Five family museums, their 2026 prices and free hours, the Skateway and Winterlude in winter, Philippe Lake beaches and camping in summer, and our ranked ice cream picks.
Top-rated family attractions in Ottawa
The best things to do in Ottawa with kids are the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, and skating the Rideau Canal in winter. Ottawa's top-rated family museum on the fromOttawa Score, as of October 29, 2026, is the Canadian Museum of Nature, at 4.7 stars from 15,227 Google reviews.
On our attractions ranking of 86 places, the family picks sit near the top: Nature is #8, the Canadian Museum of History #9, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum #11, the Rideau Canal National Historic Site #12 and the Canadian Children's Museum in Gatineau #13. The Science and Technology Museum is lower at #75 (4.5 stars, 9,291 reviews), and the Agriculture and Food Museum is #74 (4.5 stars, 3,041 reviews).
Ranks come from a published formula on public Google Maps ratings and review counts, pulled October 29, 2026 and refreshed every 90 days. The formula pulls places with few reviews toward the Ottawa-area average for attractions, 4.58 stars, which is why Puck n' Putt (4.9 stars, 23 reviews) ranks #28, below museums rated 4.7 by thousands of people. Nobody pays to be listed.
Ottawa museums with kids, by age and price
Children aged 2 and under get in free at all five family museums: Nature and History list 0 to 2 as free, and the three Ingenium museums list 2 and under as free. With a baby or toddler, you pay only for the adults. For toddlers and young children, the Canadian Children's Museum is inside the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, and general admission covers both. The museum describes a visit as a trip through a Mexican kitchen, an open-air market and a cargo ship, and its map includes a Pakistani bus. At busy times, access is first-come, first-served. The Science and Technology Museum page also mentions a Zoom area.
What two adults and two children pay, from the official visit pages: Agriculture and Food $42.50 (family ticket), Aviation and Space $43.50 (family), Science and Technology $51 (family), History $68 (family, up to 6 people with at most 2 adults, 10% off online), and Nature $90 (no family ticket listed; adult $26, child aged 3 to 12 $19). Ingenium and History prices are before tax. The Ingenium family tickets also cover up to 6 people with at most 2 adults. Age bands differ: Ingenium's youth price covers ages 3 to 17, while Nature charges students 13 and up $19.
Plan around closures. Science and Technology is closed Mondays, Aviation and Space Tuesdays, and Agriculture and Food Mondays and Tuesdays. Nature's hours for this week show it closed Tuesday and open to 8 pm Thursday. All of these are indoors, which makes them the rainy-day plan. We have no ranked list of indoor play centres, so we do not name any.
Free things to do in Ottawa with kids
The three Ingenium museums (Science and Technology, Aviation and Space, Agriculture and Food) are free every day from 4 to 5 pm, and all day on July 1 and September 30. The Canadian Museum of History is free every Thursday from 5 to 7 pm, and on Canada Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Remembrance Day. You still need a timed ticket, and special presentations are not included.
The Rideau Canal Skateway is free and open 24/7 when the ice is ready. The Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill is free and starts daily at 10 a.m. in summer; the full parade runs Thursdays to Sundays. Ottawa Tourism lists the 2027 dates as to be announced. The Canadian Tulip Festival calls itself a free public festival, though some extras need tickets.
Ottawa with kids in winter
The Rideau Canal Skateway runs 7.8 km. The NCC says the season typically runs from January to early March, weather permitting. Rentals include skates, sleighs and tricycles, which helps with small children who cannot skate yet.
Winterlude 2027 runs January 29 to February 15, 2027, the festival's 49th edition, per Canadian Heritage. Ottawa Tourism lists the same dates, names the snow playground Snowflake Kingdom and says most activities are free. The 2027 location of Snowflake Kingdom was not on the pages we checked.
Ottawa with kids in summer: beaches, camping and hikes
Philippe Lake in Gatineau Park has three beaches: Breton, Parent and Smith. All three were rated A (Excellent) for water quality on September 14, 2026. Breton and Parent are supervised in swim season. Dogs and pets are not allowed on Gatineau Park beaches. Gatineau Park covers more than 361 sq km, and the NCC warns that the southern sector, closest to Ottawa and Gatineau, often reaches capacity; it suggests weekdays or less busy areas further north. The rebuilt Philippe Lake campground reopened on June 12, 2026, with a summer season through October 12. It added a four-season indoor pavilion, a camp store, a kitchen shelter, an amphitheatre and 10 mini-chalets (1 universally accessible), plus access to Smith Beach from the campground. The 2027 season dates are not posted yet.
For short hikes, Jack Pine Trail (#16, 4.7 stars, 910 reviews) and Beaver Trail (#21, 4.7 stars, 391 reviews) both rank in our top 25 attractions. Our top-ranked parks are Major's Hill Park (4.8 stars, 3,011 reviews), Hog's Back Park and Andrew Haydon Park. Two smaller picks for kids: Millennium Park Splash Pad in Orléans (#18 on our parks list, 4.7 stars, 229 reviews) and the Carlington Park Bike Pump Track (#19, 4.8 stars, 69 reviews).
The Canadian Tulip Festival has not announced 2027 dates. The 2026 festival ran May 8 to 18 at Commissioners Park by Dow's Lake. Canada Day is July 1, and the Ingenium museums and the Museum of History are free that day. For this weekend, see our events calendar.
Where to eat with kids in Ottawa
Our restaurant data has no kid-friendly field, so we do not call any restaurant kid-friendly. What we can show is how locals rate places.
Ice cream is the easy one. The top five on our ice cream ranking are The Merry Dairy (4.8 stars, 1,969 reviews), Cassis Home-Made Gelato and Sorbet in Aylmer, Gatineau (4.8 stars, 551 reviews), Chris's Ice Cream (4.9 stars, 164 reviews), Moo Shu Ice Cream (4.7 stars, 2,249 reviews) and The Beachconers Microcreamery (4.7 stars, 1,209 reviews). For meals, use our ranked pizza, burger, breakfast and restaurant lists.
Questions and answers
What are some fun things to do in Ottawa with a baby?
Museums are the easiest start, because children 2 and under get in free at the Museum of Nature, the Museum of History and the three Ingenium museums, so you pay only adult tickets. The Canadian Children's Museum inside the Museum of History is included with general admission. In winter, Rideau Canal Skateway rentals include sleighs.
What are some free activities I can do in Ottawa?
The Ingenium museums (Science and Technology, Aviation and Space, Agriculture and Food) are free daily from 4 to 5 pm. The Canadian Museum of History is free Thursdays from 5 to 7 pm with a timed ticket. The Rideau Canal Skateway, the summer Changing of the Guard and the Canadian Tulip Festival are also free.
What is there to do in Ottawa with kids?
Family museums lead our rankings: the Canadian Museum of Nature is the top-rated family museum as of October 29, 2026. Add the Rideau Canal Skateway and Winterlude in winter, and Gatineau Park beaches, camping and short trails such as Jack Pine Trail in summer.
Where to eat with kids in Ottawa?
We do not label restaurants as kid-friendly because our data has no such field. Our ranked ice cream list is led by The Merry Dairy (4.8 stars, 1,969 reviews), and our pizza, burger, breakfast and restaurant lists show how locals rate each place.
Sources
- fromOttawa place data: best attractions, museums, parks and ice cream (Google Maps ratings, pulled 2026-10-29). Checked .
- Canadian Museum of Nature: Visit us. Checked .
- Canadian Museum of History: Plan your visit. Checked .
- Canadian Children's Museum. Checked .
- Ingenium: Canada Science and Technology Museum, Visit. Checked .
- Ingenium: Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Visit. Checked .
- Ingenium: Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, Visit. Checked .
- NCC: Rideau Canal Skateway. Checked .
- Canadian Heritage: Winterlude. Checked .
- Ottawa Tourism: Winterlude. Checked .
- Ottawa Tourism: Changing of the Guard. Checked .
- Canadian Tulip Festival. Checked .
- NCC: Gatineau Park. Checked .
- NCC: Philippe Lake. Checked .
- NCC news: Modernized Philippe Lake campground opens tomorrow (June 11, 2026). Checked .