Mississippi River (County Road 15 to Fall River)

On an early October afternoon (10C but sunny), I headed out for a leisurely paddle on the upper Mississippi River.  Today, I was planning to explore the section from County Road 15 to the mouth/junction of the Clyde River.  I found that there’s a great small boat launch at the County Road 15 bridge. 

Mississippi River, CR15 to Fall River

Going up-river from County Road 15, it’s an easy 2 km paddle to the highway 511 bridge. It would be nice to get in the water at this bridge, but it’s not clear if that is possible. Next time, I would check the possibility of putting-in on the northeast corner of the 511 bridge. Launching at the CR511 bridge would save 4 km of paddling to get further up-river.

From the 511 bridge, it’s a 3 km paddle to the mouth of the Fall River. I went up the Fall river a short distance and then reversed my paddling back to County Road 15. The paddling distance covered was probably close to 10 km. I was going with the current (light) on the way back, but a small headwind created a bit of wind chill (i.e. cold fingers).  

This section of the river is also tranquil and mostly undeveloped. The shoreline in this section is mixed with some marshy areas and higher rocky shores (treed). The trees are starting to turn, and it should be a great fall site in a few weeks. I did not see much wildlife except a few Blue Herons, one Kingfisher, C. Geese, and some ducks. 

On future outings here, I would try to start at the highway 511 bridge and then make it all the way to the Clyde River and Stewart’s Island. Also, it would be fun to paddle up and explore the Fall and Clyde rivers.

Note: This trip is route #4 in the MVFN paddling list for Lanark County. Click HERE.

Mississippi River (Fergusons Falls to Stafford Island)

On a calm, overcast early October afternoon, I picked up the 14ft Widgeon kayak from our storage unit (Sweet Spot storage on Paterson St, Almonte) and headed out to Fergusons Falls. It's about a 20-minute drive to the canoe launch parking lot on the west side (upriver) of the bridge. It's a great canoe launching site with lots of public parking.

Mississippi River,  8 km paddle

I had a great paddle up the Mississippi and around Stafford Island, and back to the Fergusons Falls launch site. The whole distance paddled was about 8 km of calm waters and very light winds (approx. a 2 hr. paddle). It's a tranquil section of the Mississippi without much development. The water level in this section of the river is relatively shallow, so I'm not sure how successful fishing would be. Most of the riverbank is marshy and weedy; there are no rock ledges or any sandy beaches. Just before Stafford I., on the southern shore, I found a small section of rocky shore, which made it easier to go ashore for a break.

The paddle's highlight was a river otter that came to check me out on the backside of Stafford Island. The only other wildlife I saw were birds (C. geese, herons, etc.). I did see a recently built duck blind on the northern side of Stafford Island – so probably a popular spot for geese/duck hunters.

The section upriver from Stafford Island also looks like a good paddle, and it may be better to go downriver from the bridge at County Road 15.

Note: This trip is route #3 in the MVFN paddling route list for Lanark County.   

MVFN paddling routes

The canoe launch dock at Fergusons Falls

Muskrat lodges