This spring, I finally made a paddling trip to Canonto Lake (North Frontenac Township). Canonto Lake in North Frontenac Township has been on my list for several years. It's a 5km long lake with one big island (Arcol) towards the SW end of the lake. The south shore is relatively developed, but the north is primarily undeveloped except the NE corner. At the SW end, Palmerston Lake flows in through a narrow channel (un-navigable).
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| Canonto Lake (13.5km track) |
On May 6, I made the long drive from Almonte (62km) to the Cruse Bay launch point off Canonto Road. It was a lovely sunny day with a light breeze that got stronger later. As soon as I got into Cruse Bay, the first thing I noticed was the clarity of the water. For some geology reason, Canonto Lake has amazingly clear water.
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| Cruse Bay (the access into Canonto) |
After paddling the length of Cruse Bay (1km), I got to Canonto Lake and headed straight across to the north shore. The plan was to paddle and explore the north shore towards Arcol Island. Before getting to Arcol Island, there's a bay that I passed by due to time, but I will definitely check it out next time (marked as NE bay). When I arrived at Arcol Island, I was briefly greeted by a River Otter. And a bit further behind Arcol Island, I was able to observe a pair of Loon diving and swimming – sometimes right underneath my kayak (clear water is great)!
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| My lunch view! |
I had lunch on some flat rocks on the west side of Arcol Island. I had a beautiful view and a perfect spot to observe the Loons. After lunch, I paddled a bit further into Arcol Bay, but then it was time to start for home. I made one rest stop on the paddle back on a small rocky island (SW of Arcol Island). It was a little tricky to go ashore and secure the kayak as I looked around with the stronger winds. Then, it was a long 4.5km back to the ramp in the stiff breeze.
Canonto Lake is unique, and I can see myself making more day trips to this beautiful North Frontenac lake!
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iNaturalist observations for this day trip. Click Here.
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| Common Merganser |
May 11, 2022
ReplyDeleteI made a solo kayak trip to Canonto to check out my May 29 MVFN paddling trip route. It was a good paddle (14km) in about 10 -15km of winds from the west. I wouldn't want too much more for an MVFN group trip. The only negative - the Black Flies were out and Arcol Island was pretty bad.