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Highway 7 · KM 50 from Ottawa
Carleton Place
Mississippi River town and the corridor's on-ramp.
Why stop
Carleton Place is where the drive stops feeling like leaving Ottawa and starts feeling like the corridor. The bypass will happily carry you straight past it; don’t let it. Bridge Street — the old main drag along the Mississippi River — is a five-minute detour off the highway and a proper small-town downtown: cafés, a bakery or two, and the river running right through the middle.
Practically, it’s also your last full-service stop heading west: groceries, hardware, every gas brand, and the final big-box anything until Peterborough. Westbound travellers top up here; eastbounders exhale here.
Downtown Carleton Place closes for a free day of live music, local vendors, and family entertainment right on Bridge Street.
See & Do
Riverside Park Beach
Lifeguarded sand beach on the Mississippi — washrooms, splash pad, playground, and two public boat launches. The corridor's best-equipped swim-and-launch stop, mid-June through August.
West end of John St · Checked Jul 2026 · municipal sources
Roy Brown Park
A quieter alternative to the river beach — 3 km of walking trails with historical plaques, two picnic pavilions, and a fully enclosed off-leash dog park. Named for the WWI flying ace credited with downing the Red Baron.
Checked Jul 2026 · municipal sources
Centennial Beach
The quieter alternative to Riverside Park — a public beach directly across the Mississippi River, same warm shallow water, fewer crowds.