Madawaska and Opeongo Rivers
Ontario
Madawaska is a very well known river in Ontario, and probably the most used whitewater river for open canoes. It is also used as a whitewater training ground for canoes. The Madawaska River is broken up into many large lakes, specifically Bark Lake and Kamaniskeg Lake. These two lakes divide the river into the Upper, Middle and Lower Madawaska Rivers. These three sections are controlled by dams which can affect the flow. The characters of rapids and their level of difficulty is often determined by the closing or opening of upper or lower dams in combination with rain. The Upper Madawaska is a 27 km tough whitewater river, running almost due east from Whitney to just short of the village of Madawaska. This section is a spring run only and can generally be travelled in one day. The Middle Madawaska is a 5 km whitewater stretch surrounded by heavily wooded hills and excellent rapids. The Lower Madawaska is a 40 km three day paddle from Palmer Rapids to the village of Griffith. This section is divided into channels by various islands surrounded by rapids.
The Opeongo River is a small river stretching 30 km from Shall Lake just inside Algonquin out to the river's confluence with the Madawaska. The Opeongo offers good whitewater paddling in the spring and can usually be paddled by sundown.
