forest across Anderson road.

Birdfeeders

Not long after, we passed by a big tree with tons of birdfeeders hanging from it. This was obviously a very popular spot for little kids (and lets be honest, adults!) to watch and feed the birds.

At 0.8 Kms. there was a posted sign and map at “Point B.” We carried on straight to Point M. Point C was off to our right, so turning here would be a great option for a shorter hike.

The trail thinned out just a little bit as we carried on. We spotted a few yellow trail markers in the trees as we went along, but not so many that they could actually be relied on. Fortunately, the trail was so wide it would have been impossible to get lost.

We crossed under a set of powerlines and arrived at Point M on the trail (at 1.45 Km.). There were no decisions to make at this point, we just continued on to Point N, which we reached 300 metres later.

We turned left to get to Point V, but this was another great spot where you could decide to shorten your hike by going straight to point O and then looping back.

The trail out to Point V was more of a footpath than the wide trail before us. We walked over a boardwalk but I couldn’t tell how long it was because it was mostly still covered with snow.

The Second Loop

At Point V we turned left again to head out to Point U.

The trail widened up again, and we walked past an open field for a little bit. After hiking 2.75 Kms. we walked past an offshoot on the trail that went out to parking on Walkley Road. Immediately after, we reached Point U and headed left to get out to Point T (the furthest point on the trail for us).

The loop out to Point T was a little thinner, but still very easy to follow. The whole trail had been very flat so far, and this section was no exception. Here there were trail markers, but they said Trail 52, so I think they were left over from a long time ago.

Heading Back

We passed Point T having hiked 3.6 Kms., and reached Point S by 4.25 Kms. Carrying on, we found ourselves on the other side of the open field we had hiked along before, on a widened trail.

After hiking 5.1 Kms. we reached Point R, and veered slightly to our left to re-enter the forest and reach Point O (just 200 metres further).

At Point O, we turned left to get to Point E. Here, both available routes (via Point E or Point N) back to the parking lot were the same distance.

Reaching Point E we turned to our right, having decided to skip the little loop that would have taken us out to Point F.

We crossed back under the power lines and reached Point D at the 6.2 Km. mark. Here, the loop from Point F rejoined the main trail.

Just after, we reached Point C and decided to head to our left to get back to Point A, instead of going the way we had already hiked.

That was a good call! The section between Point C and Point A was probably the prettiest on the whole trail. And there were a ton of little footbridges to keep things interesting. Plus, it was a shorter way back to the parking lot and we were getting hungry!

Trail Thoughts           

By the time we made it back to the car, we had hiked a total of 7.5 Kms. We covered that distance in 2 hours and 15 minutes. But, we were pretty slow because we let our daughter walk for a bit and she’s easily distracted! Trail 51 turned out to be a perfect trail choice for the day. It was long enough that we got to be out there for a little while, but also nice and easy so we didn’t have to work too hard.

I loved how there were so many options for a shorter or longer hike. The section from Point A to B to C honestly has everything you need in a hike, if you’re looking for a short one. There were birds and squirrels to feed, as well as beautiful trees between Point A and C. It was absolutely my favorite part of the trail.

But if you felt like parking at Walkley, the Point T loop was really nice too, for another short option.

All in all, Trail 51 is going to be a nice walk no matter what section you do.

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

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.

Gear We Brought

• Hiking Boots
• Wool Socks
• Long Sleeve
• Light Jacket
• Buff Merino Wool Headband
• Light gloves
• MSR Evo Snowshoes
• MEC Shuttlecraft Kid Carrier
• Day Pack
• Snacks
• Nalgene 32 Ounce Bottle
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Baby Wool Base Layer
• One piece Winter Suit from Decathlon (for baby)
• Baby Hat
• Stonz Booties (for baby to walk in)