St. Lawrence - Jones Creek

Browns Bay to Jones Creek

Jones Creek & Mud Creek

Today I am going to explore Mud Creek a tributary of Jones Creek having paddled Jones before, going up as far as the 401 highway which crosses at a point roughly where navigation ends.    It is a glorious day, the beginning of a warm spell that promises to last all week and for once there is little wind which makes a nice change.    I'm launching at the boat ramp by Brown's Bay and will then head NE along the west shore of the St. Lawrence river for about 2.5 km to reach the entrance to Jones Creek.

Boat launch

Dark Isle

Looking SE from the launch one can see Dark Isle at about 3 km distance, home to Singer Castle.   There is a very impressive property one passes as you reach the small bay leading to Jones Creek, the bay itself is fronted by a string of small islands.  The largest; Princess island I have used several times as a lunch stop on longer trips, being uninhabited and having a little shallow lagoon that is ideal for parking the kayak while getting out for lunch.

Nice home

Guests?

Jones Creek entrance

Entering the creek you pass beneath the new bridge on the 1000 Islands parkway completed last year.   The creek falls in property owned by Parks of the St. Lawrence and includes hiking trails as well as the Skywood adventure park with zip lines.    

Jones Creek

After travelling two kilometers on Jones I come to the entrance for Mud creek and turn  left.   I have done some walking of these trails earlier this spring and both the wife and I sustained tick bites for our trouble.  The one I got had the tell-tale bullseye necessitating a visit to the emergency room to get the necessary to prevent Lyme disease.   I have been informed that this is a bad year for them so be warned.  I see movement on the bank and paddle over to investigate.

Busy Beaver

Just a beaver who doesn't seem too perturbed at my presence allowing me close enough to capture an image before slipping quietly away.  A little over half a kilometer down I come to a floating bridge which normally connects north and south sets of trails but presently detached from one shore so trailing with the current presumably as a measure to prevent ice damage during winter months.   But as the park is currently closed due to pandemic restrictions has yet to be re-connected.   Even when in use it has an opening with elevated walkway to allow passage of small vessels.

Floating bridge

The marshy shallows of the creek are alive with huge carp which I imagine are spawning this time of year.   These are easily 10 lbs or more and sometimes 2 or 3 at a time.   Great blue heron as well as Caspian and Common terns can be seen feeding along this waterway.   A couple of Adirondack chairs offer a scenic spot to sit and while away the time.

Relaxing spot

Checking my time I see it's time to turn around as I plan to have a late lunch at home so will need to return sometime just to see how far you can get down this pretty creek which doesn't look like it ends any time soon.    On my return I stop and take a photo of the zip line platform in the trees.   The longest zip run parallels the creek and allows the zipper a panoramic view of the creek; I did this back in 2018 and found it very enjoyable.

My long Zip 2018

Landing platform (centre)

Back under the bridge and out onto the St. Lawrence I pass the other side of Princess island and its little lagoon where a couple of Common terns are having a rest.  There is a bit more of a breeze here and from the SW so i'm grateful for the cooling effect as i'm wearing a dry top, probably for the last time as it just gets too hot when weather turns nice and hopefully water temp will improve if this weather continues.

Lagoon

Common terns

my take-out

So it's back to my starting point to take out, pack up and head home for lunch after a pleasant paddle of 12 kms.

Happy paddling!

KayakJock