Where nature's unspoiled beauty meets country club lifestyle - Greater Madawaska's Calabogie casts its spell over capital
INDUSTRIALIST M.J. O'BRIEN, who brought the Kingston and Pembroke Railway to Calabogie in 1883, also brought modern amenities to the village, which was one of the first in Renfrew County to boast electricity and a telephone system. The services were installed after O’Brien built a dam and a powerhouse to accommodate a factory that never was built.
THE 2001 AMALGAMATION of the Townships of Bagot, Blythfield, Brougham, Matawatchan and Griffith made Greater Madawaska the largest township within Renfrew County, with approximately 1,200 kilometres of rolling terrain and lakes galore.
HIGHWAY 508 LEADING to Calabogie and on to Griffith has been described as ‘among the best motorcycle roads in southern Ontario.’ Though no longer operating, the Great Ontario Bikeroads website included the ‘Calabogie Boogie.’ a ride of twists and turns past lakes, hamlets, generating stations and scenic hills.
It wasn’t that long ago that the streets of Calabogie had wooden sidewalks, trod on by hunters who arrived in this scenic northern Ottawa Valley region each fall to bag a moose or two.
Today, Calabogie is the tourism and commercial heart of the Township of Greater Madawaska, a sprawling municipality with a sparse population that is home to world-class golf courses, timeshare resorts and artists’ studios.
Knitted together through the amalgamation of five former townships in 2001, Greater Madawaska is a favourite cottage destination for residents of the national capital, whose love for waterfront has seen property values skyrocket here in recent years. It’s also popular with weekenders who book into Calabogie’s resorts for a weekend of golf or skiing, and those seeking outdoor adventure such as ice-climbing, white-water rafting and mountain biking.
A river runs through it
Linking the township together is the 230-kilometre-long Madawaska River, which originates at Source Lake in the highlands of Algonquin Park and flows east through the entire length of Greater Madawaska before emptying into the Ottawa River at Arnprior.
It was the Madawaska that attracted some of Ontario’s earliest lumber barons, who built dams to assist their commercial enterprises as far back as the 1840s. According to a history of the area by the Madawaska Highlander and featured on the township’s website, the damming of the Madawaska around Calabogie created Calabogie Lake, the beautiful waterway that today is the heart of the village. There’s a beach and a boat launch at the municipal Barnet Park in the village.
The lake is also ground zero for the local tourist industry.
It’s on the shores of Calabogie Lake where you’ll find the Calabogie Highlands golf resort, complete with a 27-hole championship course, luxury villas and a turn-of-the-century clubhouse that once served as the summer home of Canadian industrialist M.J. O’Brien. Ironwood Golf Course at the Calabogie Peaks Resort is also on the lakeshore, where you’ll find a beach, docks, bar and grill and recreational rentals such as canoes and pedal boats.
In summer, the resort offers “sky rides” at its downhill ski facility. The view atop Dickson Mountain is superb in the fall when the colours change. Enjoy more panoramic views across the Madawaska Highlands along with some fresh air and exercise when you skip the return chairlift ride and walk back down the hill.
Explore the area via abandoned railroad
There are a number of great trails that will get you out exploring the countryside. The former Kingston & Pembroke Railway line, which reached Calabogie in the 1880s, fuelling the local economy, is now a walking trail. The 10-kilometre north K & P trail starts and finishes in Calabogie, following the abandoned railroad across the Madawaska River as it makes its way to Norway Lake. The south trail offers a short two-kilometre jaunt to the north ending on the causeway between Calabogie Lake and Grassy Bay, with lovely views of both, and, if you’re up for it, a longer 18-kilometre trail south from Calabogie to Flower Station. The trek will be worth it as you pass by a number of scenic lakes and wetlands.
The new Manitou Mountain Trail is nine kilometres along a hiking and snowshoeing corridor through picturesque pine forests and spectacular wilderness scenery. Bring the camera — there are three mountain-top vistas to thrill any nature photographer, including Eagle’s Nest, a cliff-top spot sacred to natives. If you’re lucky, you’ll have the giant lookout boulder to yourself, where you can breathe in the silent beauty of the place and watch eagles or turkey vultures soar.
It’s from on high that you really grasp the size of Greater Madawaska, which the largest townships in Renfrew County, with 1,200 kilometres of rolling terrain. A large chunk of the township — about 60 per cent — is Crown land and county forests, with plenty of that available for recreational pursuits. Pristine wilderness and beautiful waterways — there are more than two dozen lakes to go with the Madawaska River — are the township’s chief assets, cherished by a full-time population of about 2,800.
Throw in world-class resorts and recreational facilities and you can see why there’s been a steady flow of property buyers come up the Calabogie Road looking for a piece of this waterfront paradise!
According to the township’s strategic plan, the rush for waterfront has brought with robust population growth, rapid increases in property values and new challenges for a municipality with limited resources. Population growth trends indicate that Greater Madawaska will continue to be one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Eastern Ontario, with a population of 6,582 by 2017.
Among the issues to be tackled is achieving balance in taxation — currently, about 97 per cent of the taxes raised by the township come from residential assessment — by increasing the township’s commercial tax base, without destroying the natural environment so treasured here.
Hop aboard the magical history tour
The best way to explore the township’s scattered hamlets is by taking a car ride along the back roads. You’ll pass through places such as Ashdad, Barrett Chute, Barryvale, Springtown and Spruce Hedge, Hurds Lake, Dacre, Mount St. Patrick, Griffith, Camel Chute and Matawatchan, among others.
Mount St. Patrick, north of Calabogie, was founded by Catholic pioneers, who in 1869 built the stone church that still stands today. Farther north, at Dacre, is one of the original villages established along the old Ottawa-Opeongo settlement road. If you spot piles of unpolished marble, it was probably mined nearby.
After Calabogie, Griffith, to the west, has the next largest commercial centre, serving locals and travellers along Highway 41. At one one, Griffith and neighbouring Matawatchan were a united township. You’ll find the interestingly named Camel Chute between the village of Griffith and the hamlet of Matawatchan. It was originally named Campbell Chute, but surveyors apparently did not understand the local brogue and recorded it as “Camel.”
While heading east back to Calabogie, you’ll come across Black Donald, the lake. A graphite mining village called Black Donald once flourished here, but the building of a hydro dam in the 1960s wiped the community off the map. It is now under the Madawaska River in 80 feet of water.
There are a number of small galleries and arts and craft studios scattered around the township, most of them in Calabogie and in nearby Burnstown, located about 15 kilometres east in the neighbouring McNab/Braeside Township. From there, it’s about 80 kilometres — an hour’s drive — to downtown Ottawa via Highway 417.
If you're looking for a different kind of driving adventure, the township is also home to Calabogie Motorsports Park, where private and public events are held on a scenic track designed to provide "an exhilarating challenge."
On the resale market, recent listings for waterfront property in Greater Madawaska included a two-bedroom fishing camp with 175 feet of frontage on Long Lake, south of Calabogie, for $109,900. Closer to Calabogie, on the Madawaska River, a two-bedroom cottage was on offer for $269,500.
At the upper end of the budget, $998,900 would buy you a modern three-bedroom, three-bath house with 2,600 feet of waterfront on Napier Lake and loads of nature and privacy.