This November, our entire family went glamping at Dômes Outaouais, and it was phenomenal! Even with a 1-year-old and 4-year-old in tow, it was a super relaxing getaway that allowed us an abundance of time spent in nature.
If you live in Ottawa and you’re reading this in early December, it might be raining on you. But we got so lucky when we went- it snowed the day before our arrival and a little bit while we were there. So we really felt like we were experiencing the domes in all their winter glory!
Dômes Outaouais gifted us our stay, but as always, all opinions are my own. And my opinion is that you’ll love it there!
Here’s everything I think you might need to know to decide if a staycation at Dômes Outaouais is for you.
Glamping at its finest with Dômes Outaouais.
Booking
You can book your stay at Dômes Outaouais online. They recently opened their bookings for 2023. The domes are really popular and book up quickly, so I also recommend following them on Instagram (@domesoutaouais). The account occasionally posts last-minute cancellations or available dates so you can sometimes nab a stay that way!
When you book, and before you arrive, you’ll receive an email with all the info you need regarding your stay.
Getting There
The domes are just over an hour from Ottawa, nestled into the hills near Mont Ste-Marie. The drive there is fairly short, and completely gorgeous.
Before your booking, the owner (Fanny) will send you an email with the exact address. Punch this into Google maps. But when you arrive where it tells you to, keep driving until you’re on the private road and you see a sign for the domes.
Once you take a right at the sign you’ll almost immediately spot the first dome!
Keep driving until you see this sign!
The road leading to the domes is a dirt road, and well-plowed but with how hilly the area is I would definitely recommend snow tires.
We parked right next to our dome, which made unloading the 50,000 things kids require for every trip very easy!
Fanny sent us the code to the door via email ahead of time, so we had a contactless entry upon arrival.
The Dome
These geodesic domes are GORGEOUS! (We stayed in Dome #2).
The way that Fanny has designed and decorated these domes makes them so cozy. It feels like a gorgeous little apartment has been plucked from downtown and plopped right into the woods.
They’re also perfectly situated in order to provide you with a stunning view out of the expansive front window!
How cool is this dome?
The domes have literally every comfort you have at home, from the fridge to the stove/oven, a microwave, a complete bathroom, heating and air conditioning, full electricity, you name it!
They also boast a hot tub that’s fired up year-round, a firepit outside, and any number of spots to lounge while you enjoy the view.
This was glamping, refined.
The main floor of the dome.
This bathroom is nicer than the bathroom in my house.
What to Do at the Dome (and Nearby)
We spent most of our time on the property during our visit- both because there was enough to do to keep us occupied and because sometimes that’s just easier with two kids on different sleep schedules.
After a cozy first night at the dome, we had the opportunity to spend a ton of time outdoors the next day. We went hiking on the trails right outside our door, had a campfire and roasted marshmallows, and spent so much time in the hot tub that we all got very prune-y.
Our daughter LOVED the hot tub.
But for anyone wanting to venture a little further, there are lots of outdoorsy things to do in the area, year-round!
Mont Ste-Marie is less than 15 minutes away for anyone who likes to ski or snowboard during the winter, or hike and bike during the summer. There’s even a golf club nearby.
For families with kids, Labelle Valley Ranch provides farm visits where you can interact with their horses and other small farm animals.
And just a little further (30 minutes from the domes) you can actually go dog sledding! Ferme L’aventure has dogsledding adventures for adults and children. How cool!
If you were looking for something a little more lowkey, you could also drive 15 minutes to Lac Sainte-Marie where a boardwalk has been built along the lakeshore. The views across the lake are stunning, and you could stop for lunch at the Casse Croute or Chez Malo. There’s also an antiques store in town, the Beggar’s Bench, to explore.
We had fun just spending time in nature and relaxing together.
Eating at the Dome
Planning your menu for Dômes Outaouais is incredibly easy because they have literally everything you have at home! With the exception of a few house rules, like no cooking fish and no frying, you could basically make anything you want.
They have a fridge, freezer (Popsicles and freezies in the summer?), stove, oven, microwave, coffee maker, kettle… you name it! And of course, all the necessary cookware, dinnerware, and extras like cutting boards, wine glasses, etc.
Whenever we go on a trip with the kids, I try to minimize the amount of cooking we have to do, and despite the ease of this trip it was no exception.
Cooking in this kitchen is just as easy as cooking at home.
So I precooked chili and chose easy options like soup and grilled cheese with veggies for other meals. We had granola, fruit and coffee for breakfast, and cookies for snacks. The kitchen table was big enough for four people, so perfect for us!
The water is drinkable, which meant we didn’t have to lug in a whole bunch to make our son’s bottles.
Even clean-up was easy. Normally in a glamping situation the water is kind of cold but at Dômes Outaouais it was super warm making washing dishes a breeze.
Can you tell there’s oatmeal in there somewhere?
Sleeping at the Dome
On the main floor of the dome there’s a queen bed that’s incredibly comfortable. It also wasn’t squeaky at all, which is an important feature when you’re all sleeping in the same space! There’s enough open floor space in the dome that we were easily able to set up our son’s travel crib.
Since there’s full electricity in the dome, we were able to plug in kiddo’s white noise, helping everyone to sleep just a little better. The huge window at the front of the dome has curtains that can be closed so that you’re not waking up right with the dawn.
Up in the loft there were two single beds. Also very comfortable! All the linens were provided for each bed.
The loft was super cozy and comfortable.
The ladder to the loft was quite high (probably 9 feet). I climbed it easily as an adult but didn’t allow my 4-year-old to climb it unsupervised. The loft had short walls on two sides and reached the back of the dome on a third. In the front of the loft there’s a short rope railing. This feature helps the loft to not feel too enclosed and allows you to benefit from the view out the window, which I loved. It also meant that I didn’t leave my 4-year-old up there unsupervised (despite her insistence that it would be fine!).
We turned on the gas fireplace in the dome to help keep it extra warm at night, and everyone slept well!
She’s warming up by the fire after our hike.
We Love Dômes Outaouais
If I haven’t made it clear already, we really enjoyed our stay at Dômes Outaouais. We like spending our downtime in nature and getting our kids outdoors, and Dômes Outaouais made it so easy to do that.
But beyond family trips, I think the domes are perfect for just about any kind of getaway or celebration. Friends’ weekends away, bachelor/bachelorette parties, celebrating an anniversary or birthday… Dômes Outaouais would be the perfect spot to help make any occasion extra special.
I hope you enjoy as much as we did!
Hot chocolate by the fire at Dômes Outaouais.
