Distance
326 km
% Unpaved
91%
Ascent
1451m
High Point
283m
Difficulty
2/10
The "D"Rail-leur
This is a great introductory route for multi-day gravel riding or bikepacking. A combination of three rail trails which form a 327km loop throughout the Ottawa Valley and Lanark Highlands. With a combination of crushed gravel trail to rutted multi-use tracks commonly used by ATVs the “D”Rail-leur will provide plenty of challenge. This rail trail will take you through some truly spectacular scenery and give you the opportunity to test your gear on a longer excursion that is a relatively easy ride.
The creator of this route is unknown.
- Fine-dusted trails: The OVRT railtrail is just about as smooth as they get. Starting in Smith’s Falls and all the way to Renfrew, it’s smooth sailing…or biking.
- Mississippi River: As you head up through Almonte and Mississippi Mills, you see some beautiful towns whose survival was dependant on the river itself.
- K&P Trail: What was once the Kingston-Pembroke railway has now been turned into a multi-use trail. It’s much rougher than either the OVRT or Cataraqui as most of the trail still allows access to ATVs.
- Calabogie town: At the northern end of the K&P trail, Calabogie Ski Resort has the highest vertical drop in Ontario. A beautiful little lakeside town with great restaurants and a beach. This is the last major re-supply until you reach Sharbot Lake.
- Sharbot Lake: A nice little town 50km from Harrowsmith, where the K&P connects with the Cataraqui. If heading north, this is where you need to resupply as the next one is Calabogie Town.
- Keep some energy in reserve. Rail trail is notorious on the legs, as you never have much time to rest.
- The K&P can be pretty rough in sections. Watch for ATVs
- Resupply in Calabogie before continuing south, or in Sharbot Lake if heading north.
- Carry lots of water if riding in July/August. It gets extremely humid and hot on the trail.
- Recommended Bike: This route can be ridden by almost any bike. I’ve heard of people riding it on road bikes with s 28C tire road bike. I’ve also heard of people riding city bikes, fat bikes, mountain bikes and more.
- Recommended tires: My own personal recommendation for this route is to use a gravel bike with 44C or larger tires. The majority of the route will be easy to ride. The occasional challenging terrain is still manageable.
- The Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail (OVRT) has been fine-dusted with crushed gravel and is smooth flowing from it’s start point in Smith’s Falls all the way to Renfrew. It’s definitely the fastest part of the route and will take you through the beautiful towns of Carleton Place and Almonte.
- Leaving Renfrew, you make your way onto the Kingstorn & Pembroke trail (K&P). A noticeable change from the crushed gravel of the OVRT, the K&P also takes the you up into the hillier part of the region, slowly making it’s way up towards the town of Calabogie. Reaching Calabogie, you leave the rail trail for about 15km as you make your way around all the lakeside cottages that have popped up.
- The K&P trail heading out of Calabogie is pretty rough, going through sections of trail overflowing with ponds that have been damned up by the local beaver population. Prepare to get your feet wet, unless you are very nimble footed and can walk along the edge on the trail wall.
- About 20km before Sharbot Lake the trail changes from a rough trail shared with ATVs to fine-dusted gravel, becoming fast and easy. This lasts until you turn off at Harrowsmith to get onto the Cataraqui Trail.
- The Cataraqui Trail takes you through the Rideau Lakes region, an area of countless lakes. Not nearly as rough as the K&P trail, it is still far from being as easy as the OVRT or south K&P section.
- Hotels: Smith’s Falls, Almonte, Arnprior, Renfrew, Calabogie, Sharbot Lake, Harrowsmith
- Campgrounds: Reid’s Lake Campground, Calabogie Lakeside Camping, Riverbend Park
- Wild camping: There are a few places along the route for crown land camping.
- Fresh water everywhere: Ontario has an abundance of lakes, rivers and streams so there should be no issue finding a water source to filter or purify. On top of that, Ontarians are extremely friendly and a knock on a door will go a long ways to getting you sorted out.
- Restaurants/Cafes/Bars: The majority of the route has ample access to quality food options. However, the 100km section from Calabogie to Sharbot Lake is pretty sparse and lacks food options.
Average Physical Difficulty – 2
The “D”rail-leur is a route that follows three old rail trails that have been covered over. Each of the three has a different level of quality, ranging from difficulty level 1 to difficulty 4. It never really gets overly difficult, except for the need to continuously pedal and almost never being able to coast.
Average Technical Difficulty – 2
Aside from a bit of climbing near Calabogie ski resort, the majority of the route follows relatively flat rail trail. Some parts of the trail permit ATV access and thus result in a trail that is more chewed up, but for the most part the trail is quite enjoyable to ride.
The ‘D’rail-leur was not created by the team at Bikepack Adventures. The creator of the route is unknown and Bikepack Adventures merely put a name to the loop. We believe this name suitably describes the route, as it is in the shape of a big D, it’s rail trail, and your bike has a derailleur. Hope you enjoy the ride.
"D"Rail-leur Gallery
