Finally Heading out Kayaking!!!

After a long wait for the weather to co-operate and my work schedule to co-operate, I'm heading out this morning. I'm fairly certain I'll be launching at E.C Brown conservation area and heading west this time. I've launched there once and it was a great paddle! I found a new gps holder\mount but my fish finder is not quite ready. No worries, I'm just anxious to get out on the water! It seemed like when the weather was good, I was working and when I was off, the weather not so good. Finally! I'll post photos later.

Massassauga Provincial Park Kayaking

One of my favourite kayak trips ever was our day trip to Massassauga Provincial Park. We were camped at Six Mile Lake Provincial Park and decided to do a day trip away from the park. We accessed Massassauga from Woods Bay. I brought along a shore lunch with the intention of stopping at the Calhoun Lodge.
The scenery was incredible! Typical northern rocky shorelines with the far end of Blackstone Harbour ending in a marshy area. Here are some photos:

Entering Blackstone Harbour

Inukshuk on the shoreline

Beautiful scenery at Massassauga

My kayak

There are paddle in campsites at Blackstone for those that would like to stay here and explore the area. There is so much to explore! Aside from Blackstone Harbour, you could paddle out towards Georgian Bay and explore many, many islands and channels. A good gps with up to date marine charts is a must or waterproof maps of the area. You could easily get lost in the islands and channels and with lowering water levels it's even more difficult unless your map or gps is up to date.
This is such a wonderful place to paddle! The waterway is of course shared with motorboats, but there were only a couple smaller fishing boats out when we were here. We never caught any fish at Blackstone Harbour. We tried fishing from the dock at the Calhoun Lodge where we stopped for lunch, we caught nothing there either.

By the time we left later in the afternoon to head back to Wood's Bay, a west wind had developed. It made for a difficult, but manageable paddle. I had read that afternoon west winds were typical here, so I was prepared.
There is another place to launch at Blackstone Harbour where you can also pick up park permits if you intend to camp here. I'm not sure of the name now, but it should be easily found with an internet search.
For lunch, we pulled ashore at the Calhoun Lodge. It was closed for the fall, so we couldn't tour it. Not sure if it's open during the summer, but it's an interesting location too.
There are hiking trails that start at the lodge too. Dave wasn't thrilled with hiking due to the possibility of rattlesnakes, so hiking didn't happen.
We had a great time kayaking here and loved this place!
Here's a link to the page on my blog for this camping trip and day trip to Massassauga:
 http://sdrvadventurers.blog.com/six-mile-lake-provincial-park/

Kayaking at Rockwood Conservation Area

Rockwood Conservation Area is one of our favourite "close to home" destinations to camp. The park is clean, the staff friendly and there's a wonderful little place to kayak and fish. We always bring our kayaks here and do some fishing. The geology at Rockwood is fascinating. It includes caves and towering limestone cliffs. All are accessible by hiking trails throughout the park, but my favourite way to see these features are from the water. It's a very cool feeling to paddle past the cliffs and close to the caves along the shoreline. Here are some photos or our latest trip to Rockwood in 2011:

The kayak cart of doom!

Misty morning on Rockwood Lake

Geological features at Rockwood

Rockwood Lake is fairly small, but there is a lot to explore in the way of little passages leading to places tucked in away from the main lake. I would say in full exploration mode, in a couple hours you'd see everything. The lake has rainbow trout, but we've never caught one. We've caught a lot of fiesty catfish and a few other panfish which still makes for a fun time out. The lake has quite a few types of birds including a few herons. Other wildlife includes river otters. There are some places where the depth changes rather quickly due to rock features under water, but there's usually enough water to paddle over them safely. At the end of Rockwood Lake is remains of a dam where the Eramosa River flows into the lake. It's fun to paddle up there in the summer time and sit in the current close to the falls and feel the refreshing spray. Here are a few more photos of Rockwood:

Misty morning kayaking

A heron in flight

Sitting in the current at the waterfall

Secret passageways at Rockwood

Rockwood is a beautiful little conservation area located in the town of Rockwood. You can literally walk into town from the park. Within close travel distance there are a couple more parks run by the Grand River Conservation Area where you can paddle. If you're registered at Rockwood, you can use that pass to enter the other parks for the day free of charge. Belwood Lake is a short drive north from Rockwood and Guelph Lake is an even shorter drive north east from Rockwood. Both offer large reservoirs for fishing and paddling if you want to try somewhere new. The park has clean washroom facilities and pay showers which give you a decent amount of time for 25cents. The campsites are clean and well maintained.
We highly recommend Rockwood for both kayaking and camping. You can find more info about this park at my camping blog page: http://sdrvadventurers.blog.com/rockwood-ca-september-2011-3/

Jordan Harbour Kayaking with Angela!

Kayaking is one of my favourite things to do in life - EVER! It's even more enjoyable though when you are able to share it with a friend. I was very fortunate to be able to share this wonderful activity with a very wonderful friend of mine - Angela! We went to a place that was close to home and great for her first time out - Jordan Harbour. The launch is very nice and you can unload your kayak steps from the waters edge.
Here are some photos:

Angela at the Launch

Angela - Getting Ready to Go!

Heading Out on a Beautiful Day!

Our trip started off on a bad note when Angela slipped on the slime at the boat launch and hurt her ankle. Ouch, it looked so sore, but she was a trooper and we headed out anyway. Here are some more photos of our time out:

Turtles on a Log

Awesome Day Kayaking!

Cormorants

Blue Heron

While we were out kayaking, a train went over the bridge. It's pretty cool when the timing is right and you happen to be kayaking under the bridge when a train passes above. As for wildlife encounters, we seen turtles, cormorants and a blue heron. Not bad for a couple hours on the water!

Train Passing Over the Bridge

Freight Train

It was a great time out on the water shared with a wonderful friend. We encountered some wildlife while out on the water and as a bonus, a freight train passing overhead. Jordan Harbour is nice place to launch for a quick trip out. You can pass under the railway bridge and kayak through the marshes where you may see otters, swans and other birds. Alternately, you can head out into Lake Ontario and explore the shoreline heading East towards Charles Daley Park or West towards Beamsville. Lots of options all starting at this cool little conservation area!
Happy Paddling!

Upper Niagara River Kayak Fishing Trip

Early September we spent a day out kayak fishing on the upper Niagara River. We launched at Black Creek along the parkway. There was plenty of parking and the launch facilities were nice too. After launching, we headed up river for a few kilometres then drifted back.  The weather was perfect! I was amazed at the clarity of the water. Dave caught a couple nice bass. As for wildlife, only a tree full of what I believe were cormorants.  I'm hoping to get back out on the upper Niagara and the lower Niagara as well. Here are some photos:

Black Creek launch

Upper Niagara River

Beautiful day on the water!

Cormorants?

Dave's bass

Reeds in the current

A perfect day kayaking!

Bridge at Black Creek

Heading in

Welland River\E.C Brown Kayak Trip

There's a beautiful little conservation area located along the Welland River - E.C Brown. It provides a very nice place to launch into the Welland River East of Hwy 24. Usually I launch at Wellandport, but I decided in June 2012 to take a morning kayak trip out and launch here. There are no washroom facilities but the launch is very good. I kayaked a total of 13 km that morning towards Welland. There were a couple boats out fishing and some small planes flew over me to land at the airport. For a little while the river runs parallel to a road with some traffic so I wouldn't classify it as a nice quiet nature paddle, but it was a fun morning out. Here are some photos:

Welland River

O'Reilly's Bridge

Modern Art

Beautiful Scenery

Welland River

Airplane!

Airplane Along the Welland River

End of Kayak Stats

Very Nice Launch

O'Reilly's Bridge

Lake Ontario Kayaking May 2012

Here are some photos of one our Lake Ontario kayaking trips in May 2012. Our launch point was at Jordan Harbour Conservation Area. There's lots of parking there and the launch is pretty nice. So far, no cost to get in or park. We went about 3 km then had to turn around as the weather got a little rough. It was a fun time out though. In total we went about 6 km. We would have stayed out longer if the weather had cooperated. 

Beautiful Lake Ontario

Dave Fishing

Leaving Jordan Harbour

Under the highway bridge

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Launch at Jordan Harbour CA

Heading Back