Mattawa Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
town of Ontario, Canada
About Mattawa
Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in the Algonquin language. The town's population is about one third French-speaking. The area was first inhabited by Indigenous people who used the Mattawa River as an important transportation corridor for many centuries. In 1610, Étienne Brûlé and in 1615, Samuel de Champlain were the first Europeans to travel through the Mattawa area. For 200 years thereafter, it was a link in the important water route leading from Montreal west to Lake Superior. Canoes travelling west up the Ottawa turned left at "the Forks" (the mouth of the Mattawa) to enter the "Petite Rivière" ("Small River", as compared to the Ottawa), before continuing on to Lake Nipissing. The Mattawa House was established by the Northwest Company in 1784. In the 1820s and 1830s, the Hudson's
Top Attractions in Mattawa
Explore the best things to see and do in Mattawa:
- ★Antoine Mountain
- ★Explorer's Point Park
- ★Mattawa Museum
- ★Mattawa Voyageur Days Festival
- ★Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park
- ★Voyageur Multi Use Trail System
Where to Stay in Mattawa
- 🏨Mattawa Adventure Camp
- 🏨The Canadian Ecology Centre
- 🏨Valois Motel
Mattawa Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 10 sections including: