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Dow's Lake

The neighbourhood east of the lake on the Rideau Canal, south of Carling Avenue and west of Bronson Avenue, next to the Glebe.

13,565Population (2021)* · source
6,885Private dwellings (2021)* · source
41.2Median age (2021)* · source
5Schools inside
15Parks & places inside
0Homes for sale here

* Ottawa Neighbourhood Study figures for its “Glebe - Dows Lake” area, which is larger than Dow's Lake alone.

Dow's Lake is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal in the middle of Ottawa, and the neighbourhood sits on its east side. The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study's 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area had 13,565 residents in the 2021 census.

Updated · Facts on this page link to their sources

The neighbourhood

About Dow's Lake

Dow's Lake is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal in the middle of Ottawa, and the neighbourhood sits on its east side. Wikipedia places it north of the Rideau Canal, east of the lake, south of Carling Avenue and west of Bronson Avenue, and counts it as part of the Glebe area. Around the lake are Commissioners Park, which holds the Canadian Tulip Festival beds each May, a pavilion with boat rentals, and the Dominion Arboretum to the west. Dows Lake Station on O-Train Line 2 is nearby. The census figures use the ONS 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area, which is larger than the neighbourhood.

Boundaries

Wikipedia describes the Dow's Lake neighbourhood as the area north of the Rideau Canal, east of Dow's Lake, south of Carling Avenue and west of Bronson Avenue, and part of the wider Glebe. Census figures on this page use the larger ONS 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area. Boundary shape: OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/4228695 (ODbL). ons-sqo.ca

Homes

In the ONS 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area, which is larger than the neighbourhood, 2021 census figures show 27.6% single-detached houses, 8.5% semi-detached, 6.1% row houses, 5.3% duplex flats, 29.4% apartments in buildings under five storeys and 22.7% in buildings of five or more storeys. 14.4% of dwellings are condominiums, and 51.3% of households rent. We have no source on the age of the homes. ons-sqo.ca

Highlights
  • Commissioners Park beside the lake has the Canadian Tulip Festival beds each May
  • In winter the lake freezes and becomes part of the Rideau Canal skateway and a Winterlude site
  • A year-round pavilion at the north end of the lake rents canoes, kayaks and paddle boats
  • Dows Lake Station on O-Train Line 2 is nearby
  • Parliament Hill is 3.2 km away in a straight line, or 4.0 km and about 8 minutes by road in free-flow traffic (no traffic)
  • Bank Street shops and the Glebe Community Centre are in the neighbouring Glebe

Community

History

How Dow's Lake came to be

  1. 1816

    The lake is named after Abram Dow, an American-born settler who came to Ontario in the early 19th century and owned land in this area in 1816. Before the canal was built the area was known as Dow's Great Swamp. en.wikipedia.org

  2. 1928

    Parkland and part of the residential area to the east were rail-served lumber piling yards until 1928, and the area north of Carling Avenue was mostly industrial. en.wikipedia.org

  3. 1943

    Canadian Forces Reserve Barrack Dow's Lake, home to HMCS Carleton, a Canadian Naval Reserve unit, opened in 1943 next to the lake pavilion. en.wikipedia.org

  4. 1967

    A rail tunnel under the Rideau Canal at the southwest corner of the lake was completed on August 5, 1967, replacing a swing-bridge crossing; OC Transpo introduced the O-Train there in 2001. en.wikipedia.org

  5. 2025

    When O-Train Line 2 reopened in January 2025, Carling Station was renamed Dows Lake Station. en.wikipedia.org

  6. The lake was created when an earthen dam was built along the north shore (the north part of Queen Elizabeth Driveway now sits on the dam) to allow flooding for the Rideau Canal. en.wikipedia.org

  7. Wikipedia's Glebe article describes the Dow's Lake neighbourhood as the area north of the Rideau Canal, east of Dow's Lake, south of Carling Avenue and west of Bronson Avenue, within the wider Glebe. en.wikipedia.org

People & landmarks

Local names worth knowing

  • Abram Dow

    American-born settler who came to Ontario in the early 19th century and owned land in this area in 1816; the lake is named for him. en.wikipedia.org

Map

Around Dow's Lake

Walking rings at 5, 10 and 15 minutes from the neighbourhood centre.

Dow's Lake: schools, parks, shops and transit within about 1.3 km of the centre
Dow's Lake: schools, parks, shops and transit within about 1.3 km of the centre · Distances are straight-line from the marked centre. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
  1. 1Commissioners Park240 m
  2. 2Senator Eugene Forsey Park360 m
  3. 3Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club380 m
  4. 4Dominion Arboretum490 m
  5. 5Dow's Lake / Lac Dow680 m
  6. 6McCann Park800 m
  7. 7Capital Park800 m
  8. 8Glebe Collegiate Institute820 m
  9. 9Ornamental Gardens840 m
  10. 10Dalhousie South Park840 m
  11. 11Tennis Centre890 m
  12. 12Holistic Roots Massage Therapy & Wellness900 m
  13. 13Brown's Inlet Park900 m
  14. 14Wading Pool - Ev Tremblay930 m
  15. 15Ev Tremblay Park950 m

Schools

10 nearby

Straight-line distances from the Dow's Lake centre. Living near a school does not guarantee a place: confirm the designated school for an address with each board. All schools and board locators.

Parks & places

10 nearby

The full parks & trails guide.

Shops & dining

10 nearby

The full shops & dining guide.

Getting around

Transit

  • Dow's Lake / Lac Dow

    O-Train

    openopenstreetmap.org

    680 m9 min walk

  • Carleton

    O-Train

    openopenstreetmap.org

    1.1 km14 min walk

  • Corso Italia

    O-Train

    openopenstreetmap.org

    1.4 km18 min walk

  • Downtown

    Parliament Hill is 3.2 km away in a straight line. By road it is 4.0 km, about 8 minutes (free-flow, no traffic). Straight-line distance is from the area centre; driving distance and time are from the OSRM demo router on OpenStreetMap roads, as of 2026-10-30.

    router.project-osrm.org openstreetmap.org

  • O-Train Line 2

    Dow's Lake / Lac Dow station is open. Wikipedia says Carling Station was renamed Dows Lake Station when Line 2 reopened in January 2025, although the lake is about 300 metres away, and that trains run every 12 minutes. Confirm current service with OC Transpo.

    openstreetmap.org en.wikipedia.org

  • Other nearby O-Train stations

    Carleton, Corso Italia and Bayview stations, all shown as open in OpenStreetMap. We have not measured distances to them.

    openstreetmap.org openstreetmap.org openstreetmap.org

  • Commute habits (ONS 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area)

    In the 2021 census, 55.4% of workers commuted by car, truck or van, 8.8% by public transit and 55.1% worked at home. These are separate census shares, not parts of one total.

    ons-sqo.ca

The full transit guide.

Homes

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Next door

Neighbouring areas

    Questions people ask

    Quick answers

    Short answers first; each links to the full answer and its sources.

    All 31 questions

    1. Is Dow's Lake a good place to live?

      Dow's Lake sits beside the Rideau Canal in central Ottawa, about 4 km by road from Parliament Hill, and its O-Train station is open. The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study's 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area had 13,565 residents in the 2021 census, and 51.3% of households rented. Whether it suits you depends on what you need, so here are the facts.

      As of 2026-10 · ons-sqo.ca router.project-osrm.org

    2. What schools serve Dow's Lake?

      No school sits on the lake itself. The nearest board-run schools listed on OpenStreetMap are Glebe Collegiate Institute (secondary, 212 Glebe Avenue) and Mutchmor Public School (elementary, 185 Fifth Avenue), both Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Corpus Christi School (798 Lyon Street South) is Ottawa Catholic School Board, and École élémentaire publique Louise Arbour (175 Beech Street) is French-language, Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario.

      As of 2026-10 · glebe.ocdsb.ca mutchmorps.ocdsb.ca

    3. How far is Dow's Lake from downtown Ottawa?

      Parliament Hill is about 3.2 km in a straight line from the Dow's Lake area centre. By road it is about 4.0 km, roughly 8 minutes in free-flowing traffic.

      As of 2026-10 · router.project-osrm.org openstreetmap.org

    4. What are homes like in Dow's Lake?

      In the 2021 census, the ONS 'Glebe - Dows Lake' area had 6,885 private dwellings. About 27.6% were single-detached houses, 29.4% were apartments in buildings under five storeys and 22.7% were apartments in buildings of five or more storeys.

      As of 2021 · ons-sqo.ca ons-sqo.ca

    5. What is the nearest O-Train station to Dow's Lake?

      Dow's Lake station (listed on OpenStreetMap as Dow's Lake / Lac Dow) is the nearest O-Train station. It is open and sits about 0.7 km north-west of the area centre in a straight line.

      As of 2026-10 · openstreetmap.org openstreetmap.org

    6. Where do people in Dow's Lake buy groceries?

      The nearest grocery stores mapped on OpenStreetMap are on Bank Street in the Glebe: Metro (754 Bank Street), Il Negozio Nicastro (792 Bank Street) and Whole Foods Market (951 Bank Street). Each is roughly 1.4 km in a straight line from the Dow's Lake area centre.

      As of 2026-10 · openstreetmap.org openstreetmap.org

    Sources for this page (64)
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