Historic road trip ideas in Ontario and southwestern Quebec

From meaningful cultural experiences to family friendly activities, check out these places to visit on your next day trip or weekend road trip. 

These conveniently located national historic sites offer opportunities to learn, reflect and connect – making it easy to pause your journey and immerse yourself in history. From early European settlement to the histories and contributions of First Nations and Métis peoples, as well as minority communities, learn more about the rich and varied stories that unite us all.

Find your starting point and stop in at these exciting Parks Canada destinations!

Sault Ste. Marie (northern Ontario)

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A family of three stands along the side of historic canal with a red brick building in the background.
Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site

Within Sault Ste. Marie

Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site

  • Learn about the canal’s history and significance to Anishinaabe and Métis Peoples
  • Tour with an expert and explore outdoor exhibits and the lock in action
  • Hike the Attikamek trail (2.2 km)

Sault Ste. Marie to Saint Joseph Island, 90 km

Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site

  • Explore ruins of the old fort
  • Take part in historic demonstrations at the fur trade encampment
  • Hike or rent a fat bike to explore the trails with Lake Huron views
 

Toronto (Muskoka region, Ontario)

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Beausoleil Island (Bimadinaagogi) National Historic Site

Toronto to Gravenhurst, 170 km

Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site

  • Learn about Dr. Norman Bethune’s global legacy
  • Engage with interactive activities from the 1800s to the First World War
  • Book a guided tour

Gravenhurst to Honey Harbour, 70 km

Beausoleil Island (Bimadinaagogi) National Historic Site

  • Reserve your boat transportation and explore the Canadian Shield  
  • Hike the Fairy Lake Trail with the Parks Canada App
  • Experience the island’s cultural landscape through stories of Anishinaabe First Nation knowledge holders

Lock 44 - Big Chute Marine Railway

  • Photograph this peculiar contraption and be amazed by the only marine railway of its kind in North America

Toronto (eastern Ontario)

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Bellevue House National Historic Site

Toronto to Kingston, 260 km

Peterborough (137 km)

Lock 21 - Peterborough Lift Lock

  • Marvel at the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock – a true feat of Canadian engineering

Trenton (84 km)

Lock 1 - Trenton

  • Arrive at the gateway to a fascinating 386 km waterway system that connects Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay

Kingston (100 km):

Bellevue House National Historic Site

  • Reflect upon the complex legacy of Sir John A. Macdonald and Canada's diverse history 
  • Check the website to reserve your bookable tour, participate in special events and join family friendly activities 

Kingston Fortifications

  • Visit Murney Tower, a part of the network of defenses built to defend the entrance to the Rideau Canal, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence area
  • Explore Fort Henry, a 19th-century British military fortress situated on Point Henry between the mouth of Kingston harbour and a second natural harbour at the mouth of the Cataraqui River
 

Montreal (St. Lawrence route, Quebec and Ontario)

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Three visitors stand at a wooden gate with two staff members in period costume.
Fort Wellington National Historic Site

Montreal to Kingston, 280 km

Montreal:

Kingston:

  • Kingston Fortifications: visit Murney Tower, a part of the network of defenses built to defend the entrance to the Rideau Canal, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence area
  • Fort Henry: experience a 19th-century British military fortress situated on Point Henry between the mouth of Kingston harbour and a second natural harbour at the mouth of the Cataraqui 
  • Rideau Canal National Historic Site: visit Kingston Mills at the entrance of the canal

Kingston to Montreal, 280 km

Kingston:

Prescott (110 km):

Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue (153 km):

 

Montreal (Ottawa River route, Quebec and Ontario)

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A view along a river with historic lock equipment in the foreground.
Rideau Canal National Historic Site

 

Montreal to Ottawa, 225 km

Carillon (85 km):

Ottawa (135 km):

Ottawa to Montreal, 275 km

Merrickville (75 km):

Prescott (47 km):

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue (153 km):

 

Hamilton (Niagara region, Ontario)

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A family of three are on the deck of a historic military ship.
HMCS Haida National Historic Site

Hamilton to Queenston, 90 km

Hamilton:

Niagara-on-the-Lake (77 km):

Queenston (13 km):

 

Amherstburg (southern Ontario)

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Two staff member dressed in period costume stand in between historic canvas tents.
Fort Malden National Historic Site

Amherstburg to St. Thomas, 220 km

Amherstburg:

Bothwell: (139 km)

St. Thomas: (83 km)

 

Windsor to Niagara region (Ontario)

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A group of 3 stands in front of a costumed staff member dressed in a historic soldiers uniform.
Fort George National Historic Site

Explore key War of 1812 locations and discover this historic corridor.

Experience historic fortifications and battlefields in Ontario

 

Map of road trip-worthy national historic sites

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Find great historic stops along your road trip in Ontario and southwest Quebec. Check out things to do and hours of operation for the sites you’d like to visit. Make your next road trip historic and immerse yourself in the stories of Canada!

 
List of national historic sites and directions
Name Description

Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site

Explore the ruins of Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site and feel the rich War of 1812 history that lingers – a history that saw a powerful alliance struck between the British and the First Nations People of the western Great Lakes region.

Directions

Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site

The Sault Ste. Marie Canal, built in 1895, was the world’s longest lock, the first to operate using electricity and the last link in an all-Canadian navigational chain from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Superior.

Directions

Fort Malden National Historic Site

The location of the British stronghold on the Detroit frontier during the War of 1812 and the Rebellions of 1837-1838, Fort Malden National Historic Site, in Amherstburg, Ontario opens a fascinating doorway into Canada’s early military history.

Directions

Fort George National Historic Site

Soldiers in redcoats fire muskets, music drifts past blockhouses, a historic powder magazine, and cannons on the lookout. Step straight from the quaint Victorian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake into the War of 1812 at Fort George, a military post that defended Upper Canada against American attacks.

Directions

HMCS Haida National Historic Site

Canada’s history of wartime naval service is on display aboard legendary HMCS Haida, a Tribal class destroyer that served in the Second World War, the Korean Conflict and the Cold War.

Directions

Woodside National Historic Site

Woodside National Historic Site was the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's 10th and longest-serving Prime Minister.

Directions

Fort Wellington National Historic Site

One of the best preserved 19th-century fortifications in Canada, Fort Wellington presents the strategic importance of the St. Lawrence River prior, during, and after the War of 1812.

Directions

Bellevue House National Historic Site

At Bellevue House National Historic Site, many voices present the complex legacy of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.

Directions

Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site

The place to discover Dr. Norman Bethune, a battlefront surgeon, medical pioneer, advocate for Canada's universal health care, and cultural icon in China.

Directions

Brock's Monument

One of the best examples of a structure associated, through both its symbolism and its own history as a structure, with the emergence of Canada as a distinct nation.

Directions

Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site

Walk where Canada’s earliest inhabitants did and imagine the Attiwandaron longhouses and palisade walls that once stood proudly at Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site.

Directions

Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site

Visit a windswept hill, overlooking the St. Lawrence River, where a red-roofed stone windmill was the scene of a bloody turning point in Canadian history.

Directions

Laurier House National Historic Site

Home to 2 of Canada's longest serving prime ministers: Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King. For over 50 years, this Second Empire mansion in downtown Ottawa was at the heart of Canadian political life.

Directions

Lachine Canal National Historic Site

An iconic jewel located in the southwest of Montreal. Its 13.5 km path runs between the Old Port and Lake Saint-Louis. The waterway, its industrial vestiges and the various activities along its banks make this site a privileged place for sharing.

Directions

Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site

Salute human ingenuity as you travel this 386 km waterway, first opened in 1922 to connect Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay.

Directions

Rideau Canal National Historic Site

North America’s best-preserved “slackwater” canal, and the only one from the great 19th century canal-building era that still operates along its original route with most of its original structures intact.

Directions

Merrickville Blockhouse National Historic Site

Built from 1832 to 1833, the blockhouse is the largest and the most impressive of the 4 blockhouses built along the Rideau Canal for its defense and the second largest blockhouse surviving in Canada.

Directions

Battle Hill National Historic Site

The site is associated with the Battle of Longwoods, on March 4, 1814 near what is now Battle Hill Creek.

Directions

Battle of Cook's Mills National Historic Site

The site of an engagement between British and Canadian troops and American forces during the War of 1812.

Directions

Beausoleil Island National Historic Site

Experience the energy of Beausoleil Island National Historic Site teeming with over 5000 years of Indigenous history. Observe evidence of ancient camps where the Anishinaabeg struggled to maintain traditions alongside rapidly growing Euro-Canadian settlements.

Directions

Bois Blanc Island

Stand on the shore of the Detroit River in Amherstburg, Ontario to see the Bois Blanc Lighthouse and watch boats sail from Lake Erie to Amherstburg and the Upper Great Lakes.

Directions

Butler's Barracks

A historic military complex located southwest of Fort George National Historic Site in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The site’s designation is related to its military history and British occupation between 1812 and 1871.

Directions

Carrying Place of the Bay of Quinte National Historic Site

The site, at the intersection of the Trenton and Carrying Place roads, marks the location where Sir John Johnson and the Chiefs of the Mississauga negotiated a treaty in 1787.

Directions

Fort Henry

A 19th-century British military fortress situated on Point Henry between the mouth of Kingston harbour and a second natural harbour at the mouth of the Cataraqui River.

Directions

Fort Mississauga

Formerly the site of the first lighthouse in Upper Canada, Fort Mississauga was built between 1814 and 1816 in a strategic position at the mouth of the Niagara River to replace Fort George in protecting the British/Canadian side of the frontier and to counter Fort Niagara on the American side.

Directions

Glengarry Cairn

Glengarry Landing was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1923 because: at the forks of the Nottawasaga River, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert McDouall, Glengarry Light Infantry, built the flotilla of boats with which he effected the relief of the British garrison at Fort Michilimackinac in May 1814, and the subsequent capture, in July, of Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi.

Directions

Mnjikaning Fish Weirs National Historic Site

Located on portions of the bottom of the Narrows between Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching, a part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. This includes the navigable marked channel, the old channel that runs to the northeast and marshland surrounding these channels. The constriction of the Narrows allows fish to be caught as they move between the lakes, and the shallowness of the channel permits wooden weirs to be built there.

Directions

Murney Tower Museum

Part of the defense system built for Kingston Harbour in 1846, together with Cathcart and Fort Frederick Towers, its ditches and caponieres reflect an innovative solution that addresses the defensive weaknesses associated with towers; it is one of the most sophisticated of all Martello towers built in British North America.

Directions

Peterborough Lift Lock

One of only two hydraulic lift locks on the waterway. Opened on July 9, 1904, it leaves a visible and lasting impact on Peterborough's landscape. Quiet overnight mooring is located at the upper level. There are plenty of services within a 10-minute walk to the East City area of Peterborough.

Directions

Point Clark Lighthouse National Historic Site

Built between 1855 and 1859, is part of an important system of “Imperial” lighthouses on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Visit the still-functioning 24 m/78 ft limestone tower to see the 12-sided lantern that shines a bright light on the historical significance of lighthouses to Great Lakes navigation. Nearby, the lightkeeper’s house museum illuminates the lives led on lonely shores.

Directions

Ridgeway Battlefield National Historic Site

The site consists of the 1866 battlefield, which now includes privately owned rural agricultural properties. There are no known in situ remains of the battle. Official recognition refers to the approximate limits of the 1866 battlefield.

Directions

Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site

This 2-hectare archaeological site was an open field when it was investigated in the first half of the 20th century. Since that time the field has been left fallow, while part of the site area has grown into a mixed hardwood forest and the rest has been planted with pine trees.

Directions

Shoal Tower National Historic Site

British military engineers designed Shoal Tower and three other Martello towers built between 1846 and 1848 to strengthen the Kingston fortifications, as tensions with the United States threatened to escalate into war.

Directions

Kingston Fortifications National Historic Site

Situated at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, and overlooking the confluence of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, the fortifications consist of five separate 19th-century military installations.

Directions

Waterloo Pioneers Memorial Tower

The Waterloo Pioneer Memorial Tower is an 18.9 m high tower on the banks of the Grand River that pays tribute to the contributions of the hardworking Pennsylvania-German pioneers who settled the Waterloo Region between 1800 and 1803.

Directions

Cathcart Tower

This limestone tower, built in 1848, is 11 m high and 16.5 m in diameter. It is surrounded by a shallow ditch and by a glacis extending to the shorelines on three sides. The guns of Cathcart Tower covered the eastern approaches of Kingston Harbour.

Directions

The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site

This grand epic awaits you at the very place where the journey to Western Canada began. In an authentic stone warehouse, built in 1803 and located on the banks of the Lachine Canal, discover the perilous canoe expedition of French Canadian voyageurs, Indigenous trappers, and European merchants.

Directions

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal National Historic Site

Opened in 1843, this waterway played an important commercial role in the shipping of lumber and the transport of immigrants. Today, the canal is used primarily by recreational boaters.

Directions

Carillon Canal National Historic Site

Opened in 1833, the Carillon Canal was initially built for military purposes. Located 100 km from Montreal, the canal is today a pleasure boating waterway. You'll be amazed by the lock and its guillotine gate, which enable boats to navigate a 20 m drop!

Directions

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