Ottawa - Gatineau Hike Reviews : September 2014

1. Lusk Cave

This trail is approximately a 50-55 minute drive (just as long as you don't get lost). Unfortunately, I got slightly lost driving there. Despite some shortcomings, the overall drive was not too bad to get there.

To top it off, the signs leading to the trail were kind of misleading. It took about 25 minutes to get onto the correct trail that lead to the caves. If you go on the NCC website, you can download a pdf file of the map and description of the trail.

Once on the correct trail, it was a pleasant and easy walk leading to the actual caves. The easy part of the trail was estimated at maybe 1.5-2 hours long one way, so 4h in total. The trail that we took (as there are at least two) was the one that followed the lake, so we passed a few beaches.

Coming closer to the caves, there was board walk at times. There were also many rocks and the steepness became more evident, and so did the level of difficulty. This steepness was quite tolerable, actually.

The actual caves themselves were pretty much a hidden treasure. I would highly recommend checking out these caves if you have at least a whole day off.

We departed around 10am from downtown Ottawa and arrived at the Parent parking lot around 1130. The entire hike itself took around 4.5-5 hours to complete, additional time due to the fact we got lost a few times and took many photos. Also, I definitely got stuck in a thunderstorm on my way back to the parking lot but I had my umbrella and raincoat handy! It's definitely handy to throw in all your much needed hiking equipment/materials in case of rapid weather changes.

This effort was definitely worth it though and I would recommend other hikers to try this trail out at some point in the near future.

PS. It would be wise to bring swim wear, change of clothes, a towel and also a head lamp if you're planning on going through the caves. There is water present in the caves that apparently can be as high as a metre, all depending on the time you visit and season. The caves also become very dark at the middle section. No headlamp is very dangerous. Bringing small snacks is also a great idea since this hike is quite long and we found that we became quite hungry after we were done exploring the caves.

Finally on the right trail,
peering to the left is this waterfront view

Pleasant and easy trail

One of the beaches that we pass through

Getting closer to the caves

Finally arrived at the caves

First section/entrance of caves

Second entrance of caves

Taking a quick break before entering the caves

Entered the cave, looking out

Looking into the caves,
left my headlamp behind (unfortunately)

A view from the top
(Walking through 2nd entrance of cave)

2. Luskville Falls

The drive from downtown Ottawa takes approximately 45 minutes. Luckily my GPS on my cellular was quite functional and I did not get lost. The drive to this area is quite enjoyable, characterized by winding roads through forests and farmlands, as well as suburban areas in cottage like settings/townships. I did not need to print a map out of this trail as it was pretty easy to figure out, there was usually just one obvious trail leading up and down.

This trail was actually very challenging, especially for my semi-recovered bilateral knee sprains. The challenge is in due part to the steepness of the trail. I could definitely feel the irritation in my hamstrings after 3 hours, especially downhill.

The views are definitely worth the long hike, as there are many great photo opportunities as displayed by my photos below. Surprisingly enough, there is data/ internet access available on this trail, even up at the top 300m elevation.