If you’re ever on Stony Lake in the Kawarthas, Ontario, you must kayak or canoe up Eel’s Creek. This is our little backyard secret: it’s not really a creek, more a stunning river that winds its way up to High Falls. You can also put in at Haultain on Highway 28 and run the creek down, portaging the falls, but my annual foursome of friends prefer to paddle up.
Total trip time: 4 hours Distance: 8 km Level: Intermediate
You need to portage the 1st, 2nd and 4th set of rapids, and then it’s a quick kayak up to the falls. There, you can hike to the ‘chute,’ which is a voluminous tributary of the falls. At the beginning of the season, some crazy camper or kayaker strings a rope across the chute. You can shimmy out on the rocks and jump into the falls, hanging onto the rope. Make sure you wear your lifejacket! It is a thunderous, pummelling, fantastic massage on your body.
Have a picnic, and then turn back and shoot all the short rapids down, with the exception of the 2nd last one. I foolishly tried the 2nd one year with a short kayak and my bike helmet: I cut my thumb open badly and could have really hurt myself.
Enjoy!
TREDSUP 