Boundaries
The western boundary starts at Division Street, jogs over to Russett Drive and then to White Lake Road. To the north, the Ottawa River is the boundary. To the south, it’s roughly Lake Madawaska, which also makes up part of the eastern boundary, along with Herrick Drive.
History
Arnprior’s history of European settlement dates to the early 1850s. Located where the Madawaska River empties into the Ottawa, it was incorporated as a town in 1892. By the early 1900s, two busy train lines ran through it and it boasted hotels, telegraph offices and lumber and textile mills. Arnprior has retained its small-town appeal even as it has grown to almost 9,000 residents; it’s now home to several multinational corporations. The 82-megawatt Arnprior Generating Station on the Madawaska River, completed in 1976, provides power to thousands of homes.
Claim to fame
One of the town’s highlights is Gillies Grove — one of the few accessible stands of old-growth white pine in Eastern Ontario, where you can walk woodland trails and keep an eye out for owls and other wildlife.
Who’s building where
- Callahan Estates: Campanale Homes
In the area
Arnprior is attractive to buyers who enjoy small-town life, heritage buildings, water activities, nature trails and easy access to Ottawa’s west end. Attractions include:
- Arnprior and District Museum
- Robert Simpson Park (with splash pad and beach)
- Ottawa River
- Madawaska River
- Arnprior Market
- Algonquin Trail
- Macnamara Nature Trail
- Burnstown (shops and cafés)
- White Lake (fishing, swimming camping)
- Calabogie Peaks Resort
Schools
Arnprior has two English public elementary schools, two English Catholic elementary schools, and an English public high school. The nearest English Catholic secondary school is in Renfrew. Pembroke is home to Renfrew County’s only French schools — a combined elementary-secondary Catholic school, and one elementary and one secondary public school.
- English public: Renfrew County District School Board
- English Catholic: Renfrew County Catholic District School Board
- French public: Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario
- French Catholic: Écoles catholiques Centre-Est
Businesses
Arnprior has a range of independent and chain restaurants and stores. Businesses include:
- A Dash of Fab
- Jade & Laney Boutique
- Lumbertown Ale House
- Green Bean Natural Foods
- Quality Inn
- Giant Tiger
- RONA
- Canadian Tire
- Home Hardware
- Metro
- McDonalds
- Tim Hortons
- Subway
- Starbucks
Amenities
Arnprior offers skating rinks, basketball courts, a skateboard park, ball diamonds and more. Other amenities include:
- Nick Smith Centre (indoor rinks and pool)
- Arnprior Fish and Game Conservation Club
- Arnprior Public Library
- O’Brien Theatre
- Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital
- Seniors Active Living Centre
- Public marina and boat launch
- Public marina and boat launch
- Arnprior and District Museum
- Gilles Grove and House National Historic Site
- Robert Simpson Park
- Arnprior City Hall
- Sand Point Lighthouse
- Madawaska Golf Club
Services
There are plenty of retailers, sports facilities, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, churches, coffee shops, fitness studios, animal hospitals and schools. The town government offers a range of recreational programs.
Transit options
For drivers, the four-lane Hwy. 417 (which becomes the Queensway) links Arnprior to Ottawa. Greyhound and Ontario Northland offer daily bus service between the Ottawa terminal on Catherine Street and a plaza near the White Lake Road and Hwy. 417 in Arnprior; the Ontario Northland bus also serves Kanata Town Centre. Leduc Bus Lines runs weekday commuter bus service between several stops in Arnprior and multiple stops in downtown Ottawa. Arnprior also has a small airport.