Whitewater

Using this trip as a warm-up for our Dumoine trip early in July. Hoping to try some of our planned paddle partnerships but the trip is open to anyone, tandems and solos.

This very popular trip seems to be a great draw for all levels of paddlers to enjoy perfect weather (most of the time), portage free paddling, and a barbeque that follows our outing.  This is a wonderful day to enjoy an easy moving water river and to socialize with other WCA'ers.  The trip will start in south Cambridge where we will put in and then paddle to Paris.  We will pass through scenic farm country, stop at the ruins of a supposedly haunted mill, negotiate some easy grade one water, and stop for lunch along the way.  Those interested are welcome to join us back at our house in Cambridge for some food, beverage and social time.

CONTACT THE ORGANIZER DIRECTLY TO SIGN UP: Doug Ashton - doug.ashton@rogers.com - 416-453-4653

I'm planning to do a long day trip of around 30 km starting on the Head River northeast of Sebright and continuing downstream on the Black River into the town of Washago. The first 16 km until Highway 169 a mostly flatwater section interspersed with short whitewater drops - I have not been on this section before. The next 3 km after Highway 169 is the usual whitewater play area on the Black River where the river loops around through many Class I-II rapids, ending with an optional more challenging technical chute. The final 9 km is almost all flatwater, save for a canyon with turbulent boils and standing waves, and we will end the day by paddling against the current up the Green River, where the water suddenly transitions from dark and tannin-stained to green and crystal clear.

If you want a shorter day, it's possible to take out after the whitewater play section and cut out the final 9 km of paddling. We will arrange the shuttle to accommodate everyone's preference for where they want to end the trip.

This is an exploratory trip on the Upper Eels Creek that is open to advanced paddlers only since I am not familiar with the river, so we will be scouting and learning the river together and keeping one another safe. As a classic day trip in the WCA's history, I have gotten a fair bit of information about the run. It is short in km but intense. It’s very winding and it’s easy to get suckered-in to rapids that start easy but get increasingly difficult as well as blind turns again starting easy but you won’t like what you find when you continue around the corner. Suitably forewarned, we will scout each rapid cautiously.

Online info: https://paddlingmaps.com/trip/Ontario/674-apsley-to-haultain. In May, the river should be at a lower level which makes it a lot more friendly than what is described there.

This is a classic whitewater day trip in the history of the WCA that I'm looking forward to exploring for the first time. It's a very nice pool & drop river where all the rapids are obvious and there are portage trails along them. The rapids range in difficulty and there are some very challenging rapids and chutes, so you can make the trip as easy or hard as you want by choosing which rapids to run vs portage. It's 16 km but a long day as a result of all the scouting and portaging, so expect to spend around 6 hours on the river.

Update 04/28: there is no online gauge for the Mississagua but recent water management updates suggest that the flows will remain high. There will be some unrunnable rapids with many frequent portages, so try to pack efficiently to transition quickly from paddling to portaging, and be prepared to tackle a few longer portages as well.

Post-trip notes: we found the river at a fun medium level - not too pushy or too boney - which allowed the more adventurous members to run most of the rapids except for the ones that are actually waterfalls. Some rapids were definitely a high Class III, maybe even Class IV in difficulty. The Parks Canada site shows that the upstream water level in Mississagua Lake is dropping fast, so I think we were lucky to catch the last of the spring runoff just before they're going close the dam for the summer. An earlier timing, in mid-late April, would be better for having reliable water levels on this river. We ended up spending about 8 hours on the river, taking our time to scout and run rapids and enjoying a luxurious lunch break in the canyon to soak up the beautiful scenery. Still it didn't feel like nearly enough time to do this river justice - I'll probably run it as an overnight trip next time, with many options for beautiful campsites along the way.

Update Monday, 04/13: CANCELLED DUE TO HIGH WATER. The Head River is already at the 100th percentile maximum flow with more rain on the way this week. I will repost this trip later when levels have come down. If you still want to paddle this weekend, I'll probably post a trip on a local GTA river instead.

---I'm planning to do a long day trip of around 30 km starting on the Head River northeast of Sebright and continuing downstream on the Black River into the town of Washago. The first 16 km until Highway 169 a mostly flatwater section interspersed with short whitewater drops - I have not been on this section before. The next 3 km after Highway 169 is the usual whitewater play area on the Black River where the river loops around through many Class I-II rapids, ending with an optional more challenging technical chute. The final 9 km is almost all flatwater, save for a canyon with turbulent boils and large standing waves, and we will end the day by paddling against the current up the Green River, where the water suddenly transitions from dark and tannin-stained to green and crystal clear.

If you want a shorter day, it's possible to take out after the whitewater play section and cut out the final 9 km of paddling. We will arrange the shuttle to accommodate everyone's preference for where they want to end the trip.

This is my first time on the river but I have information from my friend who has paddled it several times. We should have good water levels to do a longer stretch of the river so be prepared for a full day.

This is a fun river with lots of maneuvering. This is not a novice river. There are lots of sweepers, logjams, fast water, and tight turns so you have to keep your guard up and have a good backferry, and also be prepared to get out of the canoe frequently to get around obstacles.

Will reschedule due to thunderstorms 

This will be a quick 2 hours on the water

The trip is on as long as the level stays above 4.6

https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/report/real_time_e.html?stn=02HB029

I    will be running the MAD River again from County Road 9 in Creemore to Glencairn  this year. r As usual I scout the river beforehand from ten different river access points.  I already ran a portion of this river from Riverside Dr (Creemore) to Mad River Park on Sat April 11.   If on May 2 the water levels on the flow gauge at Airport Road have settled to a comfortable 8 -9 cu metters per second, then I will be comfortable doing the full 14 km with Intermediate paddlers  (which means that  you have strong paddling skills on lakes, can maneuver in strong winds on lakes and have good communications skills with your partner.   (left , right, centre,  tell me what to do,  where to go)    We have one log jam after the South Nottawasaga Concession 3 / Nottawasaga 6 Sideroad 6 Nottawasaga ATV Access Trail as it meets the river. We will be scouting that piece before we canoe it.   We paddle 14 km from Riverside Dr in Creemore to Glencairn Conservation Area in Glencairn. Due to the spring 2026 ice scouring, there are a couple extra kilometers of real fun Class I swifts above Carruthers Park that I know you will like a lot. 14 km of river paddling in total.   The flow gauge is here: 

https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/report/real_time_e.html?stn=02ED015

At flow levels below 8 cu meters per second, we will do the full route.    Above 9 cu M/s we will talk  about it, but probably only do the lower seven km.  If we only do the lower seven km, then we will make it learning day where all of us can practice  and learn river skills.