The Upper Clyde River & Widow Lake

On a K&P trail hike a few years ago, I had marked this upper section of the Clyde River as a “paddle here someday”! That “someday” finally arrived on June 14^th, 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, I have more Ontario time to explore the lakes and rivers of Lanark County.

Widow Lake,  11 km (PHC canoe)

I launched my PHC canoe on the west side of Widow Lake off the K&P trail. The source of the Clyde River is Clyde Lake – only about 5 km north of Widow Lake. After getting in the water, I headed north to see how far I could get towards the source.  Once north of Widow Lake, the river gets pretty narrow and shallow, so I didn’t get too far.  It would be another 2.5 km of paddling to Flower Round Lake, and then another 2 km to get into Clyde Lake – if the river was navigable (maybe in early spring).

It was then back to Widow Lake and a leisurely 1 km paddle across the lake towards the Clyde River’s T-junction, where the river starts its eastern journey. On this trip, I had decided to explore the southern branch of the river and leave the main eastern section towards Joe’s Lake for another day.

From the T-junction, I was able to paddle another 2.2 km south until the vegetation took over and blocked my progress.  In the spring, it should be possible to go further south (maybe 2 km).  Also, it’s probably possible to paddle west for 2 km in early spring at the T-junction.

Both Widow Lake and the Clyde River’s south branch run parallel to the K&P trail.  That has some access advantages, but there can be lots of ATV traffic on a weekend day. Since the K&P trail is an old railroad bed with lots of gravel, turtles come out on it for nesting.  I found quite a few turtle nests, especially at the west branch culvert and the Clyde Forks Road culvert areas.  On the paddle, I saw a few Painted Turtles out on logs and rocks.  

The Clyde River south of Widow Lake is an amazing mat of Pond-Lilies (Variegated). It’s everywhere! Other nature sightings were Eastern Kingbird (including a nest), Northern Blue Flag, Blue Eyed Grasses, Meadow Anemone, and some species of Damselfly.

For more details on nature sightings, click here.

Today was a great canoe paddle in a rich natural area (well, except for the K&P trail).  I would like to do this paddle again (both the south and west river branches) in May.  Another paddle on the to-do-list is the section from the T-junction to Joe’s Lake (4 km or so).

Eastern Kingbird
Painted Turtle and nest predation (right)

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Track (red), Clyde South Branch, 16Apr2023

For the 16Apr2023 nature sightings (iNat), click HERE.

Chenaux Narrows, Ottawa River

Exploring the Chenaux islands and channels by kayak or canoe can be a bit challenging. There are two public access options from the Ontario side to the Chenaux Narrows - downriver at the Bonnechere River ramp or upriver in Portage-du-Fort. It’s about 14 km between those two public access points. The other challenge is serious currents during high Ottawa River flows. We did encounter some fast-moving water, especially in the channels around Compagnie and Chenaux Islands.  You would want to be careful in early spring when the water is still cold.

Chenaux Narrows (19km track)

Islands & channels, GE view

After getting to the Bonnechere ramp and paying our launch/parking fee, we were off across the Ottawa River to the Quebec side. It was a very nice calm morning, so we made good progress going upriver. We entered the channel north of Compagnie Island and soon ran out of navigable water (i.e. rocks). Luckily, we were able to sneak through along the Compagnie Island shoreline. Then, we took our first break from the morning paddle. It looked ideal for bass, so we both tried a bit of fishing, but no luck (lures only, no bait). 

As we got paddling again, I was surprised to see more sandy beaches on islands than I remembered from past trips in this area.  In the channel north of Payne Island, we came across a giant sandbar.  After talking to locals, they confirmed that all this new exposed sand was the result of the Ottawa River’s major floods in recent years (2017 and 2019).

Our final destination for today and lunch spot was Sand Island (the long sandy island between Payne and Reid Islands).  This island has always had a sandy shore on its southern (Ontario) side and a favourite stopping place for boaters of all kinds.  It was just us here today. We had lunch, and afterwards, John was brave enough to have a short swim.

After lunch, we started the paddle back to the Bonnechere ramp. There was a light breeze but not enough to be a problem. We did explore a bit around the northwest corner of Compagnie Island but soon headed into the middle channel downriver between Compagnie and Chenaux Islands. At this point, I regretted having undone my kayak skirt due to the warm day.  The currents in the mid-channel were quite strong/fast and causing quite a bit of turbulence. But with some hard paddling and steering, I managed to keep straight and upright!  John was ahead and also got through unscathed with his longer 17ft kayak.  We then came to the SE corner of Chenaux Island (bottom of the official boating channel) to try a bit of fishing in the fast-flowing waters. No luck here either.

The 5 km paddle down the Ottawa River and up the Bonnechere River was uneventful. I did follow the Ontario shore reasonably close to see if I could detect any other public river access.  I didn’t notice any kayak/canoe launching options, but the locals might know of some.

All in all, a beautiful day to be on the Ottawa River!

John Verbass enjoying the view
	Northern Map Turtles

The Clyde River & Stewart's Island via the Mississippi

One silver lining to the spring 2020 coronavirus is that I'm spending the month of June in Almonte this year and have the time to continue my exploration of the many rivers and lakes of Lanark County. The largest river in Lanark County is the Mississippi River, which flows through the largest lake -- Mississippi Lake.  Over the years, I've explored much of the lower Mississippi River from Mississippi Lake to the Ottawa River. Last year, I started checking out the upper Mississippi River (above Mississippi Lake), which will continue for a few years.

Mississippi River,  track 13.7 km

On June 4th, I wanted to explore the Mississippi River section above CR511, especially the Clyde River and Stewart's Island. There's a great launch site at CR15, but I decided to launch my 14ft Widgeon kayak at the CR511 bridge to shorten my paddle. It's not ideal, but you can put-in at the NE corner of the bridge. You have to scramble down a steep gravel bank/hill. Note - next time, it's probably better to park on the other side of the road.

Paddling up the Mississippi (14ft Widgeon kayak)

The paddle up the Mississippi River was great!  There was no wind and no human activity on the river.  This section of the river has limited development and is not a popular boating or fishing area.  Today, it was all quiet -- I had the rivers to myself!   From the CR511 bridge, it's about 2 km to the mouth of the Fall River and then another 2 km to the mouth of the Clyde River. I left the exploration of the Fall River for another day and went straight to the Clyde River.  It was a pleasant surprise to finally see some rock outcrops on the Mississippi River about halfway between the Fall and Clyde rivers.

Rock outcrops between Fall & Clyde River

I turned up the Clyde River and entered an amazing green world. Everything glowed in multiple shades of green in the narrow Clyde River with the deciduous trees and all the vegetation (e.g. ferns).  I was able to easily paddle about 1.5 km up the Clyde River before being blocked by a set of rapids. From these rapids, it would be about another 1.5 km to the village of Lanark.  There is no development on this 1.5 km stretch of the lower Clyde River – it's all pristine and quiet.

After I was back down the Clyde, I was excited to explore the second large island on this reach of the Mississippi River. Further downriver towards Ferguson's Falls, there's Stafford Island (25 ha), and here,  just above the mouth of the Clyde River is Stewart's Island (10 ha). I can't find any information about Stewart's Island on the Internet, so it's pretty low key in the public domain. There's no development on the island that I could see, and it looks undisturbed and pristine. I found a great isolated spot (flat rocks) for a lunch break on the island's west side.  Across the island's SW corner, there are a few cabins and one large modern house/property.  It would be nice to see the area around Stewart's Island protected before more development takes place.

My lunch spot behind Stewart's Island

The paddle back to CR511 was also good. I did observe and photograph more wildlife along the way. I was mainly looking for turtles. I did see and hear them multiple times, but mostly they were too fast for my camera. Only one Painted turtle was kind enough to pose for me!

This is a day trip to do again. It's a trip for a cooler day since the Mississippi River area is not so attractive for a cooling off swim!

Painted Turtle

Great Blue Heron

Belted Kingfisher (with a snack)

Spotted Sandpiper

CR511 bridge

White Lake, Lanark County

White Lake is a fairly large semi-developed lake on the northern boundary of Lanark County (the top half is actually in Renfrew County). The least developed part of the lake is the SW end, and fortunately, there is a good public access boat launch of CR511 (Wabalac Rd).  It’s about a 40-minute drive from Almonte.

White Lake, 13 km track (by kayak)

On June 1st, I headed to the boat ramp on Wabalac Side Road with my 14ft Widgeon kayak to explore the bays and marshes on the southeast shoreline of White Lake. I was hoping to get as far as Darling Round Lake – and I did. Once on my way, I quickly realized that the southeast shore has more development than it used to have along Wabalac Side and Aglac roads. I was hoping to paddle through the marsh south of SW Island 5 (SW I5), but the marsh was too dry. So I paddled around the north side of SW I5 as a few drops of rain came down. This is also the area where I saw a pair of loons fishing in the water.

Common Loon

The other side of SW I5 is great - less development!  A great area to explore marshes and check out any waterfowls. I was able to paddle 0.5 km into the middle marsh (SW mid), and it would probably be possible to go another 0.5 km earlier in the spring. After exiting the mid marsh, I headed further east to round the point that leads into the channel to Darling Round Lake. As I rounded the point, I was surprised to see another public boat ramp across the channel (Lacourse Lane). I made a pit stop to check it out and take some pics.

Lacourse Lane ramp

It’s about 1.5 km down the channel to the bottom of Darling Round Lake. The lake is nice, but it does have one significant property on the south shore.  There are no major roads in there and probably no services (off-grid?).  On the way back, I decided to explore the creek going east (Long Lake Creek) and was pretty disappointed that people have been allowed to build cottages/houses on this marshy creek – one place even had a dock coming through the cattails!  I went as far as I could and ended up at a small bridge (private, I assume).  Nobody around, so it was a good place for a quick lunch.

Long Lake creek bridge

From here, it was the long paddle back to the Wabalac Side Road boat ramp. Unfortunately, the wind had come up (10 knots or so), and I did have to work hard to get back, especially the rounding of SW I5.  I did make one pit stop for a bio break on some rock outcrop before SW I5.  There were a couple of guys returning from fishing on the lake at the ramp with their well-outfitted sit-on-top kayaks. They reported having caught a few small pickerels, but I did not see them. 

This was a pretty good paddle to explore the bays and marshes of the SW end of White Lake. I could make at least two more outings into the SW end of White Lake:

- From the Lacourse Lane ramp, explore the islands (kayak or canoe; bring fishing rod)

- From the Wabalac Side Road ramp, explore the north shore (bring a fishing rod)

Variegated Pond-Lily	Forget-me-nots

For more details on nature sightings, click here.