Gatineau Park is a 361-square-kilometre federal park in the Quebec Gatineau Hills, beginning about fifteen minutes' drive from downtown Ottawa. It is the closest wilderness to a Canadian capital city — the contrast between the parliamentary district and the rocky Canadian Shield forest of Gatineau is one of Ottawa's great pleasures. The park has over 165 kilometres of hiking trails, thirty lakes with swimming beaches, a network of ski trails in winter, and spectacular autumn colour from mid-September through October.
The most visited feature is Meech Lake, made famous (or notorious) by the Meech Lake Accord constitutional negotiations of 1987. In summer the lake is packed with Ottawa families; in early autumn it's one of the finest places in eastern Canada to watch the leaves turn. The Mackenzie King Estate — the country retreat of Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister — is open in summer and contains his collection of ruins (he collected genuine architectural fragments from bombed buildings and set them in his garden). The park is free to enter; parking fees apply at some trailheads.