Dick Bell Park - Ottawa, Ontario
Posted by: 
MAPSIT
N 45° 21.090 W 075° 49.851
18T E 434917 N 5022334
A City of Ottawa park that provides the home for the Nepean Sailing Club
Waymark Code: WMKPY9
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 05/13/2014
Views: 12
Location: The official address for Dick Bell Park is 3259 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario. The park, which contains the Nepean Sailing Club, lies on the south shore of the Ottawa River in western Ottawa, just west of Andrew Haydon Park, with which it is contiguous. An official city park sign bearing the 3259 Carling Avenue address appears at the park’s entrance at the intersection of Carling Avenue and Bedale Drive. Boat traffic enters the park/club from the east.
Description: From above, Dick Bell Park takes the form of a letter “G,” sitting on a nearly half-kilometer long “podium” that lies up against Carling Avenue. The opening on the right side of the “G” is the water entrance to the Nepean Sailing Club’s harbour, and the water in the circular center of the “G” is where the boats are moored. The park is named for Dick Bell, a locally born politician who, as noted in Wikipedia, was a member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing Carleton from 1957 to 1963 and from 1965 to 1968. Elected as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament in the government of John Diefenbaker, Dick Bell was the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 1962 to 1963.
Dick Bell Park’s primary feature is the Nepean Sailing Club, which occupies much of the grounds, reflecting the space requirements for the harbour proper, the boat storage facilities for the winter, ample parking, and the club house itself. The name Nepean derives from the independent city formerly containing the park, but which was absorbed into the City of Ottawa in 2001. The club house offers attractive dining facilities, and may be rented by local groups needing a venue for a dinner meeting. The park contains a fair length of paved walkways, not maintained during the winter, including one walkway that runs along the long breakwater peninsula that separates the Club’s mooring facilities from the Ottawa River. It offers a number of benches and pleasant views “in” toward the Club, and “out” toward the Ottawa River, the province of Quebec (to the north across the river) and Andrew Haydon Park (to the southeast of the end of the peninsula). One of the interesting and unusual features of the park is its purple martin sanctuary.
Dick Bell Park appears in the City of Ottawa's official database of municipal parks. It is searchable on Google Earth, and Google Maps, with several images of the park available via the latter’s Street View feature.
Name: Dick Bell Park
Street Location: 3259 Carling Avenue
Local Municipality: Ottawa
State/Province, etc.: Ontario
Country: Canada
Web Site: [Web Link]
Memorial/Commemoration: Dick Bell, local politician
Date Established: Unknown
Picnic Facilities: Small numbers of tables and benches
Recreational Facilities:
Nepean Sailing Club
Monuments/Statues: None
Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): None
Fountains: None
Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: The park occupies the southern shore of the Ottawa River
Special Events: The Nepan Sailing Club offers regular summer competitions. The club house hosts a variety of local events on a rental basis.
Traditional Geocaches:
None without issues at the time of submission
|
Visit Instructions:
One photo of the park that is a different view from the one on the page, and give the date and description your visit.
Add any additional information that you may have about this park. A GPSr photo is NOT required.