Kerr Lake on the Clyde River, Clydesville

Many sections of the Clyde River above and below the town of Lanark are not navigable due to rocky riverbeds and rapids. But the 6 km section from Lanark to Kerr Lake is all flat water and a nice paddle.  I had paddle upriver from Lanark a few years ago but not as far as Kerr Lake. After getting some details from Cliff Bennett on public access to Kerr Lake at Clydesville, I headed out with my 14ft Widgeon kayak to explore that area of the Clyde River system.  Cliff was right, there’s an access road just south of the Clydesville bridge that takes you to the lake and a small parking lot. Perfect!

Kerr Lake, Clyde river (7 km track)

Google Earth view

When I got on the water, I decided to paddle up the Clyde River to see how far I would get. The flat water ends at about 750m up the river from Kerr Lake. But, it was worth the paddle to see the artwork on the side walls under the bridge.  Also, a Merganser Duck was hanging around the rocks below the rapids.

Bob Marley lives on in Clydesville, Ontario

TBD

Back in Kerr Lake, I followed the northern and eastern shoreline around the lake and down the river a bit. Kerr Lake is not developed as much as I had thought due to wetlands along most of the shoreline.  The wetlands make suitable habitat for birds, and I did observe a few species – Merganser Duck, Black Tern, Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird, and several Red-winged Blackbirds. The Black Tern is not so common in Lanark County, but Kerr Lake is a known place where it has been seen in the past (Cliff Bennett). iNaturalist has the Black Tern listed as “Conservation status: vulnerable (SB3) in Ontario”. 

Black Tern (rare in Ontario)

Next time, it would be good to start in Lanark and paddle to Kerr Lake (6 km), a good lunch at the Kerr boat ramp, and then back downriver to Lanark (12-14 km or so).

Merganser, Common	Kingfisher, Belted
Kingbird, Eastern	Red-winged Blackbird (male)

For more details on the nature sightings, click HERE.

Lac des Chats, East end - Ottawa River

On a beautiful calm morning in late May 2020, John Verbaas and I met on the Ottawa River's shores in Arnprior (McLean Avenue Park).  We would spend the day exploring and fishing the eastern end of Lac des Chats (Arnprior to Morris Island).

Lac des Chat, east end  (15 km track)

Ottawa R. currents; GE map (May 4, 2019)

After getting organized and launched, we proceeded east along the Ontario shore. For the first kilometre, before reaching Goodwin's Bay, you paddled by the beautiful riverside homes of McLean Avenue.  Once at Goodwin's Bay entrance, the shoreline is less developed and starts to feel more remote. Out came John’s fishing rod at this point, but the fishes weren’t going to cooperate much all day.

Could it get any calmer?

Easy paddling!

Once past Goodwin's Bay, it was off to Marshall's Bay and then to the mouth of the Mississippi River (the Canadian one).  We could have paddled up the Mississippi River to Galetta (3 km). That would have been a pleasant paddle, but it wasn’t on our trip plan for today. So we headed north up the shores of Morris Island towards Lavergne Bay. Lavergne Bay is the location of the private “boat transfer dock” to get around the Chats Falls Generating Station and dams. But instead of going into Lavergne Bay, we took a rest on a sandy beach at the southwest point or peninsula of Lavergne Bay (just west of the boat transfer dock). Lavergne Bay’s shoreline on Morris Island is completely developed with homes and cottages – that’s a good reason not to spend too much time around there.

Sandy beach by Lavergne Bay

Our landing on Blackhead Island

The highlight of the day was finally coming up – the islands and channels where the Ottawa River narrows between Morris Island and the Quebec shoreline. The river currents are strong and treacherous in this area at the peak of the spring river flow.  But it was late May, and I had expected the currents to be subdued enough by now for our kayaks to manage this beautiful rocky area. But not so, the river currents were still too strong for us to cross the river directly to the Quebec side anywhere near the old rail bridge.

Ottawa R. currents with Morris I. rail bridge in background 

We reached the Quebec shore (over 1 km from the rail bridge) by staying further out in the river and going around the more serious rocks and currents. We did make a landing on Blackhead Island to explore, take pics of the river, and for John to try a bit more fishing.  After getting to the Quebec side, we paddled upriver around rocky island and channels and eventually went ashore for a late lunch.  By now, our very calm day had been changing to a brisk SW wind, and by the time we started the 3.5 km paddle across the river to Arnprior – we were battling a 10 to 15 knot headwind.  So, except for the fishing, we had a great adventurous day with treacherous currents and gale force winds!

Taylor Lake, Lanark County ON

Taylor lake is the sister lake to the better known Clayton Lake in Mississippi Mills, Lanark County. Taylor Lake is less developed (i.e. cottages, etc.) than Clayton due to its many marshes along its shoreline. I was on Taylor Lake many years ago for some bass fishing but have never explored the shoreline, bays, and islands on the lake. The lake is only 3 km long, so I thought it would be easy to explore the lake in an afternoon paddle. I was wrong; it took two outings and 17 km of paddling to explore all the bays, marshes, and islands. 

Taylor Lake (East 8.2km & West 8.7km)

On May 16th, I went for the first paddle and explored the lake’s east shoreline. There’s great access to the lake at the end of Lanark Concession 12. It’s a popular place for guys to launch their small powerboats for fishing on Taylor or Clayton Lakes.  Taylor and Clayton Lakes are connected via a narrow navigable 2 km channel.

For my first outing (May 16), I headed to the lake’s southern end, where most bays, marshes, and islands are located. The SE corner of the lake has a large marshy bay with not much development. The marsh looks in good shape -- although it gets close to CR16 (200m). On the paddle back towards the launch site, I made a pit stop at the north end of a small island (marked as “Rest stop” on GPS) for a snack and a break from the kayak seat.

A week later (May 25), I was back on the lake to explore the lake’s west side. The west side is a bit more developed with cottages and even a few permanent homes. I did enjoy the marsh and narrow channel in W2 bay. Also, the SW middle bay at the bottom of the lake is lovely (i.e. no development).  I stopped on another island for a break on this outing, and it was a good find (Lunch sand I. on GPS).  Lunch Sand Island has a lovely sandy beach and has been used as a camping site in the past. It’s a great place to stop for a shore lunch – if not already occupied.

Nature sightings were not numerous, but there were a few – C. geese, blue heron, common tern, couple of loons, and lots of red-winged blackbirds. It’s always a treat to see and hear loons on a lake.

For more details on nature sightings, click HERE.

We are not talking!

Common tern

Common Loon

Wood duck box

Lunch Sand Island

Little Clyde River in Lanark Highlands - via Riven Lake

I had tried to explore the Little Clyde River last fall but couldn't find the entrance from Riven Lake. It was just as well since it's probably a much better paddle in the spring when the water levels are higher for easy upriver navigation.  By looking at Google Earth, I could see that the L. Clyde River would be much like the zig-zagging Indian River, and I would encounter multiple beaver dams. So on May 22, I decided to bring my PHC canoe to facilitate getting over dams and for paddling a twisting narrow river.  The canoe launch site for exploring the lower section of the L. Clyde is at the Lammermoor Road bridge – not far off highway 511. Note: This trip is #11 in MVFN's canoeing/kayaking brochure.

Little Clyde River, day track 9.5 km

From the bridge launch site, it's about 1 km to Riven Lake and another 500m to the L. Clyde River's mouth. In this first river section, there are two beaver dams to overcome.  Today, the water was sufficiently high to paddle right over!  As I started paddling, my first nature sighting was a large Northern Watersnake swimming to shore.  Further up the river, I saw a second Watersnake in the water.

Northern Watersnake

From Riven Lake, I paddled my canoe 3.5 km up the L. Clyde. The current was minimal except at the 2 - 3 dams I had to power through (i.e. able to stay in the canoe). The river winds SW towards Lavant Road (CR16). It's pretty quiet and isolated for the first 2 km, but further upriver, there are a few cabins, and you can start hearing the traffic on CR16. As the Indian River, the riverbanks are mostly wet and swampy, so not too many great places to stop for breaks or lunch.  On this trip, I had my lunch on top of a beaver dam (Dam 423).

Besides the two Watersnakes, I didn't see too much wildlife on this river outing. I did observe a few birds (G. Blue Heron, Eastern Kingbird, and lots of red-winged Blackbirds). I did see a few turtles, but they were too quick or far for my camera.  The pond-lilies were abundant and are almost in bloom.  One sighting that wasn't exactly natural – a sunken boat in the middle of the river!

Ship wreck on the L. Clyde River

The best part of the trip was the return paddle going downriver with a light breeze on my back – very relax canoeing. The Little Clyde River is definitely a keeper on the early spring canoeing list!

PHC at Lammermoor launch site

PHC on Riven Lake

Pond-Lily

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Track, 13Apr2023

For nature sightings (iNaturalist) on 13Apr2023, click HERE.

Mississippi Lake, Southwest Area

The southwest corner of Mississippi Lake is a National Wildlife Area and Migratory Bird Sanctuary. The Mississippi Lake National Wildlife Area covers 307 hectares located within the wetlands of McEwen Bay, where water flows in from the Mississippi River. This area is a staging ground for waterfowl to rest and feed in the fall before migrating south. The McEwen Bay has restricted access from Sep 15 to Dec 15 each year.

Track 13.7 km (kayak)

On May 20th, John Verbaas and I travelled to the boat launch on Concession Road 9A (off highway 7).  We launched our kayaks into the McIntyre Creek and headed towards McEwen Bay to explore. McEwen Bay is a shallow bay and well protected from all sides. In mid-May, we found that the bay was not very busy with ducks and geese.  We saw one Mallard duck and a couple of C. Geese. After circumnavigating the shallow bay, we exited and headed north towards the Mississippi River. We paddled the 2 km to the Innisville rapids without seeing much wildlife activity.  Both riverbanks in this section of the river are swampy and don't offer any suitable shore access.

We decided to paddle to the sizeable forested island that we could see in the middle of the lake to the east (about 1.5 km from shore) for lunch. As we approached, we noticed a smaller island behind the large island.  The smaller island had a nice clearing with a sandy landing/beach area -- the obvious lunch stop.

After lunch, we started to head home by going around the larger island. John had his fishing rod out and trolled for pike all the way back.  No bites.

John Verbaas, Mississippi Lake, 20May2020

From a nature point of view, this paddle wasn’t too exciting. Other than the C. geese and mallard duck, we saw a few common terns and one eastern kingbird (on lunch island).   It would be more interesting to come back in the fall, but McEwen Bay is off-limits from Sep 15 to Dec 15.  There are no restrictions in the spring, so maybe late April or early May might have more water birds, etc.

After lunch, we started to head home by going around the larger island. John had his fishing rod out and trolled for pike all the way back.  No bites.

For Mississippi Lake National Wildlife Area, click HERE.

For Mississippi Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary, click HERE.

Indian River, Darling Road, Lanark County

After carefully looking at Google Earth (GE) map scans, I was reasonably convinced that the section of the Indian River between Darling Concession 10 and Darling Road would be navigable by canoe.  This section is about 5.5 km one-way and very serpentine (as the crow flies, it’s only 3.8 km).  Before heading out with the canoe, I did a bit of reconnaissance on the two possible access points.  Ideally, I would have preferred to launch from Darling Conc. 10 to be going upriver first.  But, the river access at the Conc. 10 bridge was marginal at best, while the river access of Darling Road was ideal. 

Indian River  (track 9.2 km)

So on May 6th, I headed to the Indian River crossing on Darling Road and started my paddle downriver (east).  From the GE maps, I was expecting at least four beaver dams on the way. The first one is not very far from Darling Road (<700m) and the largest. I had to scramble out of the canoe in both directions to hop over this one. This first section's main attractions to Dam#1 were a few C. geese, a pair of Mallard ducks, some Grackles, and lots of red-winged Blackbirds. 

Dam#1

Red-winged Blackbird puffing-up

The next section of the river was 2.1 km of open water to Dam#3.  I did not notice Dam#2, so either it was submerged or has been washed out. This section does have two excellent landing spots on the south shore of the river.  The first is about 2/3 of the way to Dam#3. I kept going and made a short lunch stop at the second landing-place just above Dam#3.  This section (Dam#1 to #3) also had lots of Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles, and a few shy ducks.  At one point, I was visited by three Turkey Vultures. They circled above me for a few minutes and moved on – probably realizing that a quick meal wasn’t very likely today!

Dam#3

Turkey Vulture

After my lunch, I continued downriver by first powering through Dam#3 – just barely!  It was only about 700m to Dam#4.  Lucky for me, Dam#4 was only partially blocking the river, and I could paddle by easily. Between Dam#3 and #4, there's a small creek running north (too narrow for a canoe). It's a run-off from a good-sized lake/pond about 1 km north of the Indian River (Madden Lake).

After Dam#4, I paddled another 1.2 km downriver before deciding it was time to turn around for home. This section is also very isolated and quiet. It has one private road and also one property along the way, but there wasn't anybody in sight.  It would have been another kilometre to reach  Darling Conc. 10 Road. In this area of the river, I don't remember as many birds or ducks.  

Rest stop (jacket)

On the way back, I made a pit stop at the rest stop on the south shore between Dam#3 and #1. It's a nice dry area among mature cedar trees. As a bonus, I found a fleece jacket hanging on a tree – probably had spent the winter there.  It was in good condition and my size, so I brought it home.  After a cycle through the washing machine -- it's (almost) good as new! 

Kingbird (mysterious southern species )

For Kingbird iNaturalist observation, click HERE.

Soon after getting back on the water (going upriver), I noticed a small yellow & grey bird perched on a tree and snapped a few pics.  I should have photographed some more from many angles, including in flight.  As it turns out, it was a rare Kingbird for Ontario.  The experts are still debating what species it could be (Tropical, or Couch’s).

The Indian River below Darling Road is a great small river section to paddle for early May  -- it will be on my yearly list!

Indian R., west from Darling Rd.

On May 13, 2020, I returned to the Indian River at Darling Road and tried going upriver (west). I didn't get very far before getting blocked on both the river's SW and NW branches.  It may be possible to go further earlier in the spring (mid-April).   

After returning to Darling Road, I went east as far as Dam#3. The mystery Kingbird was nowhere to be seen! But, I did observe a lovely Belted Kingfisher and a few Midland Painted Turtles.

PHC at the Darling Road access point

Tree Swallow

C. Geese taking off!

Kingfisher, Belted

Painted turtle, Midland