Day Paddles
This is a new section where I will from time to time provide what I hope will be some useful information on what I consider day paddles in and around that portion of Canada lying within a radius of roughly 150 km of Ottawa, Ontario. These are in no particular order, but will appear more or less by whim or perhaps because I have just paddled yet again. Distance shown is as I recorded but of course will vary by route you take so just a guide.
1. Kemptville Creek - Curry Park to Rideau River - 10 km
This is a short paddle that I pretty much reserve for those days when I have little time and it has the advantage of being only a 15 minute drive from home and this time was to be the last paddle of the season for me as my yak goes into storage this coming week and Saturday looked very much to be the last decent day in the foreseeable future. Initially my plan had been to paddle Kemptville to Burritts Rapids had time permit, but Saturdays being what they usually are, shopping etc I almost ran out of paddle time completely and was debating whether worth going at all. So launching at 3:30 the best I could hope for was down the creek and back likely with the last of this in the dark.
For others contemplating this paddle I might add that this can be extended to a decent day's paddle with possible destinations like Baxter Conservation (appx. 20km) or Muldoon Rd towards Burritts Rapids also about 20 km round trip. This time of year no one else is out and water levels are down yet again. Where does all our water go this time of year? The Rideau, St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers and just about every lake and stream around get the plug pulled! I think it is the damn yanks siphoning it off to water their golf courses in Nevada! Never mind building a wall, we need to build some dams!!
The sun had set by the time I reached the Rideau and had stopped mid-stream to capture an image so I knew I would be paddling some of the way in the dark. I notice my GPS go dark all of a sudden, why you ask do I need to use a GPS on a creek. Well I just try to follow as close as I can my outbound track hoping this way to avoid rocks or shallows I happily missed on the way down. Clever little gadget had switched to night colours which are almost invisible using the marine profile. Rather than fuss with it I just hit the click stick once in a while to activate the screen for a few seconds viewing. Being mostly overcast it gets really dark in places but there are a few cottages and as I get close to hwy 43 bridge a house is ablaze with coloured lights, Christmas came early to Kemptville.
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| Navigation lights? |
Excuse the image, I was still moving when I tried to take it. Till next year!
2.
Big Rideau Lake - Narrows Locks to Colonel By island. 15.5 km
Narrows Locks provide easy launching for kayaks for either east or west travel on Big Rideau as well as adequate parking and washroom facilities. Col By island is maintained by Parks Canada and is considered part of the Rideau Canal Waterway.
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| Narrows put-in |
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| Col By Island |
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| View from Col. By Island |
Boaters travelling the canal can camp here for same rate as charged at locks and washroom facilities are available. Note, take any garbage you have with you when you leave the island.
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| Narrows to Colonel By |
3.
Big Rideau Lake - Narrows Locks to Westport 16.5 km
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| Looking west from Narrows |
There is a gravel beach almost next to overflow parking lot for Narrows on west shore of isthmus providing easy launch. Travelling west following north shore of Big Rideau will bring you to Westport a picturesque village and tourist attraction at the western extremity of Big Rideau. Several restaurants, some doing take-out make for a pleasant interlude before paddling back.
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| Narrows to Westport |
4.
St. Lawrence River - Singer Castle - Grenadier - Rockport 28.5 km
For this paddle the ideal launch site is Parks Canada facility at Mallorytown Landing, just off the Thousand Islands Parkway at the junction of County road 5.
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| Singer Castle - Grenadier - Rockport |
Singer Castle on Dark Island, was built in 1905 by Frederick Bourne, one time president of Singer Sewing Machine Co. and today is open to visitors via tours out of Alexandria Bay NY. Like Boldt Castle this is a very impressive edifice and well worth the trip. Dark isle lies about 4 km east of Mallorytown Landing in U.S. waters so that is our primary destination before heading SW along the outer shores of Grenadier island.
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| Dark Isle |
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| Singer Castle |
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| Singer Castle |
Travelling SW you come to Peel, the first of a string of small islands running NE of Grenadier island, bearing a little more left you should pass Grenadier's most easterly point and thence follow Grenadier SW till reaching its end. Sister island with its lighthouse will be noticed to your left, almost marking the international border it is in fact just inside u.s. waters. The bay to your right has a sunken wreck of unknown provenance which may be marked by a plastic float. On calm bright days some of the timbers are still visible.
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| Peel island |
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| Sister |
As the shipping channel is just beyond Sister island you may get lucky and get a little surfing from the wake of a passing freighter.
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| 3G Maquiss |
Passing Grenadier West and heading WSW will take you past Little Grenadier, Doctor, and Tar island on your way into Rockport where you can land on the grassy slope between the church and Boathouse restaurant. If you can secure a seat on the deck at the Boathouse you will have a view of your parked kayaks. Three restaurants all very busy during the summer season servicing the thousands of tourists bused in for boat tours of Boldt castle and the Thousand Islands.
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| Boathouse Restaurant |
Paddling into Rockport at the height of the summer season can be a bit unnerving as it is a high traffic area with power boats of all types zooming around you and on windy days the geography of the islands combined with wakes can make for very confusing water. Taking the innermost channel through Tar Island Narrows is your quickest way out of this busy area and shortest return route to Mallorytown Landing.
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| O'Neil island |
5. Charleston - Charleston Lake -Charleston to Bill Island 17.5 km
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| Charleston Lake |
The village of Charleston is the north access for Charleston Lake and during the summer season becomes a very busy place particularly on weekends but you should be able to find parking near the boat ramp at the west end of Water street. This is a large lake with many cottages on numerous islands but is also home to Charleston Provincial Park which occupies a large area to the west and south affording a beautiful wilderness area. I often head for Bill island at the north end of Donaldson arm by a variety of routes of varied distance. This small island belongs to the park so I stop here to lunch and maybe a swim. A quieter area with few cottages.
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| Donaldson Arm from Bill island |
There is also a nice beach in Sand Bay at the county park in the NE corner of the lake, about a 3.5km paddle from put-in. It can also be reached by co-rd 39. Access to the Provincial Park is at the south end of Charleston Lake off co-rd 3.
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| Charleston Lake |
6. Rideau Lakes Township - Morton to Delta - Lower Beverly Lake - 24 km
The village of Morton is reached by highway 15 from Smiths Falls and there is a canoe/kayak dock on Morton creek just off the highway beyond the bridge. You can park along the mowed verge. This access is provided on private land so be respectful.
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| Put-in |
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| Morton creek |
Morton creek meanders almost five and a half kilometers before reaching the lower SW extremity of Lower Beverly lake. A very pretty paddle through a mix of farmland and deciduous woodland with a few cottages closer to highway 15. Then almost another 5 km up the SW arm before reaching the main body of Lower Beverly.
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| Delta creek |
From here it is another 2 km across to the east shore where you can enter Delta creek which leads to the picturesque village of Delta with its historic mill once powered by the waters of Delta creek flowing from Upper to Lower Beverly Lake. Here you can find a public launch where you can take out and have lunch.
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| Delta public ramp |
From Lower Beverly to Delta is approximately 1 km up Delta creek which has a township campground on it's north side and houses on the other. A little beyond the public ramp is the mill race and dam, thereby access to Upper Beverly would require a portage.
