Distance: 7-14 kilometres round trip on the Old Ausable Channel
Average time to complete: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: slow moving easy paddle with some shallow areas and fallen logs
Parking: daily admission fee at park entrance (9526 Lakeshore Road RR2, Grand Bend, Ontario)
General safety tips: check weather conditions and water levels; wear your life jacket; carry safety gear; and always let someone know when and where you plan to launch and your expected return, especially if paddling alone
The Old Ausable Channel is a great paddle within a provincial park, that has many activities for outdoor enthusiasts. Including camping, hiking, cross-country skiing, swimming the Lake Huron shoreline and general nature appreciation. There is a fee to enter this provincial park and you can also pay to rent equipment, a tent site or even stay the night in a yurt or cabin.
After you’ve paid and passed through the main entrance gate, you will follow a windy road through the oak savannah forests and rolling dunes, crossing over the artificially constructed river channel and following the signs to the canoe launch.
The Launch
The canoe launch features a dock and a small parking area, and just across the channel is a craft and equipment rental spot, park store and washrooms. Depending on when you visit this park, the launch areas could be very busy with many paddlers trying to find their way around the channel. The channel is slow moving in the spring and virtually has no flow by the peak of the summer, as it is only fed by precipitation, groundwater and small amounts of runoff. As a result, many paddlers stay near the launch areas but once you’ve paddled the first kilometer or so, you will for the most part enjoy a quite paddle with few paddlers nearby.
The crystal-clear Old Ausable Channel winds a little and flows by viewing platforms and boardwalks, where often times birdwatchers are checking off rare species from their lists. This park is home to many animals and depending on the time of year and even the time of day you visit, who knows what you will see and hear! From migrating Tundra Swans to the rare Red-headed Woodpecker to deer carefully feeding on aquatic plants along the waters edge. A beaver slapping its tail across the water to warn its family, and the many basking turtles, Kingfishers, Blue Herons, swallows and even bats and owls, if you are out when the darkness begins to set in.
The End or Just the Beginning
As you paddle on quietly listening and searching for the wildlife around you, the river will eventually make its way to a culvert and bridge, where you will have to portage in order to continue paddling the channel within the park. The other side of the bridge features a small dock where you can re launch your craft, there is also a pull off from the side of the road near the bridge and entrance to Hickory Trail, where you can park your vehicle if you prefer to start your paddle here. This stretch of the Old Ausable Channel is very quiet with few paddlers nearby and an occasional fisherman. But at certain times of year, it can be quite buggy and very shallow here, with many fallen logs to maneuver around so be sure to check the area before launching your craft back in.
If you choose to venture on, you will paddle through what I would consider the quietest and most wildlife filled parts of the Old Ausable Channel, since not many paddlers launch here. Be prepared to carefully cross a few fallen logs and shallow areas, being sure not to disturb the landscape and remain as quiet as possible to get the full experience of this section of the channel. You will eventually reach another culvert that marks the end of the paddle, or shortly before within the provincial park boundary. You can portage and continue paddling towards Lake Huron in Grand Bend, but this is quite lengthy and there will be numerous portages and obstacles along the way. Not to mention needing to paddle back, unless of course you have pre-coordinated a vehicle waiting for you at your destination.