Nonquon River in Seagrave

I’d seen people from the Durham Region Kayakers Club on Facebook talking about this paddle so we decided to go give it a whirl. We had found out there were two places to launch that people had talked about, one on the upper part of the river at Seagrave Mariposa park and another one on the lower section of the river closer to lake Scugog at Nonquon boat launch. I tend to prefer to start going upstream so we started down at the Nonquon boat launch. This paddle breaks down into three sections and they are quite different. The launch spot at the boat launch is a simple river side, gravel launch with a small amount of parking. We got there by 10 and had no issue finding a spot. Getting in the boat was easy and off we went. There are no facilities at this location.

We headed down towards lake Scugog on in this section there were lots of lily pads and a center section that has been kept clear by motor boats. There’s lots of cottages, boats, and docks in this section, and the closer you get to lake Scugog the more you start to hear boats screaming along. We did about 1.5KM in and decided to turn around and head back up the river. Honestly, as much as I was curious to see what this looked like, I’d skip this part of the paddle. It ended up about 3K, and an hour that really wasn’t all that interesting, and not a lot of wild life with the exception of Canada geese, and gulls.

Heading back up stream the current and wind were not bad at all. The further up stream you go the quieter it gets, and the less docks and boats etc. There never really was a lot of boat traffic, we were there on 9/8/2023, and what little there was, was well behaved and respectful of kayakers. The water itself is quite muddy, with varying amounts of weeds, and floating algae present. At times there were odors but nothing too off putting. Depth in this section all the way up to Mariposa was good and not an issue at all. Current was noticeable, but nothing really to speak of. The launch spot at Mariposa is also a simple gravel river side launch with again no facilities. There was a small amount of parking here. Here’s what the Mariposa launch site looks like:

The paddle between the two launch spots is about 3KM and took us at a leisurely pace about 1.5 hours.

From here we continued up stream and this, for us, is where it got the most interesting, but this part is definitely not for everyone. It is shallow, the weeds get pretty thick, and the river is much more narrow in this section. The reward for this, is a LOT more nature, no boats, and little to no cottages or docks. So of the three sections, this is a lot more quiet. On the way up we saw a green heron, a number of sandpipers, an osprey, and throughout the paddle great blue herons were plentiful. The current was again very manageable. We did bottom a few places but never needed to get out of the boat. When we were there, there were no trees down so it was a matter of reading the water to figure out where it was deepest. We paddled up about 1.5 hours, 3KM until we hit a beavers dam (located here) that completely blocked the way. Locals say this dam has been there a while. This was really neat to see, and there was probably almost 18 inches between the water level above and below the dam.

So in summary, we did about 1.5km from Nonquon boat launchtowards Scugog, another 3km between the two launches, and another 3km up stream from the Mariposa launch spot. Of the three, I’d skip the lower section … But some might absolutely HATE the section above Mariposa … It’s shallow, weedy and narrow.

Overall, we enjoyed this paddle. It ended up being a bit of an epicly long paddle, but that’s just because of how we did it, you can make what you want of the distance … When we do this again, and I would definitely, I would start at Mariposa and head upstream, which for us, was the most enjoyable.

Map of the row, detailed map on Garmin:

Summary of the paddle:
Date of the paddle: 9/8/2023
Difficulty: Easy beginner paddle
Length of the row: 15.5KM, but you can decide how much you wanna do
Time: 6.5 hours with moderate amount of time spent taking photos of nature
Launch spot: Nonquon Boat launch or Seagrave Mariposa Estate park

Credit river 2023 construction edition from Port Credit

The launching ramp at Port Credit into the credit river has been under construction for most of the summer of 2023. So we decided to look around for another place we could launch and found a few. Once in the water we found a few more 😉 … I’m releasing this post before it is 100% complete, hoping it helps others looking to launch here, and will update as soon as I can. Honestly, once all this construction is done, this post won’t really be all that useful, as you would more than likely use the boat ramp.

So first off, from the West side of the credit, south of Lakeshore down near where JC Saddington park and it’s boardwalk is there are two, both of which are commonly used by dog owners to allow their dogs to go for a swim. The first is the north most of the two and is located here. This is actually where we chose to launch. It’s a bit of a rough slog through some rocks that make getting the kayaks in and out challenging, watching not to twist your ankle while carrying the boats. Street parking here is free and there’s a moderate amount of it. Once in the water this is a nice sandy easy launch, but getting here, and out was challenging. My GF found it really tough, so we probably wouldn’t do it again. Honestly it’s worse in person than the pictures let on. The carry is not bad at all maybe 30m.

The second is just another 115m further down the boardwalk and involves a step down onto a sandy launch. It likely would have been a lot easier. Sorry I didn’t take any pics of this, I’ll go back and get them soon …

From the water we saw a fellow take his kayak out on the rocks, on the side of the river on the east side of the credit, north of lakeshore located here. If your ok getting into and out of your kayak this won’t be too bad but it will not be trivial either. I’ll try and go back and get some pics and measure the distance to the parking lot so you know how long the carry is.

Lastly, again from the water, we encountered a number people who were taking out at the foot of Mineola, located here. It is public property and the people that were there said it was a bit of a carry down a hill to get to the water. I’ll again try and head back and get some pics and measure the distances of the carry.

Once in the water, Port Credit is a lovely paddle especially once you get past the two rowing clubs. On the date we were there 8/26/2023, the water level was quite high and you can get on either side of the island just above the rail tracks and could even cross over between the two sides. Nature wise we saw lots, great blue, red breasted mergansers, osprey to name just a few. Wind was not bad at all, and as we approached the QEW bridge construction the channel was narrowed and you could only pass on the right (west side) with the left being blocked off with no entrance signs. As usual you can get almost up to the golf course before you have to turn around due to shallow, fast moving water. The water in the credit is as always, typical, muddy river but nice none the less, not that I would wanna swim it.

Map of the row (detailed map on Garmin):

Detail of the paddle:
Date of the paddle: 8/26/2023
Difficulty: Easy
Distance of the paddle (Only in the Credit river, we did not add any of the lake which you can easily do) 7.5 km
Time of the Paddle: 3:17 with lots of time spent taking pictures of nature as well as waiting for a brief rain storm to pass
Launch spot: Just beside the boardwalk by JC Saddington Park

Guelph lake 2023 edition

We go back to places we’ve been before, of course, but I usually don’t create a new blog post unless there is something new. Otherwise I just add an update to the old post. On this occasion there is a little bit new so I’ll repost. The two previous posts on Guelph lake were in 2018 (launched at Guelph rowing club) and then in 2022 (launched at the island) . This time around the gate directed us to Conservation Rd Boat Launch.

The last time we were at Guelph lake there was a berm separating this section of the lake from the rest, so it took us a bit to get our bearings and understand what had changed … With this berm removed this launch spot is great, and away from most of the people and noise of the park. The water level this time around VERY high. We were there 8/13/2023 and after a fairly heavy rainfall. I would say the water level was easily 2-3ft higher than what we had seen previously. The positive of this is that we were able to get a lot further upstream in this section than previously, the downside is the shoreline habitat that is frequented by shorebirds was pretty much non existent. So this sadly translated into a LOT less species. I can only guess these birds have found alternative places to inhabit. This launch site is a simple water side launch, there is a hiking trail here, as well as a porta potty. There is no dock. Getting in and out was easy as it’s a paved section. The water itself was warm with the occasional floaty bits. Heading up stream from where we launched we could get almost 1.5KM (you can see it North west of the launch spot on the map). This particular section was amazing, quiet, almost no one around, some nice nature around and it is well protected from wind.

We then turned around and headed back into the main section of the lake. On this day the wind was 20km with gusts of 30, so a bit blustery. It took a bit of effort and the lake had a tiny bit of chop on it. Nothing unmanageable, but be aware that wind can pickup on this body of water. Nature in the main section of the lake was way lower than any other time we’ve been here, mostly due to the loss of shoreline. We did see the bald eagle overhead and found an Osprey nest with adults and juveniles on our drive home.

On the drive back we also found a place by the side of CR 29 where someone was launching. This gets you into a small section of Guelph lake you can’t get to otherwise. The person was parked by the side of the rd, which was a little narrow on the shoulder. It was a simple creek side launch. This would be a short ~3KM paddle.

Overall our Paddle at Guelph lake was nice, quite different and way less birds than in the past …

Map of the row (detailed map on Garmin)

Summary of the paddle:
Date of the paddle: 8/13/2023
Difficulty: Beginnner/Intermediate, be aware of the wind, Guelph lake is large enough the wind/chop can pickup, not Great lakes like ... 
Distance: 9.5Km and we skipped some sections of the lake as you can see on the map
Time: Just over 4 hours, with some time spent taking pictures and enjoying nature
Launch spot/exit: Conservation Rd Boat Launch

Lake Bonita Algonquin (from Tea Lake)

For our third and last paddle of our mini trip we decided to try a bit of Smoke creek, Tea Lake and happened upon Lake Bonita. We found a launch spot, just inside Tea Lake campgrounds, which you can then easily get into Tea Lake as well as Smoke Creek that joins Tea Lake and Smoke Lake. The road down to this launch spot is quite steep, broken and not great. My Camaro bottomed out once on the way down, but it wasn’t an issue. There is a super small parking lot here, maybe 5 cars. There’s a picnic table here, and bathroom just above the launch spot. There’s a beach here so you could choose to swim if you wanted to. This is a sandy beach side launch. The launch spot itself is a nice protected area. we chose to head towards Tea Lake, and this time we were paddling into the wind, which is always my preference to do the hard paddling when you have the most energy 😉 This was again another windy day, but in this lake very little chop. In spite of their being a campground right here it was not noisy at all. You could hear people but nothing awful. Pog Lake was definitely the nosiest we don’t done so far, and I won’t be in a hurry to go back for that reason. Once in Tea lake, as always the beauty is everywhere. Cottages, docks and boats were a lot less in this section. We headed around and happened into Lake Bonita. I’d like to say this was the plan, because Lake Bonita was beautiful, but it was just dumb luck. Bonita is beautiful, quiet, and serene. There’s a few cottages and docks, and smaller boats but lovely. The link up through the Oxtongue river that then feeds Canoe lake was a little busy with boats. There’s so many islands around, the wind gets nicely broken. There’s beauty to explore all around you. We really enjoyed Bonita lake. The wind was picking up and it was quite brisk coming down the channel from Oxtongue River so we decided to head back to the beach at Tea lake where we launched. We decided to have lunch on the beach and then head back out. I was using a combination of Google Maps, Run.GPS and my Garmin Fenix 6 (with downloaded topographic maps) to navigate. Cell signal was fine throughout this paddle, but if you were concerned you could always download offline maps for Google maps.

After lunch we headed back into the water and headed under HWY 60 to Smoke creek. This is a small narrow section with lots of sunken trees. The current was noticeable but nothing awful. We saw a little nature in this section, but as we started approaching Smoke lake we could see the chop on the water and could feel the wind picking up, so we decided to call it a day rather than venture into Smoke lake.

All in all this was another lovely paddle, probably the nicest of the three.

Map of the row (Detailed map on Garmin)

Summary of the paddle:
Date of the paddle: 8/21/2023
Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate
Distance/Time: Somewhat irrelevant you can do as much or as little as you want
Launch spot: Tea Lake Campground beach

Cache Lake Algonquin

For paddle number two, after we had hit Smoke lake, we decided to try Cache lake. I found the launch spot on this list of Boat launches for Algonquin. This is again quite a busy launch spot, and is the place that Bartlett Lodge uses to pickup and drop off their guest, as well as ferry supplies to and from their location. As an interesting side note, a number of the boats Bartlett use are electric! In the lower section of the lake there’s lots of cottages, docks and boats, albeit smaller ones. Everyone in boats were well behaved and most of the time even had the courtesy to slow down for paddlers to reduce their wake. While the launch spot is busy noise was not awful at all. The launch spot had ample parking, we got their around 10AM and no issue with parking. Again you had your choice of dock, or ramp launch.

Cache lake is very pretty and there are a number of islands that serve to break the wind. The chop is much less than a more open place like Smoke lake. Once you get away from the launch spot the noises quickly fade. We headed south and found a nice connector that joins up with Tanamakook Lake. As always we took our lunch with us and found a nice spot to get out of the boat, wading in the water and resting. The water and scenery are just beautiful. The connector was completely pristine and the first signs of people again was as we came into the lake and found the next island.

Throughout the paddle we had no issue with cell coverage but we did have FRS walkie talkies with us anyway, they are just more convenient for us to be able to talk. We did see a loon and some nature around but this paddle was more about the scenery, the trees, the rocks and just the beauty that is Algonquin. I have to say I quite enjoyed Cache lake. Not as pristine as say Source lake but lovely none the less.

Map of the row (detailed map on Garmin)

Summary of the paddle
Date of the padde: 8/20/2023
Difficulty: Beginner/intermediate, just be aware of wind and distance
Distance/Time: Again somewhat irrelevant because you really could do so much more/less
Launch spot: Cache lake boat ramp

Smoke Lake Algonquin

Time for our annual trek up to Algonquin for paddling/birding. We wanted to try some new to us lakes so Smoke was first on our list. By the time we got to the park it was 1:30 and the wind was quite noticeable when we got to the parking lot. We have an annual park day use pass, which by the way is a BARGAIN. I used this list of boat launches to figure out where to go. We decided to go ahead and see if we could get even a small paddle in anyway. The parking lot at Smoke is quite big and this is a BIG busy launch spot. In spite of being a big parking lot, getting a parking spot at 1:30 when we got there was possible but not a lot left. Motor boats, albeit small ones are also around. A fellow paddler warned us it was windy and choppy I would say 35km gusts in this day. Talking to an Outfitter they told us both Smoke and Canoe lakes can blow up and be quite windy and choppy, and this day was definitely that. The launch spot has a boat ramp, as well as docks so you can choose which way to launch. I didn’t notice if there was a potty on site. The Outfitter also mentioned that they do get calls from beginners to come get them, because it’s too windy on Smoke, which got me thinking, probably not a bad idea to have the local outfitters in your contacts list … just in case. So here’s one Algonquin Outfitter. Unfortunately the wind was behind us to start. We crossed the main gap ~1.2km and headed for a nice small inlet to explore. Once away from the launch spot the noise and hustle and bustle soon faded. The inlet itself was nice, pristine and quiet. We could feel the wind a LOT and so decided to call it a day in spite of barely touching smoke lake. We could have headed along the shore over to Smoke creek which links up with Tea lake but that wasn’t what we did.

As we came around the corner with the wind right in our face, the gusts were significant enough there were times we were barely moving. The chop was there, but compared to the swells of a great lake, this wasn’t that. It took a fair bit of effort to cross back over the 1.2km, and we were tired from our drive so we called it a day. As always the water, and scenery are beautiful. Nature was somewhat scarce, although, we did see a bald eagle, almost straight away. This was a nice, albeit energetic paddle. As you can see on the map, we barely scratched Smoke Lake.

Map of the row (detailed map on Garmin)

Summary of the paddle:
Date of the paddle: 8/19/2023 
Difficulty: Intermediate based on the wind/chop
Time and distance are really not relevant because you would easily do a WHOLE LOT MORE 😉 
Launch spot: Smoke lake launch

Tiny Marsh

Ok, let’s be up front, I was interested in this location more from a birding point of view than from a paddling point of view, and with that in mind we decided to check it out. Now researching this location was challenging. Google maps, as always, but even more so here, is USELESS to figure out this patch of water, so ignore it. Like Hullet Marsh this too is a hunting destination so you must keep that in mind also. The web site for Tiny Marsh is awful and of little help to figure out this paddle or even sorting out hunting season. There is a map on the Tiny Marsh web site, and with some interpretation you can figure it out … So on the map which I’ve pilfered below, where you see the arrow, is where we will launch. I recommend you print this map for reference. The tiny marsh web site is really not well optimized for use on mobile …

Here you will find a small parking lot, and a mucky water side place you can easily launch on the West side of the dike. There are no facilities here.

The center line on the map is a dike that runs the whole length of the water. The only way you could do the east side of the water would be to do a lift over the dike and find a place on both sides you can get in/out. Which while not impossible, or seems like it ought not to be, it won’t be easy finding a place to do it. You can get out of the water on the west side of the dike pretty easily in a few places to be able to stop for lunch or a break. This dike makes part of the, go figure, dike trail. As mentioned this is primarily a birding destination so there are flocks of birders 😉

Once in the water the paddle breaks down into three different types of paddles … Open water when we were there Saturday 7/21/2023 on the west side of the dike is pretty much constrained to running parallel to the dike. We were able to go into some other areas which were grassy but paddleable (which is the second type). The third type is lily pads which depending on when your there can be quite energy challenging with the lilies grabbing the paddle each and every stroke. In the high grass it can be challenging to keep your bearings but there is a tall osprey nest you can keep your eyes on for bearings or run a map. My Garmin Fenix 6 with topographic maps that I bought from Talky Toaster worked well, and was the ONLY map that accurately represented this body of water.

Cell coverage for the most part was ok but spotty in places. Garmin’s own maps is not better than Google maps and when you see the map of the paddle, apparently we were paddling on land 😉 Water depth was never and issue and we never even came close to touching bottom or grounding. The map indicates a sanctuary in part of the marsh, but this is not marked in anyway that we saw while in the water itself. The water is kinda weedy, with lots of floaty bits, but not stinky. If your particular about your boat, this might not be your favorite place to paddle. We had no issue with anything below the water, and we were in inflatables and it was no issue at all. On the paddle we saw moderate amounts of nature, but what we did see is less than common. We saw a lot of pied billed grebes, including babies, a number of black terns along with babies also. A local told us they had 5 nests this year of black terns. We saw a few tundra swans, mallards, a great blue heron, and an Osprey nesting platform, amongst others. This was most definitely an interesting paddle wise. Not a lot of people around, other than the birders. There was a somewhat constant sound of motorbikes/atvs around, but not likely close. Once your done paddling you could do a number of hikes as mentioned on the map above.

Map of the row (detailed map on Garmin):

Summary of the row:
Date: 7/21/2023
Difficulty: Easy paddle, some wind, you could get lost in the grass, light current
Distance: 6.8KM mostly parallel to the dike
Time 3 and a half hours leisurely paddle
Launch/Exit Just off Tiny Flos Townline rd 

2023 Todo list

Time to update the list of places I didn’t get to last year and place I have come across in forums and the like. Places on this list lack details as I haven’t been yet and often preliminary details are light. I’m going to remove places that are no longer of interest, too small, too many motor boats etc. We look for calm, quiet places to paddle with lots of nature to immerse ourselves in and take photos of. So here we go! Here’s a map of places on the Todo list. Stay tuned to this thread, I update it as I hear of more places and take places off as we do them and add a detailed post of the paddle once done!

Seabright Bay from Russ Kitchen’s post in Ontario Bird photography on Facebook: “Seabright Bay to Round lake … Not Crowe Lake. Crowe Lake is okay during the week but forget it on the weekends….until July 1st….then I don’t go near Crowe Lake in a kayak. I launch from the end of Burnt Dam Road.

Barron Canyon Algonuin “You may also explore the Barron Canyon by canoe by accessing the canyon from the Brigham Lake Parking Lot and/or the Barron River Parking Lot Algonquin link. Squirrel rapids but there small and quick and you can even “ portage” on the rocks if you wanna skip it. It says online for families & novice! It wasn’t that difficult it was pretty smooth sailing. Tour group if you want a guide and another one.

Burnt river launching behind Kinmount Fish and chips and paddle up stream towards Three Brothers falls.

Or launch at Summerville Centennial Park.

Black River (Kirkfield) launch at the bridge on the east side where 6 and Black River Rd meet and paddle up to Ron Reid Nature preserve.

Prequile provincial park

Frenchman’s bay Pickering 3.5-5KM, Just note the marina in the south east corner is busy during summer and launch would be better from the south west corner side at west shore beach.

Waterford Pond Launch at the antiques

Madawaska river. Launch point to Moores falls. About 1.5KM to the falls. and on the south side to climb to the top. North side is a no-no. Once on top of the 60 foot drop there’s a second 10 foot drop which is worth the hike.

Wallaceburg From Kayak Ontario. Map of the area
Appoximate map of the row.

Willow creek launch at Willow Creek Canoe launch and head West. Or launch at Edenvale and head south.

Scarborough bluffs launching at Bluffers park.

Ontario Place launching at Budapest park most of this paddle SHOULD be inside the break wall?

Humber River 2023

Every now and then I like to repost about a location, and the last time I wrote up the Humber was back in 2017 so it seemed due … In reality, not a lot has changed for this paddle. The launch location we use is called Kings Mills park, but point your GPS at 39 Riverwood Park Drive to find it. Here you will find a simply concrete launch slab, and a moderate sized parking lot that is free. It can get busy in the summer. This is right beside the Toronto Humber Yacht club, which is not much of a Yacht club perse, much smaller boats. The Humber river can get VERY busy, just slightly upstream near the Old Mill is Toronto Adventures that rents kayaks and canoes. I’ve had a few friends rent from them and can recommend them.

The Humber river itself is a great place even for beginners. In spite of the yacht club there aren’t a lot of power boats or jet skis, and anytime we have been there people have been surprisingly well behaved. The current is not too bad in the river, there’s lots of little inlets and bays to explore, and tons of wild life to be found. It’s really quite shocking how nice this paddle is. The water is of course muddy being a river but not at all smelly and little to no signs of algae. In a lot of places the Humber isn’t all that deep, and other than up closer to the Old Mill there’s no issues with running aground. It’s more protected so it’s a place you can paddle when the wind is picked up. the day we did it it was 34km/h winds and it was more than manageable.

Now what this paddle ISN’T is quiet … Lots of people around with stereos, dogs barking, planes overhead, the subway, the Gardiner expressway and Go train down the bottom and the like … There are places here and there, creek side, you can stop for a break or a bite to eat.

Depending on how ambitious you are, you can make your way down to the lake, paddle over towards Humber Bay park, or over towards the protected break wall that runs east. But, remember, your paddle back up to the launch spot is upstream, and while the current is not terrible, it’s still tiring and the end of your day, so keep that in mind …

Map of our row (detailed map on Garmin):

Summary of the row:
Date of the paddle 6/16/2023
Difficulty: Beginner, but be mindful of the current back upstream and leave enough energy to get back upstream. 
Length of the row: We did 4.5 hours with time spent enjoying nature
Distance of the row: We did 8.7 KM and did not go down to the lake, it was going to be too rough anyway
Launch/exit spot:  Kings Mills park, but point your GPS at 39 Riverwood Park Drive to find it. 

Island Lake (Orangeville) 2022

We haven’t been back to Island Lake since 2018, so thought we would go back and check it out, not a lot has changed … There are two boat launches, one intended for kayaks/canoes which is the first one you come to where you will find a simple sandy launch. The second is a little further up and is more intended for boats with trailers and has a cement pad … There’s a small parking lot by the ramps, but it fills up FAST. Once full you have to take your car to another lot, and it’s about a 5 min walk back so nothing awful. At the launching ramp there are canoe, kayak, and boat rentals as well as bathrooms. We got there at 10 and the lot was already full. There is an unloading/loading area so it’s not too bad. Entrance fees apply. Checkout the Island Lake website for details.

Once in the water when we were there May 29th 2023, there’s some weeds, but really not bad at all. Lots of fish are visible with Sunfish everywhere. There’s lots of fisherman around, in everything from kayaks to power boats. They do not seem to limit the size of boats allowed on the lake at all, a guy showed up with a 115HP motor and pretty large boat. But fortunately there were not a lot of motor boats around … Especially near the place you launch it’s quite noisy with everything from blasting music, to people revelry and the like. When you move away from the launch area it does get quieter, but their a path that runs right around the water, so the sights, and sounds of people are always present. And the buzz of private planes is ever present. There’s no way around it, this is a busy, noisy place. They do hold fishing derbies here, so I strongly suggest you check the website before you go, you would not want to be here trying to kayak then …

All that said, it is a pretty paddle, and while we did see and here a lot of warblers around, there was small amount of nature otherwise. We only saw a couple great blue herons, we did see 3 loons including a nesting one, lots of Canada geese, and a few sand pipers. There’s a section called the reserve that is off limits …

The water is reasonably shallow, and the wind really doesn’t pickup so this is an excellent place for beginners or even kids. We enjoyed our time here … Add in rentals and it’s not a bad choice at all! There’s places to get out on the shore and even benches where you can stop and have a rest or a bite to eat. There’s also a nice boardwalk hike but we ran out of time so just did the paddle.

Map of the row (detailed map of the row on Garmin):

Summary of the row:
Date of paddle: 5/28/2023
Difficulty: Easy beginner paddle with rentals and facilities
Distance: We did 8.7KM and as you can see on the map we did most of the place
Time: 3:40 at a leisurely pace but not a lot of time spent taking picture of nature, there wasn't all that much to see
Launch/Exit: Boat ramp in Island Lake Conservation Area