Little French River to the Pickerel River

[CanoeDaddy]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Canoe- Tripping Warriors.

I finished this 6-day report a couple of days ago about our August outing in the French River area of Ontario. What the trip lacked in genuine wilderness, it certainly made up for in Beauty and History. It's lengthy but might serve a purpose while digesting Christmas treats.

Canoe Daddy - Little French to the Pickerel River

Total Distance: 100 km Duration: 6 days Number of Portages: 8 (Less if running or lining rapids) Total Portage Distance: 965 meters Level of Difficulty: Novice (though some knowledge of running rapids would be beneficial) This route is on the traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ

www.canoedaddy.com

Here's to a wonderful (and saner?) 2026!

 

[memaquay]

Excellent report, as always! As a side note, I took some whitewater training in the area of Five Mile rapids around 25 years ago. The recent campsite booking procedure must have dramatically cut down on the population of canoeists on the river. We were there for five days during the long weekend in August, and I saw more people on the river than lived in my small town. Also, along every bank, there were these mysterious white and brown flowers blooming in clumps every six or seven inches. Upon closer inspection, they revealed themselves to be human turds ensconced in toilet paper blossoms. Being used to only canoeing in Northern Ontario, where human sitings were extremely rare, and fecal encounters pretty much non-existent, my opinion of the French River became one of disgust. The thought of drinking water, even filtered and boiled, was a gut churning prospect.

Seems like your trip was feces flower free and relatively unencumbered by the masses of humanity that I encountered.