At least 40 things you should do in Ottawa before summer's over

Summer views at Nepean Point. (Photo/Devyn Barrie)

It’s August already, and the summer is just flying by. Fortunately, there are many hot, sunny days yet to come. Here’s a list of things you should check out before autumn!

(You can add your recommendations by emailing us.)

1. Get gelato at one of many local gelato cafes.
2. Ride your bike on a parkway during Nokia Weekend Bikedays.
3. Have another beer on another patio.
4. Buy fresh food at a local farmers' market.
5. Visit a local winery or brewery.
6. Take a road trip to Almonte or Merrickville or Perth or Wakefield or Cornwall or Maniwaki or even Gananoque.
7. Go see Monet.
8. Take in a soccer game.
9. Or baseball!
10. See the Company of Fools.
11. Skateboard.
12. Take a haunted walk.
13. Explore Lost Liberties at the Canadian Museum of History.
14. Walk around and admire Ottawa’s street art.
15. Sample some street food.
16. Go for a stroll on the path along the Rideau Canal.
17. Build a sand castle at a beach or swim in an outdoor pool.
18. Explore a cave.
19. Take a photo of a gorgeous sunset.
20. Go to a drive-in movie. There’s one at Port Elmsley and another near Pembroke.
21. See the REDBLACKS play at TD Place.
22. Go to the Navan Fair.
23. Learn something new at the Museum of Science and Technology.
24. Walk through the grounds at Rideau Hall.
25. Rent a paddleboat at Dow’s Lake.
26. Play mini-golf.
27. Take your dog for a run at Lemieux Island.
28. Take a hike in the Greenbelt.
29. Go to a water park;  Calypso or Mont Cascades.
30. Explore the power of ice and cold at the Nature Museum.
31. See some fireworks at the history museum with the Casino Lac-Leamy Sound of Light show in early August.
32. Go to a beach in Gatineau.
33. Bike down that really steep hill behind Major’s Hill Park.
34. Enjoy the many events of Ottawa Pride in August.
35. Invite your neighbours over for a BBQ.
36. Enjoy a locally-made cider.
37. Visit the maze at Saunders Farm.
38. Go for a long-distance bike ride, such as via the Trans-Canada Trail in the west end.
39. Ride on a pirate ship on the Rideau Canal.
40. Watch the hot air balloons over Gatineau.
41. Go interprovincial ziplining.

(Originally posted in 2012 and updated many times since then.)