You could not chose a better city to bring the family over the March Break!
With dozens of Museums and attractions, there is no shortage of things to do over your march break. The Lord Elgin Hotel is in the center of all the action in Ottawa, making it the ideal place to stay while you explore the city and go on your March Break Family Adventure. When you are not out and about exploring all there is, you can cozy up by the fireplace and play some board games, or go for a swim in our large swimming pool and warm up in the hot tub or sauna. It will be a wonderful break for the entire family!!
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Here is just a sampling of what you can do during your Ottawa March Break!!
Get active (indoors and outdoors)
Altitude Gym
During Spring Break Camp at Altitude Gym, kids between 6 and 14 years of age enjoy learning the basics of rock climbing, bouldering, outdoor activities, and more. Choose from Altitude Gym’s two locations: Gatineau, Que. where they offer this camp during both the Ontario and Quebec March Breaks, and Kanata, Ont. where they only offer the camp over the Ontario break.
Funhaven Family Fun Centre
Located just minutes west of downtown Ottawa, Funhaven offers a world-class laser tag arena, the latest high-tech mini-bowling lanes, an indoor roller coaster, bumper cars, an arcade and prize games, simulators and a huge jungle gym. The little ones are sure to be entertained during March Break!
Gees-Gees March Break Camps
The University of Ottawa’s Gee-Gees Sports Camps welcome active kids of all ages during the Ontario march break! The bilingual programs encourage learning and development of athletic skills through sports, games and activities. Kids can participate in a multi-sport camp or sign up for a specialized program for sports like rugby and soccer.
Camp Fortune
How often can you access a downhill ski center within a 15-minute drive from a major city? This is what makes Gatineau Park’s Camp Fortune, located in Chelsea, Que., so convenient – especially for Spring Break Lessons. The 3 or 4-day programs for kids aged 4 and up include a two-hour lesson and open skiing (the lift ticket is valid for the day), and full day programs are available for kids aged 7 and up. All programming is offered on weekdays during both the Quebec and Ontario March Breaks.
Mount Pakenham is located about a 45-minute drive West from Ottawa in the town of Pakenham, Ont. During the Ontario March Break, kids aged 6 to 14 can participate in a 3, 4 or 5-day ski camp that offers a minimum of three hours of ski instruction per day, plus other activities such as tubing, snowshoeing, movies and more!
Maple Syrup Fun
Maple taffy on snow, horse drawn sleigh rides, delicious pancake breakfasts or brunch – what’s not to love about maple season? Several sugar bushes and other sites located throughout Canada’s Capital Region offer programming during the 2020 maple season, which runs from late February to early April. Check out some of our local Maple farms
Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush
Located in Pakenham, Ont., just under an hour’s drive west of downtown Ottawa, the family-run Fulton’s Pancake House and Sugar Bush offers the traditional sugar bush experience, including tours of the syrup-making operation, meals in the pancake house and horse-drawn sleigh rides through the woods. Fulton’s also produces maple-based culinary and spa products which are sold in their Maple Shoppe (see the last item in this list to learn about maple’s health benefits).
Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm
Stanley’s Olde Maple Lane Farm, located about 30 minutes east of downtown Ottawa in Edwards, Ont., also offers a traditional sugar bush experience, plus a petting farm and a children’s play area, and even an Easter egg hunt.
Proulx Maple & Berry Farm
Located just east of Ottawa in Cumberland, Ont., Proulx Maple & Berry Farm offers a traditional sugar bush experience as well, including weekend brunch. Take one of their guided tours to learn how maple syrup is made, visit the small animal petting farm and let the kids let loose in the play parks. Sugar bush and pancake breakfast from Feb 23 to April 19th.
Log Farm
One of the newest additions to the Ottawa maple scene is the Log Farm, a pioneer-style working farm located in the Nepean area, just west of downtown Ottawa. The site is open to visitors at different periods of the year, including the popular maple season in March and April. Meet the farm animals, enjoy taffy on snow, take a wagon ride, collect maple sap and see how syrup is made. The Log Farm also features another Canadian treat this maple season: the iconic BeaverTail pastries!
Get cultured
Ottawa Art Gallery
The new Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) in downtown Ottawa is offering fully bilingual and hands-on creative camps during both the Ontario and Quebec March breaks. Kids aged 8 to 12 can create their own stop motion video, multimedia projects, logo designs and more. Plus, they’ll enjoy interactive mini tours of the OAG and field trips in the city.
Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum
Where else can your kids learn the art of espionage including disguising for cover, breaking codes and using spy gadgets? Each day during the Ontario March Break at the Diefenbunker’s Spy Camp, (kids 7 to 12 years of age learn these new skills and more. The museum is located about 30 minutes west of downtown Ottawa in Carp, Ont. Before and after care is available.
Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature is always alive with special programming. Until March 29th, explore the Me and My Microbes – the Zoo Inside You OR walk amongst hundreds of fluttering butterflies and luscious live plants in the museum’s solarium during the Butterflies in Flight special exhibit. (Admission to this popular exhibit is by timed entry, therefore it’s recommended to reserve tickets in advance on the museum website.)
National Gallery of Canada
During both the Quebec and Ontario March Breaks, the National Gallery of Canada offers a range of art activities and games at the Artissimo kiosk. Or have fun and get messy at the Artissimo Studio while experimenting with clay, paint or soap carving. These hands-on family programs are included with Gallery admission. While there, don’t miss the Canadian and Indigenous galleries and special exhibits!
Canadian Museum of History
Get in the picture and connect with the history of photography this March Break at the Canadian Museum of History, which features a wide range of activities for all age levels.
Canadian War Museum
Build, play, create and learn as a family at the Canadian War Museum during the Ontario and Quebec March Breaks! Use Imagination Playground blocks to create engineering and architectural marvels; challenge your family to a game of giant chess; and explore the Museum’s galleries on a family-friendly tour with a program interpreter.
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
From Mar. 2-17, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum celebrates all things spring during March Break! Special programming is offered each day, including encounters with farm animals, kitchen demonstrations, maple taffy on snow, children’s story time and creative crafts. It’s all free with the price of museum admission!
Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Participate in out-of-this world activities and learn about aviation and aerospace during March Break at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Activities are available for children of all ages and are free with the price of museum admission.
Canada Science and Technology Museum
Keeping kids’ brain cells active during March Break has never been so fun! Visit the Canada Science and Technology Museum for fun-filled activities, experiments and demonstrations linked to coding, engineering, neuroscience and more. Activities are available for children of all ages and are free with the price of museum admission.
Get wild
Omega Park
Omega Park, located in Montebello, Que. – just a 45-minute drive from downtown Ottawa – is a large wildlife park that immerses visitors in Canadian wildlife and First Nations’ history. You can take a Canadian safari any time of year through the natural habitat of animals like deer, elk, bison, caribou and wolves. Plus, the park is offering a variety of special programming during both the Quebec and Ontario March Breaks including live demonstrations by a chainsaw wood carving artist (Thursdays to Sundays), wagon rides, maple taffy in the traditional sugar shack, farm animals in the heritage farm (daily), as well as special animation throughout the park, including musicians!
Little Ray’s Nature Centre
Little Ray’s creatures are too numerous to mention and are all available to see at Little Ray’s Nature Centre! Enjoy a hands-on and educational experience through encounters with bats, pythons, alligators, cobras, birds of prey and more. Many of the animals are permanent residents at the zoo, while others are special guests that rotate throughout the year.
Get locked up
Haunted Walk of Ottawa
The cloaked guides from the Haunted Walk of Ottawa dare you to join them on their tours of the historic old Carleton County Jail! The Ghost and the Gallows tour (available separately in English and in French) focuses on the Jail’s reputation as one of the most haunted buildings in North America. Tour the cellblock where inmates were once imprisoned and walk the steps from Death Row to the one of the last working gallows in Canada. The Crime and Punishment tour (available in English only) explores the jail’s incredible history including living conditions, prison escapes and executions.
Escape Rooms
Nothing bonds a family and friends together like choosing to be locked up in a room and working together to escape! Escape attractions throughout the city like Escape Manor, Jigsaw Escape Rooms, and Room Escape Ottawa have rooms and themes that are suitable for all ages. If your kids are older, you might even be able to create your own escape by sitting back and relaxing in the lounge areas (some of which have cash bars) while your kids have a blast solving clues and attempting to breakout.