Shuttle buses and drones: fall foliage time in Gatineau Park

Fiery red maples around a bog in Gatineau Park. Photo: James Morgan

Leaf-seeking drivers on Meech Lake Road in Gatineau Park. Photo: James Morgan

Fall brings out that homey, comfortable feeling in people. The cooler temperatures, pumpkins, preserves, and piles of firewood have a way of doing that. And of course there are the leaves. People just love looking at them turn shades of red, orange, and yellow. A tree’s annual slip into dormancy has become a big tourist industry. For several years, it’s been billed as the Fall Rhapsody in Quebec’s Gatineau Park, just across the river from Ottawa. This year’s edition runs until October 16. Nature’s paintbrush has just begun the first strokes of scarlet red and bright orange in Gatineau Park, mostly in low-lying areas in the park interior.

I basically gave up going into the park during the Fall Rhapsody for the past two years. Over 1.2 million people live in the National Capital Region. Gatineau Park is the closest wilderness, and for many people, it’s their first opportunity to discover the Canadian outdoors. The traffic on weekends was awful, making it more of a cacophony than a rhapsody. The narrow parkways were jammed with cars full of “leaf peepers,”—that’s what residents of New Hampshire and Vermont often call fall foliage seeking tourists. Roads were barely passable in places because of parked cars with no space left at picnic areas and lookouts.

Foliage followers disembark the Fall Rhapsody shuttle bus.

This year, the National Capital Commission (NCC)—the federal agency that manages Gatineau Park, is aiming to cut down on the chaos. After all, why should enjoying the natural environment be harmful for it? The NCC has teamed up with Gatineau’s transit authority and is operating free weekend shuttle buses between certain points in the park. The goal is to encourage visitors to park and ride to see the leaves so there are fewer cars causing traffic havoc. It also gives people who don’t have cars an opportunity to enjoy the park. Roadside parking has been completely banned too.  RCMP and NCC Conservation Officers are diligently patrolling—and enforcing the rules.

Based on my observation, the shuttle buses and parking restrictions have been a good thing. Traffic is moving more smoothly, and people really are using the buses. Wisely, the transit authority is using hybrid models as a nod to environmental consciousness. They’re also accessible for baby strollers and people with mobility limitations, so everyone from baby to great-grandmother can ride the bus to leaf land. And there’s more than just leaves to look at too. There are artistic, musical, and cultural events taking place at locations throughout Gatineau Park. The only really unusual thing I noticed on my recent trip into the park was visitor flying a drone at the popular Champlain Lookout. That’s a modern reality that takes a bit of getting used to in natural surroundings.

The Gatineau Park Fall Rhapsody is pretty much an annual tradition for many in Ottawa-Gatineau.  The colorful foliage turns the forest into nature’s art gallery.  And with the addition of shuttle buses this year, visitors can leave the car at home if they want to.

Fall leaf viewing has entered the drone age. Photo: James Morgan