How to camp, cook and canoe along the Rideau

We’d never tackled such a long canoe trip before – 202 kilometres in 11 days.

Before we set out on our Rideau Canal paddling adventure, our longest trip had been a week – and that was 30 years ago. But we’d done a multitude of shorter trips, including some whitewater experience, that helped us plan how to camp, cook and canoe the heritage route.

In the end, we pretty much stuck to our game plan. And in this era of Covid and constantly changing plans, that was indeed a welcome accomplishment.

Here are all the logistical questions we asked ourselves, and that others asked us, plus the answers we found.

What’s the overall plan?

Our good friends Kathleen and Arthur drove us to the south end of the historic Rideau Canal, in Kingston, Ontario. After we treated them to lunch, they left us and our pile of gear at a dock on the Cataraqui River.

“If you need to be picked up anywhere along the way, I’ll come get you,” Arthur said quietly, just before we stepped into our green Kevlar canoe and set off. I was comforted to know we had that backup, but fortunately, we didn’t need it.

We planned to paddle north, camping at lockstations along the way, and finish in downtown Ottawa 11 days later.

What planning resources are useful?

Ken Watson is my new hero! I stumbled upon his website and discovered El Dorado. He offers a wealth of information that’s all free. If you want to canoe the Rideau Canal, or even explore by power boat, you must download Watson’s Paddling Guide to the Rideau Canal.

I also read the Parks Canada website, which offers a nice historical summary, planning information, and details about camping at lockstations. (FYI three lockstations allow camping when you arrive by car: Kilmarnock, Upper Beveridges and Newboro.) However, Watson has the most comprehensive help.

When planning our food, I relied on many of our favourite canoe-camping meals but I also researched more for variety. I found the Clever Hiker website helpful. 

How far can we paddle each day?

I did some easy math. Knowing our experience and after reading Ken Watson’s guide, I figured we could paddle about 20 kilometres a day. At an average speed of 4 kilometres per hour, we’d be paddling 5 hours a day, which seemed reasonable. Since the canal is 202 kilometres long, that meant a 10-day trip.

Looking at the map and a chart that shows the distances between lockstations (where we’d be camping each night), I plotted our route, keeping each day as close as possible to 20 kilometres. I went over the plan several times, fine-tuning here and there. Our first day, from Kingston to Lower Brewers, was going to be 22.6 kilometres, which I thought was too long, especially when we had to drive from Ottawa to Kingston to start. Better to start with a short, successful day. So, our first day was just 6.9 kilometres to Kingston Mills lockstation. That meant 11 days total.

As it turned out, we seemed to paddle about 5 kilometres per hour, so we arrived at our destination early each day.

How do we know where we’re going?

“Do you have the maps you need?” asked the lockmaster at Kingston Mills – the first lockstation on our 11-day journey.

“I have Ken Watson’s maps,” I replied, to his nodding approval.

“He’s the best authority on the Rideau Canal,” he said.

Watson’s maps of each section are detailed enough for paddlers to use. (Power boaters need navigation charts with depths.) I printed the 18 maps (doublesided on 8.5×11 paper), put them into a large Ziploc bag and used a bull-dog clip to attach them to the bow rope in case the wind caught them. I kept the maps on the canoe floor in front of me and referred to them constantly.

The only times I didn’t know our precise location were when reeds and marshy areas disguised the shoreline and landmarks. Watson’s maps include buoy and channel marker numbers, so when you pass specific buoys and markers along the navigation channel, you know exactly where you are. 

Where will we stay?

Parks Canada allows paddlers to pitch a tent at most of the 25 lockstations, plus at Colonel By Island in Big Rideau Lake. Cost is $5 per person per night. You get a spot on the lawn, a picnic table and access to the washrooms with flush toilets, sinks, electrical outlets and potable water (boil-water advisory at Colonel By Island). Three lockstations have showers (Upper Brewers, Upper Beveridges and Upper Nicholsons) so I made sure we hit those places. The Parks Canada staff give you a key or code for the washroom in populated areas, otherwise it’s left unlocked at night.

The biggest planning challenge is The Long Reach – a 40-kilometre stretch from Burritt’s Rapids to Long Island with no lockstations in between. We opted to break up that long stretch at Long Island Marina, a private marina near Kars that allows camping for $15 per tent per night. Washrooms and showers are rustic, but usable, and there’s power, potable water and picnic tables. That meant our longest day was 27 kilometres.

Some people may love the idea of canoeing the Rideau but not want to camp. The lockstations with showers also have oTENTiks – a cross between a tent and cabin – with real beds and chairs. And, looking at the map, there are enough towns and villages along the way that you could probably find bed-and-breakfasts, small inns or hotels at reasonable intervals to make the trip doable.

What and where will we eat?

We have a food dehydrator so we opted for meals that are easy to dehydrate ahead of time, then rehydrate at the campsite: vegetable chili and rice, shepherd’s pie, quesadillas, mac ‘n’ cheese, Thanksgiving Dinner, bean dip.

We also dehydrated fruit (strawberries, bananas, apples, blueberries) for snacks and to liven up breakfast oatmeal. Lunches consisted of hard cheeses, dry salami, beef jerky, tuna in foil packs, smoked salmon, and bagels or tortillas.   

Ziploc bags are your friends. Many Ziplocs died to make our trip a success.

Carrying enough food for 11 days is heavy, even when it’s dehydrated. So, I divided the pile roughly in half and enlisted my nephew James for a resupply mission. He met us on Day 6 at Lower Beveridges Lockstation and handed off more food.

We had planned to have a fancy lunch at The Opinicon inn at Chaffey’s Locks but, sadly, we got there on a Wednesday and it was open only Thursday to Sunday. My favourite lunch was at Rideau Ferry – a Kawartha Dairy pralines-and-cream cone plus a huge homemade butter tart. Delicious, not nutritious.

Towns and villages where stores or restaurants are close to the canal, and have docks where you can tie up, include Seeley’s Bay, Chaffey’s Locks, Newboro, Rideau Ferry, Smiths Falls, Merrickville, and Ottawa.

How will we stay in touch?

Ken Watson said there are spots along the route with no cell coverage, but we didn’t try to find any while paddling. Every lockstation had decent coverage. Lockstation washrooms have outlets for recharging, but you must keep an eye on your devices.

Our challenge was our charging cord. At first, I thought the outlets weren’t working, but then we realized it was the cord. James brought us another cord with our food resupply, but it didn’t fit. When we got to Smiths Falls, Bill went off in search of a new cord. It worked, but then our phone was giving us weird messages. All this meant that we used our phone sparingly. Fortunately, I had also taken our small point-and-shoot camera, so we didn’t have to rely on our phone’s dwindling power for photos.

The only photos and video I took while paddling were in calm water. You’d need a GoPro for rain, during rough patches past power boaters, or while actively paddling. I didn’t trust myself not to drop the camera in those instances. I took photos and then quickly returned the camera to its nest in a dry bag secured to the canoe seat. 

I made journal entries on a Rite in the Rain notepad – the paper is waterproof.

How do we get past the locks?

We had two choices: portage or lock through, which means going into the locks with the big power boats.

Just about all the locks have paddling docks on both ends of the portage route – low docks where it’s easy to pull your canoe out of the water. Ken Watson’s guide has maps showing the portages. I wish I had printed those maps to have handy, since it’s not always obvious, as you’re approaching a lock, where the paddling dock or portage is.

At Jones Falls Lockstation, a staff member offered us a set of wheels to use under the canoe, since the portage is long and very steep. We accepted gratefully.

Locking through turned out to be much easier than I thought. You pull up to the blue line (wharf edged in blue paint), which lets staff know you want to lock through. Then, they’ll tell you everything to do – when to go into the lock, where to hang on to the cables, and when to leave (usually after the big power boats).

You can portage all the locks except at Smiths Falls, where the busy roads make it unsafe. You can lock through the four locks there for free. Otherwise, you pay by the foot of boat (although we discovered that lockmasters have discretion to let paddlers lock through for free). 

What if it rains?

Over an 11-day trip, it’s bound to rain. We had several downpours in the late afternoon when our tent was already set up or at night, so that was no problem.

But on Day 10, it poured all day long. Since there wasn’t any wind or lightning, we decided to paddle anyhow. Our rain jackets, life jackets and hats kept our torsos and heads dry and warm. But I decided not to bother with my rain pants, since they were awkward to put on in the canoe. Big mistake! They work much better when you wear them; my lower half got completely soaked.

Bailing buckets – required by law in a canoe – aren’t just for when your canoe tips; they’re useful on rainy days too. We use a white plastic milk jug; the pouring end fits perfectly into the groove at the bottom of our canoe, making it easy to scoop out the accumulated rain. I also sopped up water with a cotton dishcloth (handknit by my friend Helen).

What are the challenges?

Weather can be an issue. Thunderstorms require you to get off the water immediately while high winds and waves can swamp a canoe. The big lakes – especially Newboro, Big Rideau, Upper Rideau and Lower Rideau – are prone to waves and whitecaps. Newboro was wavy when we crossed; we had to paddle on a 45-degree angle across the waves. But the other big lakes were like glass. Apart from our one rainy day, we lucked out with the weather. It was hot and sunny for 10 of our 11 days.

The biggest challenge was definitely the power boaters. I’d say 90 percent of them do not understand the concept of “No Wake” even though signs are posted in all the narrow channels. Permit me to rant a bit. They zoom by with nary a glance at poor paddlers and you’re left to negotiate their huge wakes. Completely obnoxious and annoying. (I compare them to Canada geese, which leave their gooey green excrement all over docks and grass, forcing you to tiptoe through their mess.)

However, as long as you turn your canoe to point directly into the wake, you’re fine. The real challenge comes when several power boats pass each other, with wakes going on different angles, and then a Jet-Skier decides to do donuts in the middle. That happened. You’re left with a tartan plaid of wakes coming at you. We survived without tipping, but I still resent their thoughtlessness.

How did you learn all that history?

We appreciate what we’re paddling past more when we know the canal history, so I read as much as I could before we started. There’s no shortage of opportunities to learn more while you’re on the trip, with info panels at every lockstation. Chaffeys Lock had a small museum and it was open! Others – including the blockhouse museum in Merrickville – were closed during Covid.

The Depot – a visitor centre and gift shop run by Friends of the Rideau in Merrickville – sold Ken Watson’s books and I bought two, to support his worthy work: Tales of the Rideau and A History of the Rideau Lockstations.

Some interesting historical notes from Watson:

• Malaria caused the most deaths during canal construction. 
• The calm Ottawa water we now know as Dow’s Lake began as “Dow’s Great Swamp” filled with cedar trees. A man named Mactaggart proposed to lop them off leaving high stumps to support a wooden aqueduct to carry boats across the swamp. Lt.-Colonel John By kiboshed that plan when he decided to go with the slackwater system; the swamp was flooded and became Dow’s Lake.
• The Hog’s Back dam collapsed twice during construction, due to spring flooding and the inexperience of British engineers who didn’t know how the extreme cold of Canadian winters could affect structures.
• “If you press your ear to the stone of the lock, you can still hear, very faintly, the sound of chisels on stone and the creaking of the ropes and pulleys that lowered these massive blocks into place,” wrote Watson.

When you think about it, it’s astonishing that two wooden sticks – aka paddles – propelled us from a dock on the Cataraqui River in Kingston all the way to Ottawa.

You don’t need superior canoeing skills to successfully paddle the Rideau Canal. If you’re not into canoeing and camping, it’s also easily explored by bike or car. Plan a trip! You’ll love it.

Read Part 1 of our trip. Loons, lilies and locks: We canoed the Rideau Canal!

We canoed the Rideau Canal from July 18 to 28, 2021. Find out where we are right now by visiting our ‘Where’s Kathryn?’ page.