Kayak Ontario

A Guide to Kayaking Locations in Ontario www.kayak-ontario.com

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Sea Kayaking Trip: Port Bruce to Hawk Cliff

Sea Kayaking Trip: Port Bruce to Hawk Cliff

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Sea Kayaking Trip: Trent-Severn Waterway - Mississauga River to Burleigh Falls

Trip Rating Description: The Trent-Severn Waterway is a canal system that stretches across 386 kilometers. It connects Lake Ontario at Trenton to Georgian Bay in Severn. The waterway comprises of 44 locks, some of which are quite interesting while others are uneventful. This canal system was constructed in the late 19th century to cater to commercial and transportation purposes. However, these…

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Camp Secrets: Orange Camp Cake

Camp Secrets: Orange Camp Cake

Since it’s impossible to do camping trips right now, I would like to share with you some of the fun we have on trips. One of the most fun is Orange Camp Cake. I love making my food from scratch on trips. It adds to the adventure, it much cheaper and lighter to carry.

MMM…pancakes

Orange Camp Cake is perfect for kayak camping. It has no milk, butter or eggs in it, so you can pack the…

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Bruce Peninsula, Lands End to Dunks Bay

Our 2019 trip report the the Bruce Peninsula. Lands End to Dunks Bay.

This is my trip report from a somewhat exploratory trip. One of my original sea kayaking goals was to paddle the Niagara Escarpment along the Bruce Peninsula National Park. I became interested in the area in my younger adult years and did some very limited, sheltered kayaking on the interior lakesof Bruce Peninsula National Park. I waited to do this trip until I was confident enough to keep out…

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Out of Town Adventures: Fundy National Park

For our family vacation, we decided to load up our tag-along trailer and head “Out East” to camp at Fundy National Park. I had been fascinated with the part since I was in grade school reading about it in old National Geographic Magazines we had in the back room of the library.

The Bay of Fundy

The drive from Hamilton is about 15 hours when you look on Google Maps. Not so fast, with a…

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Beausoleil Island, Honey Harbour

To return to some normal posts, we recap a circumnavigation of Beausoleil Island, Honey Harbour in Fall 2017.

Beausoleil Island is the largest island in Georgian Bay Islands National Park. Late in 2017, we decided to circumnavigate the Island and take in the fall colours on Georgian Bay.

Our Route

From our experiences with previous trips to this spot, the biggest challenge is the parking. We have been lucky/smart to plan our trips in the offseason. In the fall, the Daytripperstaff was nice enough…

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Craigleith Provincial Park, The Blue Mountains

Craigleith Provincial Park, The Blue Mountains

When I was a kid, my family would spend weeks at a time in the summer camping at Craigleith Provincial Park. The Blue Mountains wasn’t a town yet and the resort was but a sliver of what it has now become. I have memories of my brother and I spending hours looking for fossils on the beach in the likes of shale and near death experiences on the original “Great Slide Ride”.

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Clinics, Courses and Events

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But, Can You Roll?

But, Can You Roll?

There seems to be a resurgence in the “does certification kill adventure” debate lately. I really have no opinion on that, to be honest. I do want to say a few words about rolling. To me this is the biggest point that sea kayakers obsess over. To many, It is like some vaunted club that unlocks the secret levels of kayaking. I only sort of agree.

I (re)discovered kayaking as an adult and I have a…

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From a Quest to an Explorer - The History of Kayak Ontario

From a Quest to an Explorer – The History of Kayak Ontario

I have avoided this for a long time but I think I need to do a history and re-introduction of Kayak Ontario. The group has grown bigger than I had ever dreamed it would become and I would like to recount how we got to where we are, today. Way back when I was using my Riot Quest 10X to explore small rivers and creeks, I realized I wasn’t keeping track of the launch and camp sites I was…

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The Ice Boom, Fort Erie

The Ice Boom, Fort Erie

One of the best experiences I have ever had in a kayak was paddling through the ice at the Ice Boom. It is not a trip to take lightly, in fact it took me years to be confident enough to make this trip. Like many things in paddle sports, it is a risk and reward type decision. With the proper risk management, here was the reward.

https://www.ijc.org/en/all-about-lake-erie-niagara-river-ice-boom-0

L…

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The Tunnel of Love, St. Catherines

The Tunnel of Love, St. Catherines

One of the most legendary and definitely one of my favourite paddles of all time was the search for the Tunnel of Love. Around the Niagara District, there are wooden signs placed all over the rivers and harbours. Some a directional markers, some are high water marks but none is mysterious as this one.

As an interesting side note: a few years ago when the water levels were high all over the Great…

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Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area, Grand Valley

Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area, Grand Valley

Kate and I decided to give this a try on a windy day in the fall. We saw the forecast calling for waves to big to paddle in on Lake Ontario so we decided to try an small inland lake.

The Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area is an interesting water feature that is located in the headwaters area of the Grand River watershed. The Luther Lake, which is approximately 1,400-hectares was created by…

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Grand River, Dunnville Lower Dam to Port Maitland

Grand River, Dunnville Lower Dam to Port Maitland

The Grand River is one of the defining geographical features in South Western Ontario. Stretching from the Grand Valley all the way to Lake Erie. Much of the Northern and Central stretches of the river are best suited to canoeing or smaller rec style boats. Once you get to the southern end of the river, it significantly widens and becomes best travelled in a sea kayak.

There are only two launch…

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Fifty Point Conservation Area, Winona

Fifty Point Conservation Area, Winona

This launch spot fills a specific need for my friends and I. We very much enjoy “surfing” our kayaks. On the great lakes, conditions can be tough to find. Since we only get waves generated by the wind, they can range in size and shape. Those beautiful swell generated waves you see on YouTube and Facebook? We don’t really get that.

We wish!

On very windy days when the wind is blowing towards…

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Out of Town Adventures: The Shubenacadie River

Out of Town Adventures: The Shubenacadie River

During my lunch break at work I love to scour Google Maps looking for interesting spots. A place that kept catching my attention was The Bay of Fundy. After doing some research on the area, we packed up the trailer and the family was off for a two week vacation to explore New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This post focuses on the time we spent on the Shubenacadie.

When we pulled up to the river on…

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Going for a Loop in Wallaceburg

Going for a Loop in Wallaceburg

By Trevor Thompson

There aren’t a lot of river systems you can do as a loop. Sure, you can paddle upstream on a lazy river and then paddle back down, but a complete loop is rare.

The Sydenham/Snye/Running Creek loop in Wallaceburg may be unique in all of Ontario for your ability to leave the launch and come back to the launch from the other direction.

If you decide to try the loop, there are…

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