How to go paddling with a baby
Paddling down the Humber River, I’m looking at the familiar sight of my wife’s back in the bow. But another voice babbles away in front of her, and out of my view. I crane my neck to the starboard side and catch a glimpse of my daughter as she looks down at the water gliding […]
Paddling Toronto’s flooded Rouge River in the spring
The Rouge River is one of our favourite spring paddling routes: it’s easy to access and typically stays flat even at high water levels. When we arrived at Rouge Hill Park in June 2019, however, we discovered that it was completely flooded! The high water level on Lake Ontario caused a lot of havoc that year, […]
Human-caused forest fire on OSA Lake in Killarney Provincial Park
When you’re backcountry camping on one of the hardest-to-book and most beautiful lakes in one of the hardest-to-book and most beautiful provincial parks in Ontario, you hardly expect to stumble upon a forest fire on Canada Day weekend. We spent two nights on Lake Killarney, including a hike up to The Crack, before making the […]
How to go backcountry camping during the pandemic
When the province of Ontario allowed backcountry camping starting June 1st, we only had a few days to plan our first trip, already booked for June 4th to the Massasauga Provincial Park. After months of not seeing people, we wanted to invite some friends, so we devised a few ways to eliminate infection while camping […]
Before you canoe or kayak to the Toronto Islands, read this
The urban paddling route we get asked about the most is from the city to the Toronto Islands, and those requests have only increased recently. Now that the warm weather is upon us, Torontonians are looking for safe activities they can do outdoors while getting some physical distancing space from their fellow city dwellers. While […]
Ontario Parks should reopen backcountry access to help fight the ‘echo pandemic’
Open letter to Jeff Yurek, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London and Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks As Ontario begins to consider its careful and considered reopening after the pandemic period, it would be prudent and wise to return the province’s treasured outdoor spaces to its residents. Parks Canada announced on April 15 that it will […]
2020 Paddling Film Festival World Premiere Roundup
One of our favourite “hard water season” traditions has become attending the premiere of Rapid Media’s Paddling Film Festival. Hosted by The Complete Paddler at The Royal Cinema in the heart of Little Italy in Toronto, the film festival often feels like the unofficial kick-off to trip planning season. It gives us permission to look […]
Paddling the River Liffey with City Kayak Dublin
On a December day, we lowered ourselves into the River Liffey, right next to the historic Jeannie Johnston tall ship – the only emigration vessel used during the famine said to have never lost the life of a passenger. In a similar vein, our guide Lee assured us that he’d never seen anyone tip in […]
Urban Paddling: Paddle The Don
Every year, Paddle The Don feels like the unofficial kick-off to summer. It’s always the first weekend in May – close to Cassandra’s birthday – and we often get lucky with warm, sunny weather. Paddle The Don is a once-a-year opportunity to paddle the section of Toronto’s Don River between Eglinton and Bayview Avenues. The […]
Urban Paddling: Canoeing the Humber River in Toronto
When spring appears in Toronto in early April, it can be tempting for the backcountry enthusiast to continue hibernating until the season finally changes up north – much, much later. However, spring is actually the best time to paddle the Greater Toronto Area’s creeks and rivers because these waterways are often too shallow to paddle later […]