Exploring Gatineau while Staying at KOA

We chose to stay at the Cardinal, Ottawa South KOA during our road trip from Toronto towards Ottawa, Outaouais, and the Laurentians. Staying at the KOA deluxe cabin made it comfortable to relax, play, and make our meals leisurely before heading further into our trip. We love that the KOA locations are close to the highway making it easy to stay and explore the area.

The Deluxe Cabins are a comfortable and exciting place to stay for everyone in the family. The log interior, glamping experience with everyday conveniences of home such as beds, bathrooms, kitchen makes it easy when travelling while giving us a different type of accommodation to stay at. 

They have outdoor patios, grill, campfire areas outside of the cabin, so we can take advantage of the beautiful summer weather.

Cardinal, Ottawa South KOA has a pool, splash pad, big bouncer, small bouncer, pirate ship and kiddies’ playgrounds, climbing wall, and planned activities in the summer. We can also do mini putt and pedal karts for an extra fee. They have a convenience store, and DVD movies we can borrow at the park office.

Although, the cabins and lodges were close by we found it very quiet. The air-conditioned deluxe cabin has a small room with bunk beds, a master bedroom with a queen bed, lots of space to keep and hang clothes, washroom with a stand-in shower, kitchen with a full size refrigerator, sink, dining room with four chairs, a couch with a pull out bed, and a wall mounted television.

There are many family operated KOA locations across the U.S. and Canada close to highways. They have camping kitchens, convenience store, activities, and more. If you are going on road trips, staying in one of their lodgings such as RV sites, tents, and cabins will make it a comfortable stopover to unwind and rest during trips.

Since this KOA is less than an hour away from the Capital of Canada, Ottawa, we spent a day learning and exploring at the Canadian History Museum and checking out the extraordinary MosaïCanada before returning back to the KOA and relaxing. 

MosaïCanada horticultural exhibit at Jacques Cartier Park is free to the public. At this exhibit, we can take a historical discovery through sculptures inspired by Canadian stories and heroes. 

Royal Canadian Mint re-creates the design of the Proudly Canadian fine silver collector coin. We can see the Canadian flag against a burst of fireworks. 

All Aboard! Engine CPR 374
Watch a clip of the MosaïCanada exhibit and see the sculpture of Mother Earth The Legend of Aataentsic.

The Winning Goal, Summit Series 1972

Wild Rose, provincial flower of Alberta since 1930 is a wild prickly rose, one of 14 species of roses native to Canada. Every part of this hardy plant is useful as the fragrant edible petals are used for sweets and desserts, the fruits or hips are used in jams and jellies, and are brewed into infusions to treat various ailments such as illness in the stomach.  

Due to limited time during this trip, we drove by the Byward Market in Ottawa and saw food vendors, handcrafted goods, fresh farm produce, flowers and more. 

We also went to Laurier House, and learned a lot about Sir. Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King and their contributions as Prime Ministers in Canada. 

From seeing the players piano of Sir. Wilfrid Laurier's wife Zoé Laurier in action, to admiring the architectural design of the home, and the elevator they had used were interesting. There were lots of details and artifacts, a wealth of knowledge for everyone interested in history. 

It was interesting to learn about people's lives and their thinking during the world wars by taking a look at the artifacts and reading the messages such as in the advertisements at that time. 

After touring the Canadian History Museum, we walked in the path by the museum to see the Ottawa River and the backdrop of the Parliament building.   

For tourists 80 km outside the city limits of Gatineau, can go by the Maison du Tourisme at 103 Laurier Street to get a two day permit to park for free at certain locations.

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2010 - 2017. Please Ask First Disclosure: For reviews and/or sponsored posts on this site I may have received special perks as part of my affiliation. Please note that all opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.