Toronto’s Backyard Canoeing on Your Front Door

A Grand River canoe trip offers a nearby Canadian wilderness experience. The towering pines and hardwoods of the Carolinian forest rule the shore. Lush groves of willow, cottonwood and sycamore braid the river with islands. The Grand River drops over a thousand feet between its source and Brantford. It is a flow of swifts and pools, and portages are minimal.

The natural flooding levels of the Grand have preserved its pristine conditions. Below Brantford, the last 70 miles of water becomes a wandering Mississippi with an elevation drop of around 50 feet. The Grand is truly like two rivers in one.

In the year 2000, the Grand River won a national award for the best managed river in the world; that is a bragging right worth exploring.

The clarity of the water invites you to swim, and there are cascading springs to drink. It is hard to believe you are in southern Ontario. With the restored waters have come rainbow and brown trout, smallmouth bass, pickerel, pike and over 80 species of fish. And hovering above are eagles, osprey and the ever-stalking blue heron.

There are no moose, but there are deer, beaver, coyotes, mink, turkeys and otters. The Carolinian forest along this river has more specimens of plant and wildlife then anywhere else in Canada, yet it is sitting practically unnoticed right by the nation’s largest city.

The area is steeped in history: the Attawandarons, Huron, Ojibwa and Iroquois have all passed through. The Europeans almost destroyed the valley with their conquest, but with them came a different history too. Paddle through a place of lost hopes and found dreams. … discover old gypsum mines, the Grand River Navigation Company, abandoned railway lines, grist mills and dams.

What is also unique about tripping on the Grand is that you don’t need the typical 40 kg food packs used on other trips because you can replenish food and water at villages along the way. There are some campsites, but in other places you spend a "print-less" night along the shores.

If you bring your canoe or kayak, local shuttle services are available with the Grand River Rafting Company. They can also direct you to reliable canoe & kayak rental services, river guides and family rafting trips.

On the Grand River there are canoe trips that go from 2-3 hours to 7 days. An excellent day paddle is the run from Glen Morris to the Brant Park Conservation Area. It has one portage with its six-hour paddle. There are also camping sites along the Grand and for those preferring a softer approach, there are hotels and B&BS along the way. . In fact the River Ridge Bed & Breakfast in Paris, Ontario has a package where you can paddle the Grand… pull your canoe up and walk to the B&B… and then continue on down the next day.

Whether it be a day trip... a weekend getaway or a one week trip... this is the perfect river with something for everyone, be they beginner or experienced paddlers. This is your invitation to attend:

Come ride on the "spirit back" of the Mighty Grand River.
See what won the respect of the ancient Iroquois.
Watch with each stroke as the canvas of the great Carolinian forest opens and closes before you.
There is a "timelessness" here...
A great journey ever flowing... but never going home.
Who knows what we discover on these trips...
It is like finding something lost... that was never had.
But when done...
When the paddle is laid down...
When the shore is touched...
You are different...
Even if it is only for the moment of being there.