I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me trails. So when I saw one at Sheila McKee Park on Alltrails, I was excited to visit. We finally got there near the end of December for our first hike as a family of four (our son was just born in November). It was perfect!
The trail at Sheila McKee Park in Dunrobin is short and easy, clocking in at just under 2.5 km. But it also has a few steep hills, and the most stunning walk down a set of stairs beside mini waterfalls to a little beach beside the Ottawa River. All in all, a PERFECT trail for our growing family to explore together.
Sheila McKee Park is open year-round, and dogs (on leash) are allowed too.
It didn’t look like this when we went but this shot from @jameslifee was just too gorgeous not to include!
Quick Facts
Length: 2.4 km
Difficulty: Easy (on a scale of easy-moderate-hard)
Trailhead Coordinates: 45.406888, -75.926741
Washroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Cell Reception: Good
Wheelchair Accessible: No
Parking: Right at the trailhead.
Cost: Free
There were a few good hills for rolling around on.
Getting There
Sheila McKee Park is out in Dunrobin, where there’s tons of untouched forest. So even the drive out is pretty!
You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.406888, -75.926741.
When we first arrived we pulled into the road beside the big City of Ottawa sign for the park, but this isn’t where the trail is. Instead, you have to go a little further down the road and look for the little brown sign by the side of the road.
There was a big gate up, and no parking lot, so we had to park by the side of the road. There were also no facilities anywhere. In the summer, it looks like the gate opens and there’s a small parking lot at the end of a short road inside the park.
We began following the snow-covered road to the trailhead.
Look for this sign to know you’re in the right spot!
The Trailhead
The trail at Sheila McKee Park is a loop, with the trail starting on either side of the road about 300 meters from the gate. We chose to hike the trail clockwise (for no real reason), so we headed into the forest on our left. This trailhead was marked with a big boulder, and a plaque indicating it was called the David and Judy Makin trail.
Immediately we felt as though we were immersed in the forest. The trail was flat, and wide enough for us to walk side-by-side. Not too far in there was a trail split with the trail heading off to the left and right. We went to the right, knowing we needed to head towards the river and away from the road.
The trail was easy enough for our toddler, and so beautiful with a dusting of snow!
The Trail
The trail marking system was not great. There were random trail markers here and there. Some were arrows, some were squares, and there was no actual trail marking system that I could identify. Despite this, the trail was so wide and well established that it would have been difficult to step off of it.
600 metres into our hike we walked out into a little field. A wide path went off to our right- perhaps this was where the road would connect to the trail in the summertime? We kept on straight on the thinner path, still headed towards the river. Another 100 metres along we came to yet another split. At this point I checked the navigation on my AllTrails app. Instead of going straight, we followed the path off to our right in order to stick with the longer loop. And came to another trail split immediately. This one was marked with a blue #7 sign, and we followed the trail to our left.
Here, the trail began to head downhill and it was actually quite steep! I wouldn’t have minded having my hiking poles here. And I suspect that in the early winter or the spring, when conditions can be icy, this spot wouldn’t be too much fun.
The Beach and the Waterfalls
About halfway through our hike we arrived at the set of stairs that would bring us down to the beach near the Ottawa River. This spot was my absolute favorite along the trail. As we walked down the stairs we were able to see the layers and layers of rock that made up some of the terrain along the trail.
From in between these rocks, water trickled down from the forest floor, creating tons of little mini waterfalls- and in our case, tons of little frozen waterfalls. It was a really cool sight!
How cool are these icey little waterfalls?
At the bottom of the stairs, the water had pooled and frozen, making it kind of dicey to traverse the set of rock stairs at the very bottom, leading to the river. Because I was wearing our newborn, and hadn’t put on my microspikes, I decided to skip the view from the beach. My husband and daughter scooted down on their bums to explore a little more. But even from where I stood it was a gorgeous spot to look out over the river.
This would be an amazing place to stop for your lunch or coffee break along the trail.
Safety first!
Heading Back
Continuing on to finish the loop, we headed up the big hill that was now ahead of us at the top of the stairs. There was a bit of a trail leading off to our left-hand side. But I believe this was a false trail just created by people making an error due to the snow.
When we got to the top of the hill, an arrow pointed to a wide trail in front of us. Looking at the map on AllTrails though, we knew we needed to keep the river on our left-hand side a little longer in order to finish the loop, so we turned to our left and headed off on the trail in that direction.
The top of the hill and this section of trail was cool too as we were high above the river and could see across to the other side through the trees. I’m not sure if you would get this same view in the summer!
As we headed back we started seeing signs for the YMCA’s property on our left-hand side. There was only one other trail split on the way back, and we went to the left to get the full loop in.
The final few hundred metres of the trail.
Trail Thoughts
When we had hiked 1.9 km the trail brought us back to where we had begun. We turned to head back to the car. By the time we arrived at our car, we had hiked a total of about 2.4 km. This took us about an hour and a half, but that was with a very slow toddler who stopped to eat a lot of snow.
I really loved this little trail, despite the many confusing trail splits and lack of clear signage. The little waterfalls and the peace and quiet by the river were just such a beautiful surprise. And the forest itself was gorgeous too. I would definitely recommend this as a family friendly hike. Or really to anyone, because it’s a fantastic spot to reconnect with nature and recharge. Let me know if you go!
Happy to be getting back outside even though it’s twice as tough now! (not pictured: newborn baby being worn).
Map and Elevation Gain
Our GPS tracked route along the trail.
Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the Indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.
Elevation gain along the trail.
Thanks for the great summary. Has the information I needed to determine whether I wanted to make the run out there. Thanks again.