Fall Colours from Rock Dunder

Jones Falls to Morton Bay - Rock Dunder

Jones Falls - Morton Bay

With Thanksgiving weekend coming up my thoughts turn to Fall colours and a return visit to hike up Rock Dunder at the head of Morton Bay, at 172m above sea level unsurpassed for its magnificent views of the surrounding countryside. This has almost become an annual pilgrimage for me and this October 10th being a glorious day was the perfect day to do it, so a friend and I met at the old Kenney Hotel at Jones Falls to paddle the almost 5 km to a landing in Morton Bay near the trail which will take us to the summit of Rock Dunder.

Kenney Hotel put-in

Jones Falls locks

Sadly the Kenney Hotel is now closed and is up for sale having been in business for 142 years it comes with a lot of history and hopefully a new buyer might restore it to its former glory.   This past summer extensive work was done on the Rideau Canal structures at Jones Falls, mainly replacement of the causeway which connects the hotel area with the locks as well as improvements to the blueline mooring.   Heading up Whitefish Lake it is only a few kms to where we can turn left into Morton Bay.

Whitefish Lake

Entrance to Morton Bay

This is the second time I have been in this area within a week, last Saturday on a paddle from Seeley's Bay to Jones Falls we side-tracked into Morton Bay to have a look at Dunder and counted at least 30 people on the summit so the trail would have been very busy then.  This time of year it is best to avoid weekends or the Thanksgiving holiday as it tends to be overrun with visitors. Today we can see just a few individuals on the summit.

Rock Dunder

On reaching our landing, not a particularly easy one, we haul the boats up to high ground and I lock mine to a tree.  This landing is not too close to the main trail so gets few visitors but we take any valuables with us and change our footwear before starting the hike; 2 km to the summit.  I bring a backpack to carry any valuables and lunch and a jacket if needed.

Landing

Getting ready to hike

From here the trail wends along Morton Bay at a steady incline before turning more inland and getting steeper as you progress.   There are two cabins that you will pass along the way, merely shells but could provide shelter in inclement weather.   This is not a groomed trail and in a few spots you may be on all fours, it can be tricky after wet weather.

1 of 2 cabins

part of trail

As we progress upward only a couple of other hikers are encountered so we have the hill to ourselves this time which is so much more pleasant. On reaching the top the view is spectacular and you can literally see for miles or kilometres if you prefer. For example looking to the SE a careful scan of the horizon can detect the 1000 Islands Tower  on Hill island once known as the Skydeck, at an approx distance of 28 kms.

1000 Island Tower (centre)

To the south is Morton Bay and Whitefish Lake going towards Seeley's Bay and NW is Jones Falls.

Lunch overlooking Morton Bay

With lunch over it is time to head back down to the boats and paddle back to Jones Falls.  To vary our course a little as we travel north on Whitefish Lake we will pass to the right of Hog island rather than taking the main channel on its left.  It is more shallow and a bit weedy but quite navigable for a kayak.

Exit Morton Bay

This has been a perfect day for paddling and enjoying the Fall foliage which must be at its peak, this is truly a beautiful part of the Rideau Canal.  In no time we are again in sight of the Hotel Kenney and with the new causeway it is even easier now to paddle under to the little jetty where we put in.   I should mention that if you plan to visit by road the Rideau Trust which owns and manages Dunder now charges an entrance fee of $10 per vehicle which goes towards maintaining the property which in recent years has suffered some from overuse.

Hotel Kenney

Happy paddling!

KayakJock