Black Bay QC, Ottawa River

Here's another blog post about paddling into Black Bay on the Ottawa River. The other post in 2015 was a spring trip, and this one is a late fall paddle (Oct 29th). Black Bay is a beautiful paddling area, so there's never a bad time of year to be in there. 

My track was 11.5 km

The launch point for this trip was the usual one at the Morris Island Conservation Area parking lot. From there, I paddled across the river in calm conditions and headed towards the eastern end of the last channel on the Quebec shoreline (Ch4 E). From CH4 E, I paddled my 14ft Widgeon kayak all around Black Bay's periphery in a counterclockwise direction and then back to the Morris Island launch point.  The 11.5 km paddle included a detour into Camp Bay to check out the islands and the scenery.

It was a beautiful sunny day (15C), and there were still some great fall colours – especially on the oaks.  My lunch stop was at the sandy beach inlet in the NW corner of Black Bay.  I also made a couple of other stops for nature breaks and to look around.  The river and the bay were pretty quiet.  I did see one motorboat in the distance (probably fishing), and that was it for human activity.  I did come across one large Northern Watersnake, one white-tailed deer, and a few birds for wildlife.

Most likely, that was my last paddling outing until spring 2020!

This old map shows where crews had started construction during the 1800s in excavating two canals with locks around Chat Falls. The project was abandoned before any locks were ever built, but you can still find the locations of the two channels today.

Old map of Chat Falls

Mississippi River (CR15 to Stafford Island)

Last fall, I had paddled upriver to Stafford Island from Furgusons Falls (see 2018 post).  This year, I wanted to complete that section of the Mississippi River by paddling downriver to Stafford Island from the bridge at County Road 15 (CR15).

Mississippi R with my GPS track (10 km)

Before launching my kayak (Widgeon 14) at the gravel boat ramp at CR15, I took a drive to check out the launch possibility at CR511 and below Playfairville. I did not find any easy public launch spots. That's too bad; the section between Playfairville and CR511 would be great to paddle – it's relatively isolated, and it has access to the mouth of the Clyde and Fall Rivers.

On a calm and sunny day, I had a great paddle down the Mississippi and around Stafford Island and back to the launch site at CR15. The whole distance paddled was about 10 km in light winds (approx. 2.5 hrs. of paddling). It's a tranquil section of the Mississippi River without too much development. There are two seasonal cottage developments on that river stretch – one on the NW bank and one further downriver on the SE bank. Most of the riverbank is marshy and weedy; there are no rock ledges or any sandy beaches. On the southern shore (across Stafford I.), I found a small rocky bottom section, making it easier to go ashore for my lunch break.

My lunch stop with Stafford I. in background

I saw a couple of duck blinds around Stafford Island, which is probably a popular spot for geese/duck hunters. Last year, I had a River Otter checking me out around Stafford Island but nothing this year. I only saw one muskrat, but the Stafford Island area has many large muskrat lodges.

Large muskrat lodge

Another large muskrat lodge/condo

Riven Lake, Lanark Highlands, ON

Riven Lake is a small lake on the Little Clyde River in the Lanark Highlands. The access/launch point is on the Little Clyde River at the bridge on Lammermoor Rd off CR511 near Hopetown (only 30 minutes from Almonte).

Riven Lake area with GPS track (6.7 km)

From the bridge, you paddle upriver about 1 km to reach the lake. There were two beaver dams across the narrow river on this trip, and I had to step out of the canoe at one of them to get through. Riven Lake is about 1 km in length and “snowman” shaped (i.e. three sections). The Little Clyde River enters the lake on the SE side of the middle section and exits at the bottom (NE). The river entry must be well camouflaged; I couldn’t find it on this trip even though I paddled right by its location. 

Note – It always pays to bring along the appropriate GPS waypoints or have a better look at Google Earth before heading out!

Little Clyde River in the spring (May 9, 2018)

It was a beautiful fall day for a canoe paddle. The light breeze (10 km/hr) wasn’t enough to cause much paddling hardship. I made it to the top of the lake (SW), where I thought the Little Clyde River entrance was located. I made two passes and still couldn’t see it. As mentioned above, the mystery is now solved!

For a lunch break, I made a pit stop at the rocky outcrop on the south shore towards the top of the lake (entrance to the third section). It’s the only high rocky cliff on the lake, and it’s undeveloped. It does have signs of camping use (i.e. fire pit). There’s now a medium-size rock cairn on the top of the cliff – clearly marking the great camp/lunch spot.

The lake was tranquil and did feel isolated, but it does have some development. There are at least four seasonal homes on the lake, as can be seen on Google Earth.

On returning to the access point, I went under the bridge to further check the Little Clyde River downstream.  I didn’t get too far – after going 400m or so, I came to a dam, and beyond that, it was low water, tree logs, and boulders.

Next time, go exploring upstream on the Little Clyde River. That should be fun in a canoe!

Park Lake, Lanark Highlands, ON

This paddling outing was my first outing of 2019 in Ontario since I spend spring and all summer in PEI this year.  I was in Park Lake many years ago for a canoe paddle.  My memories are of a lovely quiet lake with no development (except for a couple of old cabins).  This time, I was also going to a lake in the Lanark Highlands to see and enjoy the fall colours.

Park Lake area & GPS track (8.4 km)

The drive to Park Lake (Oct 11th) from Almonte is about 45 minutes and was beautiful, especially around Middleville and Hopetown.  I put-in the Widgeon kayak at the gravel ramp on Ranger Camp Road (south end of Park Lake). From there, I paddled a clockwise route around Park and Woods Lakes (about 8.5 km in all).  It was a beautiful day, and I had the lakes to myself, except at the end, when I was getting back to the ramp, a couple of guys were heading out in kayaks.

Park Lake is still beautiful but has had more cottage development over the years. The old abandoned cabin is still standing, but there are at least four new properties on the lake, and two of those had signs for rental opportunities.

The long narrow bay on the NW side with all the deadwood/trees was interesting to explore, and there’s no development in there. Other than a few geese/ducks and one frog, I didn’t see any wildlife on this trip.

Northern Leopard Frog