Mooney’s Bay Beach, located on the east shore of the Rideau River just south of Carleton University, is a popular summer destination for swimmers, rowers, and volleyball players.
In the summer, Mooney’s Bay Beach is one of the City of Ottawa’s four supervised beaches. The city’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department set up a swimming area, which is supervised by trained lifeguards from 12pm-7pm each day, from the third week in June until the third week in August. From mid-May until early September, volleyball nets can be rented per hour or for the day and stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) can be rented by the hour. This can be done from beach and lifeguard staff.
Mooney’s Bay is an artificial bay on the Rideau River. The Bay was created during the construction of the Rideau Canal when a dam was built, creating Hog’s Back Falls, with canal locks for boats to bypass the falls. This created a widened area of the river, suitable for boating.
Mooney’s Bay was named after three generations of Mooneys who held the position of Lockmaster at Narrows Lock covering 87 of the first 112 years of the lock’s history.
After rainfalls, swimming is often prohibited due to excessive bacteria. Check out the City of Ottawa Daily Beach Water Quality Results page for the latest water quality readings.
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