The idea of a hiking trail in the rugged Canadian shield North of Kingston was proposed by Douglas Knapp to a meeting of the Kingston Field Naturalists in February, 1971. The proposal was well received and the concept was expanded to the formation of a walking trail stretching between Kingston and Ottawa. A group of like-minded people in Ottawa was contacted and the offspring of these two groups was named after the waterway that had linked the two cities since 1832. Thus the Rideau Trail was born.

The Rideau Trail Association was formally created at two inaugural public meetings, one in Kingston and one in Ottawa. Originally the trail was planned to be constructed by volunteers over a period of five years. However, in March of 1971 a group of university students heard of the plans and proposed the building of the complete trail during one summer with the support of an Opportunities for Youth grant. Their proposal was approved by both the Rideau Trail Association and the federal government. Routes and Negotiation committees were quickly set up in Ottawa, Smiths Falls and Kingston. In mid-May the 27 member student group began construction of the trail, and the Routes and Negotiation committees did their best to keep ahead of them. By June, enough trail had already been built to permit an inaugural hike in the Gould Lake Conservation Area 30 km. North of Kingston; by the end of August, a continuous trail existed from Kingston to Ottawa.

In November an official Trail opening was held at the Foley Mountain Conservation Area North of Westport, attended by about two hundred supporters. The ceremony was performed by the Rt.Hon. John Davies, Federal Minister of the Environment and the Hon. James Auld, Ontario Minister of Public Works. At that time the Rideau Trail had about 250 members. Since then, it has grown to about 1,200 members.