Discover Arnprior through two distinct highlights: its local history and trails through forest and river landscapes. The town centre is designated as a Heritage Conservation District. There is also the Arnprior + District Museum, while Gillies Grove, with its old Weymouth pines and several named trails, offers a different perspective on the area. When planning your visit, consider whether you would like to spend more time exploring the exhibits and history or walking the trails.
Local History in the Centre
The Arnprior + District Museum is located in the town centre, in a designated heritage building: a Thomas Fuller post office dating to around 1896. The building itself is therefore part of the area’s historic character. Exhibits span two floors and include both permanent displays and changing presentations.
A dedicated area, the Timber Room, tells the story of the Ottawa Valley’s lumber industry through tools, artifacts and photographs. Other exhibits explore life in an Ottawa Valley town whose roots lie in the lumber industry and at the confluence of the Ottawa and Madawaska rivers. Visitors can encounter both individual objects from working life and the broader context of the town’s history and rivers.
The designated historic sites also give Arnprior a clear cultural point of reference: Gillies Grove and House was designated a National Historic Site in 1993. Together with the Heritage Conservation District and the museum, it makes it possible to plan a visit around several aspects of local history, though not all the stops cover the same period or perspective.
Gillies Grove and Riverside Trails
Gillies Grove is one of the few remaining accessible forest areas in the Ottawa Valley with significant stands of old-growth eastern white pine. A 47-metre-tall eastern white pine stands in the Grove and is described as the tallest tree in Ontario. The tree is not marked. The trail network includes White Pine Loop, Cross Grove Trail and Hemlock Loop.
The 3.6-kilometre Gillies Grove Trail is a loop through Gillies Grove and Robert Simpson Park along the Madawaska River. The McLachlin Trail is a similar length at 3.7 kilometres, but leads to views of both rivers in Arnprior and connects to the Macnamara Nature Trail. The lengths alone therefore do little to distinguish the two trails; the loop through the Grove and park, or the river views and connection to the longer nature trail, offer a better guide when choosing between them.
At the regional level, Arnprior is part of the Algonquin Trail, also known as the Ottawa Valley Recreation Trail. This 296-kilometre corridor extends from Smiths Falls to Mattawa and includes Arnprior. It is on a different scale from the named trails in Gillies Grove: local routes have specific distances and described paths, while the corridor represents the larger regional connection.
Practical Information
The Arnprior + District Museum is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; hours may vary. Check before you arrive. Free parking is available at the museum, with access via Madawaska Street and John Street. An accessible ramp is located at the rear parking lot.
A demonstration and rental centre operated by Ottawa Valley Air Paddle is located at the beach in McLean Park. As availability may change, it is advisable to check before your visit. This allows you to include the offering in your plans without assuming it will always be available.
Discover more destinations: Barry's Bay, Greater Madawaska, Petawawa, Killaloe, Pembroke, Foresters Falls, Renfrew, Golden Lake.
For the regional travel overview: Renfrew County.
