Trip Rating: 4/5
I decided I needed to do more river trips. They can be quite challenging alone because in most cases, getting upstream means a 10-15k walk back to the car. So I looked long and far to find a way to solve that problem. The solution? Find an Oxbow! An Oxbow is a U shaped bend in the course of a river. An even bigger bonus? It’s only a 35 minute drive from my house. You launch your kayak, paddle for 15k and the take out spot is only a 15 minute walk back to the car (1k). It will make more sense once you see the trip map.
Launch Sites:
The launch area is a dirt ramp under a bridge. There is lots of parking and a small park. The downside of this launch is there are no washroom facilities. As far as launches go, its about as good as can be expected.
To find this location, enter 43.110267,-80.245216 into Google Maps.
Trip Length: A warning about this trip. Once you start, there is no turning back and no place to lift out, easily. The river currents would make it very hard to paddle back up stream. My point is, be prepared BEFORE you leave.
The trip is approximately 15k and will take 2.5-4 hours.
The Walk Back:
As stated, here is the walk back to the car. Not a big deal at all.
Cost: $0.
Difficulty: This is a fairly calm area, there are a few small rapids. However, please be careful and use the right gear when paddling.
Another account from a fellow blogger, click here.
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I’ve done the Oxbow a few times. The back can be boring. Although….,.we saw 3 rogue Muscovy ducks chilling once and a few mins later a huge Muscovy swam towards me in my kayak. He tried to steal my phone. Lol. Bring lots to drink and your lunch. 😀
Pretty cool.