Chris Smith Real Estate Blog

Homeowners in Lanark County are living in one of the most active areas in Eastern Ontario for off-road recreation. Located just west of Ottawa, the area sits at the center of a popular and growing network for side-by-side, ATV, and snowmobile trails that run across the Ottawa Valley.  Residents have access to former rail corridors, forest trails, and rural road connections through these trails link communities, including Smiths Falls, Carleton Place, Almonte, and Pakenham with hundreds of kilometers of recreational, well-kept trails.  The Uprising Popularity of Side-by-Sides Side by sides have quickly become a dominant off-road vehicle type in Lanark County for riders, replacing typical ATVs for many people. Side by sides have a lot of modern benefits compared to ATVs, including better safety and comfort (through roll cages and seatbelts), the ability to carry passengers and supplies, it is more suitable for families and older riders, and is more stable on rough terrain and bu...

The Government of Canada has proposed a 1000 kilometer rail line between Toronto and Quebec City, and, if approved, is set to be in usage by 2029 or 2030. This line, referred to as the Alto High Speed Rail (previously called "High Frequency Rail [HFR]"), is set to cause multiple issues for citizens with properties in the planned line, including lower property values. longer daily commutes, local ecosystems being disrupted, and the rail cutting through citizen's properties. The Project As of February 2026, the Alto High Speed Rail train has been proposed to run between Toronto and Quebec City, stopping in at least 7 mandatory stations; Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois-Rivieres, and Quebec City. This line is expected to travel at roughly 300 kilometers per hour, cutting the travel time from Ottawa to Montreal from approximately 3 hours to 1 hour. This line would primarily run on a new dedicated route, separate from other trains in the area. While this p...