Originally Posted by Bytepusher
No mercy in the courts in Napanee either, if they clock you at 121 km you'll pay the 120 or over fine.
I know so many people who have gotten their fines from there either drastically reduced or dropped completely... oh, Napanee...
Highway 7 is an old road, crazy busy on weekends as the Toronto crowd decides to go cottaging. I used to drive it (in the opposite direction of the TO crowd) on Thanksgiving Monday afternoon. It can also be more unsafe than the 401, at least in my experience. I know more than a few people who have gotten into accidents on #7.
I would take the 401 unless you really really really want to do "the scenic" route. The highway from the 401 up to Ottawa is also fast, relatively non-busy and well maintained.
If you want to stop in a scenic little village (you said you have some seniors with you), head into Merrickville. There's a big sign on the 401 - take that exit, follow the signs. Merrickville is this little village that's full of arts and crafts shops, probably about forty minutes outside of Ottawa. It would be a nice place to stretch your legs if you're into that kind of thing. From there, instead of going back down to the 401, you cut across the countryside to get back on the highway to Ottawa.