The Mackenzie King Estate at Kingsmere is the former summer retreat of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister. Set within Gatineau Park about 20 km north of Ottawa, the estate consists of several restored cottages and farmhouses surrounded by 231 hectares of parkland, with walking trails and lakes nearby.
The gardens are the most distinctive feature. King assembled a series of architectural ruins on the property — fragments and facades from demolished buildings across Canada and Britain, arranged to create picturesque Romantic landscape effects. The resulting collection is charmingly eccentric, particularly given that it was assembled by a head of government. The estate is managed by Parks Canada and open during the summer season; guided tours explain the history of King's career and personal life, which included a long interest in spiritualism and communication with the dead.