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Ottawa is the Capital city of Canada, located in Ontario just by the border with Quebec along the Ottawa River (Rivières des Outaouais).

Gatineau-Hull is the metropolitan area part located within the border of Quebec on the eastern side of the river, Gatineau forms the National Capital Area together with Ottawa.


Contents

Police

Watch out for OPP, Ottawa Police, and RCMP officers. Ottawa is the capitol of Canada and because of the 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, these officers are more uptight now. Talk to them in a calm manner if you encounter then and try to explain your situation as you are stuck, and need to get somewhere, rather than I am hitchhiking because I think it is fun and adventurous.

East towards Montréal

From downtown, take the number 86 OC Transpo bus towards Elmvale and get off at Southvale / Russell. Keep walking down Russell towards the intersection of Walkley and Russell. Cross the street to the southeast side of the intersection, and go to the shoulder right at the start of the right-turn lane. Wait times from here are generally quite short, taking anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes in most cases. Just make sure your ride is going towards Montreal, as from this point people can be going either northbound or southbound on the 417.

There's also a pretty decent spot outside Lee's station. Walk up to Lee's Ave, turn right, and walk past the apartment complexes to the Trans Canada on-ramp. There isn't a shoulder, but there is a paved area right at the entrance of the On-Ramp where cars can stop. Wait times are usually under 40 mins, although can be longer depending on the day.

West towards North Bay/Sudbury

Take the 96 bus from the Rideau Centre from downtown Ottawa towards Kanata (a lot of buses from within Ottawa will meet up here, but will drop you off on the other side of the mall. Walk through the mall to the Mackenzie King Bridge entrance to catch the 96). You can try getting off at the stop beside the Eagleton Road on ramp for the 417 as it has a good shoulder, or keep going west a little on the bus until it stops at the Terry Fox Centre. Walk up to Terry Fox Drive - there are two on ramps there and one of them has a good shoulder to stand on. 

South towards Toronto

Take the 118 to the furthest West of Baseline. It should be called Baseline and Robertson Rd. Here you will see the 416 highway, which goes as South as Prescott. At the entrance ramp here, you can find a ride usually to Kemptville. That is about halfway. Then on the next onramp get to Prescott. Once at Prescott you can find the onramp for the 401 direction Toronto. Try to get to a OnRoute (Ontario service station). Here there is a lot of restaurants and so people have time to chat with you to determine if they trust you or not. At night these service stations are reliable places to hitchhike. Try to hitchhike at a service station without looking like a hitchhiker, so that you have less chance of getting kicked out.