Activities for Teens: Escape Room Lockdown Ottawa

Like most high school students, I have a firm separation between fun and tests of intelligence. A math quiz is not exactly my idea of a relaxing Friday evening, and it doesn’t take much thinking to go to the movies. Work and play don’t mix for me… with one exception. I find escape rooms to be a thrilling test of the mind that I can enjoy with friends. That's why I chose Lockdown Ottawa’s Trudeau Towers for my most recent outing.

As soon as we entered the building, we were excited to check out the escape room. My friends and I climbed down the metallic stairs in the windowless structure and checked in. We were then taken to another floor and shown a video about the story behind our escape room. The plot for us was that we were visiting Trudeau Towers, Ottawa’s newest luxury hotel. The guide then showed us into what appeared to be an elevator and closed the door.

Suddenly, the lights went out as we were left confused for around 10 seconds. When they turned on, an announcer over the speakers revealed that our elevator was stuck and we had 45 minutes to diffuse a bomb before it went off. Just like that, our puzzle-solving began.

Obviously, I cannot reveal how to solve the escape room or give too many details. The clues consisted of riddles and various creative contraptions. Each clue lead to the combination key of a lock that would open up another clue. We had to work together as a team to figure out how to solve the escape room.

As the game progressed, we used the walkie-talkie for one of our limited hints and eventually opened a trap door connected to a crawl space. As the clock wound down and the bomb came closer to detonating, we organized ourselves into different roles to solve the clues more efficiently. Just as we were close to solving the second last clue, the door opened and our guide revealed that the bomb had gone off. 

While we weren’t able to escape before the clock ran out, we had a great time solving clues and working together. We were impressed by the creative ways we were supposed to find lock combinations and how engaging the design of our escape room ones. My friends and I will be sure to check out another one of Lockdown Ottawa’s escape rooms sometime in the future. 

Lockdown Ottawa offers 5 different escape rooms, each with different themes. For a Halloween themed escape, check out their CarnEvil room. The other available themes are hockey, time travel and aliens. Unlike many other escape rooms, the cost for these rooms are a flat rate of $109+HST regardless of number of players (which ranges from 2-6.) For more information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Ottawa area activities for teens: Cannamore Orchard’s Acres of Terror

Being chased in a dark forest. Zombies.

You may think I am describing a horror anthology, but these are actually all the things that make Cannamore Orchard’s Acres of Terror one of the scariest rural experiences in the Ottawa area.

We arrived at Cannamore Orchard at around 8 pm on a Saturday night. We got our tickets, and, after a brief wait, a guide took us and our group to the haunted wagon ride, the first activity of our spooky night. We sat down, and the tractor began taking us through a dark and mysterious forest on a bumpy ride. Shortly after the tour started, we passed by an unsettling portrayal of a witch ritual. I don’t want to give away the scare, but throughout the journey in the forest, there were some disturbingly elaborate displays with great actors, just the right amount of jumpscares and something chasing the wagon that you might not expect. To understand what I’m talking about, you must experience it yourself.

After some thrilling jumpscares and a ride that kept us literally on the edge of our seats, we realized our night of horror had only just begun. After exiting the wagon, we were directed to a haunted house. While waiting in a short line, the trend of people leaving the house screaming and shaking was a good (or rather bad) sign of what lay ahead. We entered the haunted house and found a tight corridor with many twists and turns. Again, I cannot spoil the scare, but let's just say I am still scared of turning around a corner. Jumpscares, confusion and people in scary masks following you made this a perfect haunted house.

We then went to the next section of the Acres of Terror- the Spooky Village. An innovative new creation, Cannamore Orchards’ Spooky Village is a small collection of buildings with many Halloween related uses. You can visit the butchershop, or the local jail, with creepy twists and great actors. We spent a good 20 minutes popping in and out of buildings, more scared than when we entered. 

Finally, as the last part of our tour, we entered an indoor fog maze. Like the haunted house, we walked through a tight corridor that turned every few meters, but this time, it was empty and full of mist. We walked for a little while, expecting this to be the whole tour, when suddenly a small person with a mask jumped out from behind us! Caught off guard, we began running as he ominously followed us. More of them appeared, as we tried to escape. Finally, we made it to the exit and concluded our visit.

I would definitely recommend this experience for older children in your household. The evening experience is not intended for younger children.  

If you want a thrilling evening and get into the Halloween Spirit, visit Cannamore Orchards’ Acres of Terror. Register as soon as you can, since spots fill up quickly. Current available times are on weekends from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Groups leave every 15 minutes. For more information, click here.

Where is it and how much does it cost

Cannamore Orchards is located at 1480 County Road 32, Crysler, ON, K0A 1R0

Acres of Terror includes 4 main attractions: The Spooky Wagon Ride, House of Terror, Fog Maze & Spooky Village.  Tickets include a visit to all attractions.  Tickets must be booked for a specific date and time slot to ensure a safe & enjoyable experience for all.  Regular Night Admission is $34.00 per person.

Day sessions are geared towards younger kids and those easily scared and the price tag is a little lower at $25 per person or $75 for a family of four.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Pumpkins after Dark: A Halloween option without the scare

As a teen, I have realized that the Halloween season offers three options for activities in my demographic: horror movies, haunted mansions and extremely late stage trick or treating. While I love a good scare, it can get repetitive as October drags on. This weekend, I tried something different, with the Pumpkins after Dark Display. 

We arrived at Wesley Clover Parks out in Kanata shortly after sunset, where we showed our tickets at the booth and entered the place. Inside, there were stands for a variety of food and drink with a long orange-encrusted pathway ahead of us. On both sides of the path, there were a plethora of professionally carved pumpkins that depicted a variety of popular culture characters. Obviously, iconic horror movie villains were engraved in the illuminated pumpkins. There were also designs for characters across various franchises and genres, with a Jurassic Park section and even some Mexican Day of the Dead carvings. We walked through the display for several minutes, admiring the craftsmanship and effort put into it. After completing our tour of the pumpkins, we decided to grab some hot chocolate and donuts. This was an incredible way to get into the halloween spirit, even without the traditional scares.

What's good for teens

Pumpkins after Dark is an excellent Halloween activity for teens in Ottawa. It is a great evening activity to spend with friends, with many displays to look at. You can grab some hot chocolate or treats, or take a look at engravings of your favourite horror movie characters. It is also a great opportunity for employment, with many workers at the exhibit getting their first job as a helper there. Overall, this is a great place to visit (or work) this Halloween season for teens, families and people who are sick of haunted houses. 

If you want an engaging, jump scare-free Halloween experience, check out Pumpkins After Dark. They will be open until October 31st in Wesley Clover Parks from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Dress warmly, as this is an outdoor event. It is wheelchair accessible, but a relatively long walk.

Ticket prices are as follows:

Adult (17+) starting at $18.95
Youth (4-16) starting at $15.95
Children 3 and under are free, no ticket required
Family packages (2 adult, 2 youth) starting at $64.80

Pumpkins after Dark is officially partnering with the Ottawa Senators Community Foundation. For more information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Green Corners Farm

A visit to Green Corners Farm is one of my family’s favourite activities during Spring, Summer and even into Fall. We’ve been making trips to the farm for the past 3 years and find ourselves there at least once or twice per season. Green Corners Farm is Ottawa’s largest pick-your-own flower farm and is found on York’s Corners Road. The farm is the official floral supplier for the Canadian Tulip Festival. The owners, Manja and Al are always on site to help welcome guests and provide tips on picking the best blooms for a beautiful bouquet.

Green Corners Farm is perhaps most well-known for its incredible fields of tulips that burst into bloom early May but while the tulip season is short, the following flower seasons shouldn’t be missed. My daughters absolutely love heading to the farm to wander between the rows of various types of flowers. We often pick a few bouquets to share with family and friends and the kids are in charge of which flowers they’d like in their bouquet as well as the arrangement of the bouquet.

Upon arrival, you’ll be welcomed by a staff member who will check you in. It is recommended to pre-purchase your “picking” ticket through the Green Corners Farm website https://greencorners.ca/product-category/u-pick-bouquets/ or if you’d prefer to take in the views and enjoy the flowers, you can select a “looking” ticket. Tickets may also be purchased on site but you’ll save a bit of money by purchasing online (and entry is not guaranteed if they are full.) Each “picking” ticket has a value of 25 points, with all flowers worth 1 point except for the sunflowers, which are 2 points. You can mix and match your flowers to create a unique bouquet.
Every guest ages 5+ must have either a “Picking” ticket or a “looking” ticket.

Once checked in, you’ll get a quick lesson on how to cut your flowers (you’ll need a certain length of stem) and then you’ll pick up a basket and clippers and be off to explore the many fields of various types of flowers. If you’re looking for photo ops, you’ll find colourful benches and chairs throughout the fields. The flowers provide a spectacular backdrop! After you’ve selected your flowers, you’ll head over to the white tent where you’ll find tables with buckets. This is where the creativity happens! You’ll remove the extra greenery from your flowers and make your arrangement. There’s fresh basil on hand to add to your bouquet (it smells divine!) and when you’re happy with your arrangement, you’ll tie it off with twine. The final step is to admire your beautiful bouquet! 

If you are looking for a beautiful field of sunflowers, this is the place to be! There are several different types of sunflowers to be picked or photographed whether you’re looking for bright golden petals, pale yellow or even a rusty red. Sunflowers are currently at their peak and are available until the first frost in September. Snapdragons, zinnias, marigolds, calendula, statice, strawflower, celosias and strawflowers are just a few of the seasonal flowers available for picking. There is a Bouquet Stand on site that is stocked with seasonal bouquets.

For those who love tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs, they are available for purchase. Bulbs can be pre-ordered over the summer and are ready in the Fall for pick-up or delivery. Green Corners Farm also offers flowers for Valentine’s Day and Easter. My family purchases the forced tulip bulbs that we grow in vases on stones. They are a lovely addition of colour during the snowy months!

Green Corner Farm
Hours: Thursday to Monday - 9am to last entry at 11:30am and 4pm to last entry at 6:30pm.
Bouquet Stand hours: Friday-Monday 9am-7pm

Candace is a mom of 4 who loves exploring the city and trying out new activities with her adventurous kiddos. Note: the family were gifted their bouquets but all thoughts are their own.

VR Adventure - video game fun for teens and tweens in Ottawa

When my family found out about VRAdventures.ZONE there was no hesitation that everyone was interested in checking it out. Our household has a lot of video game experience and a fair amount of VR experience but we’ve never had a chance to all play together in a VR space and we really wanted to give it a try.

VRAdventures.ZONE is located in the Merivale Mall (park at the back of the building) and was even more impressive than we expected. We first walked in and saw a few small areas designed for people to play solo games, but once we went around the corner we realized just how big the space was and how many group games they could accommodate at once!

We decided to take on a virtual escape room. My family are becoming quite the pros at figuring these out, and we loved the idea of trying one in a VR space.

The VR escape room was more about finding things and moving them (even a spaceship!), unlike traditional escape rooms which tends to me more about solving puzzles to unlock padlocks.

What we loved

We really loved getting to this together. At home we only have one VR headset. Getting to all be in the same space and interacting with each other to solve the puzzles was a LOT of fun!

We really loved having lots of space. Having a big enough room for 5-6 people to all be walking around without bumping into walls and furniture is a struggle in most homes, even if you had that many VR headsets. We were able to move freely and it really felt like we were in the room!

As a parent I like that VR gets my kids moving while they’re playing video games. It’s a nice mix of what they love and not sitting and vegging too much.

They broadcast the gameplay on screens outside the room so even if you aren’t personally participating you can see what players are doing.

What we loved a bit less

Watching the group’s gameplay from the outside

You can get pretty hot in the headsets, so make sure the not dress too warmly and hydrate a lot.

There are a lot of flashing lights and VR can sometimes make you a bit dizzy. One of my kids needed to take a break and sit for a bit.

Overall it was a great experience and all of my family members would be happy to visit again!

What else do they offer?

VR Adventure Zone has a variety of kinds of experiences for every level and interest type, including arcade games and experiences (imagine trying out scuba diving or fly in space!)

They also offer birthday parties and even host corporate events!

VRAdventures.ZONE

Location: 1642 Merivale Rd Unit 300 (Merivale Mall)

Cost:

Pricing differs based on which experience you choose and how long you play, but expect about $25-40/person.

Hours:

They are open daily from 11am-10pm and on weekends they stay open until 11pm.

Important to know:

Kids must be at least 7 years old to play and anyone under 18 needs a waiver signed by a parent to participate.