The “Upper” Tay River- A 10.6K Paddle near Perth, ON

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I have never been on a river that was as clean and clear as the Tay River. We paddled this route on a hot, sunny day in July and had a great time. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and a ton of fun to be able to see everything going on under the water as we paddled.

The Tay River is comprised of three sections. The “upper” Tay River starts at Bob’s Lake in Bolingbroke. Then, the “middle” section starts after Christie Lake, and the “lower” section runs from Perth to the Beveridges lockstation, near Lower Rideau Lake.

We had decided to make a weekend out of our trip to Perth. It’s close enough to Ottawa for a day trip, but also far enough away that you can spend the weekend and feel like you’re on a mini-vacation. There are camping options right along the Tay River, which we took full advantage of, deciding to stay at the Tay River Tent and Trailer Park. Ending our route by pulling a kayak right up next to our tent was just too good to pass up!

The upper section of the Tay River makes a great adventure for anyone who enjoys paddling on calm, smooth water, or anyone who enjoys fishing. We saw some HUGE fish swimming past us as we paddled, so it’s not surprising that it’s a popular fishing spot.

Getting There

I had heard that there was an access point for the upper section of the Tay River near Bolingbroke Road, but when we went to check it out we weren’t able to find an easy way to get down to the river. The bridge on Bolingbroke Road was at least fifteen feet above the river, with very steep banks. The river in this section was also quite low and rocky, so we decided we were going to put in at Hanna Road instead (it’s only about 500 metres further down the river).

We left our camp site after a leisurely breakfast, and headed to the public launch off of Hanna Road. You can use these coordinates to get there: 44.777900, -76.489595. The launch has a gravel trail that allows vehicles to back up right to the water, and by the time we got there (around 9 a.m.) there were already a few vehicles and trailers parked. The shoulders at the side of the road were wide enough to allow for parking, so we parked and carried our kayaks the 25 feet to the river from the road.

We had to wait out a snapping turtle for a little bit- there was no way my toes were getting anywhere near that guy. Luckily, he got bored quickly, so soon enough we were into the water.

The Route

We headed northeast, which was to our right, because we wanted to paddle in the direction of Christie Lake. I could not get over how smooth, calm, and clear the Tay River was in this section. It was truly beautiful.

We entered Christie Lake after paddling for only 3 kilometres. Paddling into Christie Lake is really cool because you quickly start to see little islands popping up here and there.

We checked out a few of the islands in the middle of the lake before paddling towards the southern shoreline. The wind really started to pick up as we got further into Christie Lake. This caused the waves to break over top of our boats, so we were getting pretty wet.

We decided to pull up next to an island just across from where the shoreline started to become a bay, after paddling for a total of 5.8 kilometres. The water was much calmer beside the island, so we took the opportunity to put our skirts on. We probably should have done that before leaving the river, but things had been looking calm at that point. We also tried to put them on for a bit out in the open (see squiggles on map at the end of this report), but that was proving to be too much work. Besides, this allowed us the opportunity to check out more of the islands.

Crown Land Camping

There are twenty-eight islands on Christie Lake in total. Fourteen of the islands are privately owned: Cabin, Round, Rock, Indian, Petite, Long, Watch, Belle, Ogilvie’s, Farrens, Ruby, Blueberry, Alan’s Greers and Hicks. I think it would be very cool to own your own island.

If, like me, you do not own your own island, there are some on Christie Lake that are Crown land, and can be camped on. The Christie Lake Association has confirmed for me that Pickerel, Snake, Hart, and Big Island are all Crown land. The association believes that all other islands on the lake not already mentioned are also Crown land, although this has not been confirmed definitively. These islands are unnamed.

This document has a really good map of the islands, and their names, on Christie Lake. Skip to page 94. Trust me.

Almost There

The wind kept up for the entire time that we were out on Christie Lake. This made for some tough paddling! By the time we reached the opposite end of the lake, we were feeling pretty tired. Nearing this shoreline, we headed to our left. To the right is a section of shoreline with cottages and a sandy little beach, but in order to access the Tay River again, we needed to stay north of the two little bays on this side of Christie Lake.

When approaching these bays, our eyes played tricks on us- there was an island that we thought was shoreline until we got closer. We came across this island after paddling for 8 kilometres, and hung out for a bit because there was an eagle’s nest on top of one of the trees. While we were there, we got to see a baby eagle (I think!) practicing his flying skills.

Keeping to the left of this island, we re-entered the Tay River at the 10K mark. The wind and water calmed down as we entered the bay leading to the river. The river itself was also very calm. This is likely typical, as the wind is blocked more by the trees here.

Shortly after getting back onto the river, there was a low bridge that we had to navigate. We chose to pull our kayaks out of the water at the boat launch on the south shore, and carried them about 25 feet before sliding back into the water. I’m fairly confident that on a year when we have less rain, paddlers could pass under this bridge with no problem at all.

Getting Home

Our campsite was a short .7 kilometres from the mouth of the Tay River, after leaving Christie Lake. These are the coordinates of where we ended our route: 44.820624, -76.402857.

Altogether, we paddled 10.6 kilometres. Even with the bridge detour, we were back “home” in no time. It took us three and a half hours to paddle from the launch at Hanna road, across Christie Lake, and back to the Tay River Tent and Trailer Park. This left us lots of time to head into Perth and enjoy the rest of the day strolling through their parks and shops, and deciding where to have dinner. For a small town, Perth really has a lot to offer.

I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!

Map

Gear We Brought

• Kayaks
• Life jackets
• Bailing buckets (with rope and whistle)
• Kayak skirts
• 2 x 1 litre water bottles
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Waterproof camera
• Cell phones
• Waterproof phone cases
• 35 litre dry bag
• Clothes we wore to the launch
• Canvas shoes