This is an update of a tour posted a few years ago as there have been a number of improvements to the route and the status of some of the walls has changed. The purple markers on the map identify legal walls, or those onto which artists can paint without the risk of being chased away or arrested. The red markers are a couple of non-legal graffiti walls along the route.
Our tour begins at the edge of the Rideau River underneath the Bronson Avenue bridge. You can access the site from Brewer park on the east side or along a dirt path from Carleton University campus. In this breathtaking setting you will discover two huge sets of walls facing each other across an expanse of packed earth. It’s also the site of the annual House of Paint Festival of Urban Arts and Culture .
Our next stop is popularly known as the Tech Wall, located at the corner of Bronson and Slater. To get there cut through the Carleton campus, push your bike over the Rideau Canal locks, follow the bike path along the canal through the beautiful Arboretum, then follow the bike path along the O-Train tracks. After passing under Albert Street at the Bayview Station, turn right along the path that heads east along Albert. Cross Albert at the bike/pedestrian crossing and follow the path up to the intersection of Bronson and Slater. The path takes you across that intersection to where you will be facing the Tech Wall across a fenced in dog park. You can enter the dog park to get a closer look at the works of the various artists.
The next bunch of walls are in Gatineau. Continue along the Laurier bike lane to Bay St, follow Bay to Wellington, turn left onto the bike path that runs beside Wellinton and follow it over the Ottawa River along the Portage Bridge, then turn right onto the Voyageurs pathway. There’s usually some interesting graffiti on the Voyageurs pathway tunnel walls passing under the Portage Bridge.
Continue along the Voyageurs Pathway and cross Alexandre-Taché Blvd at the lights. There’s a path that cuts through the small park, then over a small bridge. Turn right onto the road that eventually becomes the Ruisseau de la Brasserie Pathway. This pathway dips along and over the stream before heading under the Autoroute de la Gatineau. This fantastic immersive stretch pops up beneath a web of overpasses, made all the more sensational with graffiti filled walls. Occasionally the walls get re-painted a neutral grey in preparation for the next round of artists.
The path splits just beyond the underpass. Stay right (versus taking the small bridge over the stream) and continue a short distance along the path to check out the next series of walls. This spectacular spot is located beneath the interchange ramps of the two major highways that cut through Gatineau, the 5 and the 50. The legal walls are on both sides of the stream, accessible by a small wooden bridge. On my most recent visit they had recently been given the grey overcoat. Artists had started to paint but there wasn’t too much to photo so the following examples are from a previous visit.
Retrace your route a short distance to the earlier exit that takes you across the samll bridge. This bike path continues around Leamy Lake then along the Gatineau River. Turn right off the path towards Gatineau Park where it goes under the transitway. At both entrances of this tunnel there is graffiti.
The path weaves its way up and under Highway 5 for a second time. This is where our final set of walls are located.
It was great having my nephew from Montreal along for the first version of this tour. He is well versed in the subtleties of graffiti art and he taught me lots!
Et voila!
OttawaVeloOutaouais 