Big Otter Creek, Richmond

I’d been looking for something different—something in Southwestern Ontario that still felt remote. That’s not an easy box to tick. After digging through old canoe-club logs, asking around, and getting a few vague “try here” suggestions, I landed on Big Otter Creek.

Trip Rating: 5/5

Getting ready to launch.

Big Otter Creek is a tributary of the Thames River system. It winds from the farmland near Norwich, through Tillsonburg, before emptying into Lake Erie at Port Burwell. For this trip, I ran the 27 km stretch between Richmond and Vienna—a quiet, dramatic section defined by tall sand bluffs, Carolinian forest, and long, uninterrupted bends.

The scenery on the trip.

Mid-route, a river otter popped out of the bank, looked mildly irritated that I existed, and went straight back to whatever river otter business looks like.

A river otter doing his thing.

Launch Site

Small roadside put-in.

The put-in is just a small pull-off on the side of the road. You leave your vehicle here, then shuttle to Vienna for the take-out.

Take-out under the bridge in Vienna.

Cost: $0 — parking is free at both ends.

Wide, fast-moving current.

Trip Length / Difficulty
This is a long, committed 27 km run with no exits. When levels are high enough to paddle, the current is fast and continuous. We hit around 15 strainers—some minor, some serious, and a few that demanded full attention.

This isn’t a casual spring float. You need solid rescue skills, good judgment, throw ropes, and a plan for staying warm if you go for a swim.

Obstacles everywhere.

At one point we met a log jam the size of a building and had to climb the whole thing with boats in hand. Classic spring paddling.

A monstrous log jam we had to liftover.