About Blackburn Hamlet
Blackburn Hamlet sits in Orléans West-Innes Ward in Ottawa’s east end, and belonged to the City of Gloucester until the 2001 amalgamation. The 2021 Census counted 8,173 residents across roughly 2.4 square kilometres.
The name traces to Robert Blackburn, a local reeve who later became the Member of Parliament for Russell. The area carried several names until 1876, when his campaign for a local post office succeeded, and the office took his name.
The Greenbelt came later, and it’s the reason the community looks the way it does. The National Capital Commission began acquiring land here in the late 1950s, and suburban development followed in the mid-1960s.
Blackburn Hamlet is now one of only two Ottawa suburbs completely ringed by Greenbelt, the other being Bells Corners.
Homes in Blackburn Hamlet
Housing here is overwhelmingly low-rise and family-sized: detached two-storeys and bungalows from the 1960s and 1970s on generous lots, with townhouse rows filling in the middle of the market. There’s very little apartment or condominium stock, and almost no new construction, because the Greenbelt leaves nowhere to put it.
That scarcity shapes what comes to market. At the time of writing, rew.ca showed only 13 active listings across the whole community, with a median asking price near $699,000, houses at roughly $730,000, and townhouses at roughly $422,000. The spread ran from about $310,000 to $1.1 million, so a first-time townhouse buyer and a move-up family are shopping the same small market.
With inventory that thin, the useful habit is to watch the listings rather than wait for the right one to appear. Our Blackburn Hamlet homes for sale page updates as new properties come available.
Schools in Blackburn Hamlet
Four schools sit inside the community, covering junior kindergarten through Grade 12 across the English public, English Catholic, and French public boards.
- Location: 46 Centrepark Drive
- Grades: K – Grade 5
- Visit website
- Location: 2681 Innes Road
- Grades: Grade 6 – Grade 8
- Visit website
- Location: 101 Bearbrook Road
- Grades: JK – Grade 6
- Visit website
- Location: 1655 chemin Bearbrook
- Grades: Grade 7 – Grade 12
- Visit website
Shopping in Blackburn Hamlet
In Blackburn Hamlet, everyday shopping happens in one place.
Blackburn Shoppes, at Innes Road and Bearbrook Road, is a roughly 65,000-square-foot community plaza of local businesses anchored by Metro, Shoppers Drug Mart, Dollarama, BMO, and Tim Hortons.
Between them they cover groceries, prescriptions, banking, and the weekly errand list without leaving the community.
Anything larger sits east along the Innes Road corridor toward Orléans, where the big-box and home improvement retail is clustered within a ten-minute drive.
Public Transportation
Route 25 is the workhorse. It runs along Innes Road seven days a week and connects Blackburn Hamlet directly to Blair Station on O-Train Line 1, which puts downtown, uOttawa, and Tunney’s Pasture within a single transfer.
Route 28 covers local streets on weekdays. On weekends, OC Transpo now runs an on-demand service in its place, moving riders around the community and out to Blair on request rather than on a fixed timetable. Blackburn Hamlet was chosen as the pilot community for that model.
The pilot is still being evaluated, so check current routes and booking details against OC Transpo’s schedule before settling on a street.
Healthcare in Blackburn Hamlet
Day-to-day care is accessible in the community, with a full hospital a short drive away.
Hôpital Montfort on Montreal Road is the nearest major hospital, and the only francophone academic teaching hospital in Ontario.
For primary care, Blackburn Hamlet Family Medicine operates at 2575 Innes Road. Prescriptions are handled by the Shoppers Drug Mart inside Blackburn Shoppes at 2638 Innes Road and by the independent Blackburn Pharmacy.
Dental, optometry, and physiotherapy clinics sit along Innes Road.
Community & Entertainment in Blackburn Hamlet
Community life here runs through a volunteer association that’s taken on more than most.
The Blackburn Community Association is a volunteer-run group that advocates for residents, businesses, and local groups.
It manages the community hall, publishes the BANAR neighbourhood newsletter, maintains interpretive trails, and runs Neighbourhood Watch. Its event calendar carries the Christmas Market, the Cancer Chase, a children’s bike rodeo, Hockey Day, and the annual Funfair.
Superdome East at the Hornet’s Nest is the year-round indoor option. Built with the City of Ottawa as a public-private partnership and completed in November 2004, the air-supported dome holds a FIFA-approved field that splits into three smaller pitches, and it keeps local soccer, ultimate, and flag football going through winter.
Dining Out in Blackburn Hamlet
The dining scene is small and built for regulars rather than destinations, which suits a community of 8,000.
Blackburn Arms Pub at 2586 Innes Road has been the local since 1984.
Jumbo (take-out only) at 2668B Innes Road covers Cantonese and Szechuan cooking along with Thai-style and vegetarian dishes.
Halibut House Fish & Chips at 2672 Innes Road cuts its fries fresh daily and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The Tim Hortons and Subway inside Blackburn Shoppes cover quick meals, and Orléans is a short drive east.
Parks in Blackburn Hamlet
The Greenbelt that limits development is also the community’s largest park, so outdoor space here is measured in trail kilometres. Inside the grid, the City maintains neighbourhood parks within walking distance of most addresses.
Green’s Creek Conservation Area – NCC land running from the Ottawa River south to Mer Bleue, with 5.5 kilometres of trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing through steep clay ravines left by the Champlain Sea, plus a toboggan hill.
Blackburn Park – The community hub at 190 Glen Park Drive, with tennis, pickleball and basketball courts, a play area, a splash pad, and the Lois Kemp Arena next door for skating.
Bearbrook Park – An outdoor ice rink in winter and a wading pool and splash pad in summer.
Orient Park – A quieter neighbourhood green space off Innes Road.
Blackburn Hamlet rarely lands on a shortlist by itself. Our guide to Ottawa’s top neighbourhoods is where most buyers start narrowing the field.
Ready to Call Blackburn Hamlet Home?
Blackburn Hamlet asks buyers to accept a finished community.
In return, you get a full set of schools, a plaza that covers the weekly list, a direct bus to Line 1, and Greenbelt trails at the end of the street, at an east-end price point the central neighbourhoods cannot match.
The catch is supply. With roughly a dozen listings active at any time, the right house here is a matter of timing more than choice.
Still building your dream-home community list? Our roundup of up-and-coming Ottawa neighbourhoods covers the rest of the region.
Since 2011, our team has handled more than 9,000 Ottawa sales. More volume means better market data, and in a market this thin, knowing what sold and why is most of the advantage. Our full property search shows what is on the market across the city today.
Paul Rushforth
Since 2004, Paul and his team have helped over 7000 families reach their real estate dreams. He continues to train and consult agents throughout the industry and is considered one of the most forward thinking pioneers in the industry, blazing trails for those around him.