Rockcliffe Park real estate
Rockcliffe Park Homes for Sale
Rockcliffe Park is a former village northeast of downtown Ottawa, on the Ottawa River, in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward. Thomas Keefer laid it out in 1864, it governed itself as a village from 1926 until 2001, and the whole village is a heritage conservation district. It has 781 dwellings and no commercial activity.
Your agent here
Who to call about Rockcliffe Park real estate
For a home in Rockcliffe Park, where the whole former village is a heritage conservation district, one call reaches the agent who covers the area for our team.
Call The Reality Group at 613-704-6145 and ask for Megan Stagg, who leads our Ottawa team. Megan was born and raised in Ottawa and is an eXp ICON agent (August 2025 and July 2026). Our clients rate the team 5.0 on Google (read on 2026-10-13), and every agent on the team works through eXp Realty, Brokerage.
Why the heritage plan shapes a Rockcliffe Park purchase
The former Village of Rockcliffe Park made the whole village a heritage conservation district by its by-law 97-10, adopted on October 6, 1997, leaving out only five properties already designated one by one. The City of Ottawa adopted the district plan in 2016 (by-law 2016-89). Its aim is to conserve the area’s park-like qualities, and the buildings and properties that contribute to its heritage character.
A heritage permit is needed before altering or demolishing a property. Where the plan and a City by-law conflict, the plan prevails to the extent of the conflict, under section 41.2(2) of the Ontario Heritage Act. The plan’s own example: if zoning allowed 11 metres where the neighbours and the streetscape stand nine metres high, the plan’s call for a compatible height would win.
What makes Rockcliffe Park a village inside the city
Keefer subdivided land that had been part of the estate of his father-in-law, Thomas MacKay, the founder of New Edinburgh, and planned it in the Picturesque tradition. Its first buildings were summer cottages. It became a police village in 1908 and an incorporated village in 1926, and it joined the City of Ottawa on January 1, 2001.
Its landscape still defines it:
- Narrow, curving roads without curbs or sidewalks, many trees, large lots and gardens, and houses set back in a continuous green landscape.
- Relatively little through traffic: the village is hard to cut across.
- McKay Lake, a meromictic lake, and Sand Pits Lake, known as The Pond.
- The Rockeries, a rock garden and playing field maintained by the National Capital Commission.
The 2021 Census counted 1,888 people in 781 dwellings over 1.77 square kilometres. Stornoway, where the Dutch royal family lived during the Second World War, is now the residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition.
How to check a Rockcliffe Park home against the heritage plan
Before you offer, and before you plan any change, go through these with the plan open:
- Whether the house is one of the five individually designated properties, and how the plan treats it.
- What you would want to alter, add or demolish, since each needs a heritage permit first.
- How the height and placement of anything new would sit beside the neighbours and the streetscape, which the plan weighs ahead of what zoning alone allows.
- The trees and landscaping, which are part of the Picturesque character the plan protects.
Owners have tested the plan. In May 2019 the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal ordered the City to issue a demolition permit for 270 Buchan Road; the City’s case fell after it admitted that 721 property evaluations in Rockcliffe Park had not been done correctly. Read the plan itself with your lawyer and the City’s heritage staff, not a summary of it.
Schools, the library and the NCC park on the cliffs
- Rockcliffe Park Public School, the village’s one public elementary school.
- Two private schools, Elmwood School and Ashbury College.
- A community hall and library beside the public school; the library, first funded, built and staffed by residents, is now an Ottawa Public Library branch.
North of the homes, on the cliffs above the Ottawa River, the National Capital Commission maintains public parkland also called Rockcliffe Park. A branch of the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway crosses it, past lawns, lookouts and a large gazebo, with cross-country skiing and tobogganing in winter.
Confirm the school for a specific address with the board before you offer.
Work with us
Buy or sell in Rockcliffe Park with The Reality Group
With 781 dwellings in the whole former village, there are few recent sales to compare a home with, so we look at each one closely and read the heritage plan with you before you offer, or before we price yours.
Buyers start on our buying page and can add Buyer Concierge Services; sellers start with how we sell a home and home staging and Seller Concierge Services. Our team of Ottawa real estate agents works with buyers and sellers in Rockcliffe Park and across Ottawa.
Megan Stagg
Real Estate Agent · Founder · Ottawa Team Lead · eXp Realty, Brokerage
Megan leads our Ottawa team. Her bio: “Megan is an Ottawa-born and raised real estate professional with a deep understanding of the local market and a passion for helping clients make confident, informed decisions.”
Buying
Homes for sale in Rockcliffe Park
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What Ottawa’s September 2026 market figures mean for Rockcliffe Park
The Ottawa Real Estate Board reports the market for the whole city, not for Rockcliffe Park on its own. Read the figures below as the backdrop. The price of a particular home comes from recent sales of similar homes nearby, which is what a comparative market analysis looks at. The full report is in our September 2026 report, one of our monthly Ottawa housing market updates.
All of Ottawa, September 2026
- Average residential sale price
- $685,640
- down 1.0% from a year earlier
- MLS® HPI composite benchmark
- $623,500
- down 0.3% from a year earlier
- Months of inventory
- 4.8
- 4.5 in August
- Median days on market
- 27
- 22 a year earlier
Source: the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), release of 2026-10-05. These are city-wide figures for all of Ottawa, not figures for Rockcliffe Park. Read the full September 2026 report.
Questions
Questions about Rockcliffe Park
What is Rockcliffe Park in Ottawa?
Two places share the name. The neighbourhood is a former village northeast of downtown, laid out in 1864 and part of Ottawa since 2001, all of it a heritage conservation district. The park is the National Capital Commission’s riverside parkland on the cliffs north of the homes.
Where is Rockcliffe in Ottawa?
Northeast of downtown, on the south bank of the Ottawa River, in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward. New Edinburgh is to the west, Manor Park to the east and Vanier to the south.
Who owns Rockcliffe Park?
The riverside parkland called Rockcliffe Park is public greenspace maintained by the National Capital Commission. The neighbourhood is a residential part of the City of Ottawa; it governed itself as a village until January 1, 2001.
Do you need a heritage permit in Rockcliffe Park?
Yes, before altering or demolishing a property. The whole former village is a heritage conservation district under the Ontario Heritage Act, with a district plan the City adopted in 2016.
Are there shops in Rockcliffe Park?
No. The former village has no commercial activity. Beechwood Avenue, along New Edinburgh’s southern edge, is the main street close by.
Talk to us
Planning a move in Rockcliffe Park?
Tell us whether you are buying, selling or both, and a member of the team will get back to you. Or call 613-704-6145.
The Reality Group, eXp Realty, Brokerage, 75D Colonnade Road North, Nepean, ON K2E 0A8.
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Sources
Each source below was read on 2026-10-25.
- Wikipedia, Rockcliffe Park
- Wikipedia, Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward
- City of Ottawa, Rockcliffe Park (By-law 97-10), Heritage Conservation Districts
- City of Ottawa, Rockcliffe Park Heritage Conservation District Plan (PDF)
- Ontario Heritage Trust, Ontario Heritage Act Register: Village of Rockcliffe Park by-law 97-10