Discover Arnprior: Museum, Forest and Trails

Arnprior combines cultural history in its town centre and museum with forest and river experiences that vary across its named trails. For planning, consider both the specific trail lengths and the features of each destination: the Gillies Grove Trail is a loop, while the McLachlin Trail offers views of both rivers.

Cultural history in the town centre and museum

Arnprior’s town centre is designated as a Heritage Conservation District. The designation applies to the town centre as a district, a different scope from the history of any one building. The Arnprior + District Museum is a separate point of interest: it is located in the town centre in a heritage-designated Thomas Fuller post office dating to around 1896.

The museum has permanent and temporary exhibits on two floors. They explore life in a town in the Ottawa Valley with roots in the lumber industry at the confluence of the Ottawa and Madawaska rivers. In the Timber Room, tools, artifacts and photographs illustrate the history of the Ottawa Valley lumber industry. The exhibits thus focus on both town life and the lumber industry.

Forest, rivers and trails

Gillies Grove is on the outskirts of Arnprior and is one of the few remaining accessible forest areas in the Ottawa Valley with significant stands of old eastern white pine. Gillies Grove and House were designated a National Historic Site in 1993. Gillies Grove is also home to a 47-metre-tall eastern white pine, described as the tallest tree in Ontario. The tree is unmarked.

Gillies Grove’s trail network includes White Pine Loop, Cross Grove Trail and Hemlock Loop. The Gillies Grove Trail is a 3.6-kilometre loop through Gillies Grove and Robert Simpson Park along the Madawaska River. The McLachlin Trail is 3.7 kilometres long, offers views of both rivers in Arnprior and connects to the Macnamara Nature Trail.

The two trails are similar in length. For orientation, their individual features may therefore matter more than the small difference in distance: the Gillies Grove Trail is described as a loop through the named areas and along the Madawaska River; key features of the McLachlin Trail are its views of both rivers and its connection to the Macnamara Nature Trail.

The Algonquin Trail, also called the Ottawa Valley Recreation Trail, offers a longer-distance perspective. This 296-kilometre corridor runs from Smiths Falls to Mattawa and includes Arnprior. It places the trail in a different context from the trails specifically described in Gillies Grove and Arnprior.

Plan your visit

The Arnprior + District Museum is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; hours may vary. Check them before travelling. Free parking is available in the museum parking lot. Access is via Madawaska Street and John Street. There is an accessible ramp at the rear of the parking lot.

A demonstration and rental centre for Ottawa Valley Air Paddle is located at the beach in McLean Park, one of Arnprior’s two riverside beaches. Availability may change; check before your visit.

Discover more destinations

Petawawa, Barry's Bay, Greater Madawaska, Foresters Falls, Golden Lake, Killaloe, Renfrew, Pembroke

For the broader travel overview: Renfrew County.