Paddling trip: Madawaska/Norcan
Fall Colours: Madawaska River & Norcan Lake
Sunday, 28 September, 2025
Leader: John Grierson
The Paddle: On the Madawaska River, beginning on the north shore, we’ll be paddling southwesterly about 250m to the south shore, then westerly along the river with few cottages. There is one inlet which ends in a small wetland that we will explore. There is a ‘barrier’ island keeping the channel under 100m wide for interesting observations. Depending on winds and our speed, we may have a chance to paddle past the Paradise Point – Formicidae Sanctuary, a potential lunch site. Ok, I had to look Formicidae up! Who would have thought that there would be a sanctuary for ANTS, in the middle of the Canadian wilderness? There is another wetland nearby as well. If the weather is calm, we may get to Norcan Lake. It is about 8km long, so we may only see a small portion of it. Norcan was created by the Barrett Chute hydro station. It began with the growing demand for electricity leading up to World War II, with its first two units going into service in 1942 to support the war effort. Two more units were added in 1968 to meet postwar economic growth. After decades of operation, in 2023 the station concluded a comprehensive four-unit, four-year refurbishment completing partial overhauls to ensure it continues to supply clean energy for Ontario’s future needs. We may get a view of Mountain Chute dam and generating station further upstream. There is a public launch site nearby that we may use as our lunch stop. (6km from the put-in). We will then retrace our paddle back to the put-in.
If the winds are excessive on the river, we will do a tour of the shoreline of Wabun Lake. It is fairly small, about 1 km x 400 m, but with 3 bays adding up to 5 km in total to explore, the day will not be lost.
The Launch: The launch and parking are located at a boat launch on Crown Land at 45.220086, -76.837893. There are no services at the launch.
Directions: From the Esso on CR29 and Wolf Grove Road in Almonte, take CR16 (Wolf Grove Road) SW to Union Hall. Turn right onto Tatlock Road CR9, go through the village of Clayton, stay on CR9 and continue to the Tee junction with CR511. Turn right on CR511 and continue to the village of Calabogie.
From Perth, take CR511 through Lanark and Hopetown to Calabogie
There are two options:
For a slightly shorter drive, shortly after you cross the bridge over the Madawaska (with a view of the spillway to your left), turn left onto Madawaska Street to follow the shoreline and follow it to a forced right turn onto Francis St. which takes you to a left turn onto CR508 heading SW
or
If you need gas, coffee, restroom, stay on CR511 to the intersection with CR508 where you will find the Bogie General Store on the left as CR511 intersects CR508. After your stop, turn left onto CR508 heading SW.
From Arnprior, take CR508 to CR511 in Calabogie and proceed as follows.
On the left at 5179 Calabogie Rd (CR 508) 45.293741 -76.741150, you will find Barnet Park, (white and blue boat launch sign). There is a two door public washroom with brown siding visible from the road. It is expected to be open for the paddle but there are no guarantees at this time of year.
From Barnet Park, drive 13.4 km to a straight ahead onto Hydro Dam Road. 45.234706 -76.871068 CR508 goes right at this point. Hydro Dam Rd. is straight ahead, and has rougher pavement. There is a Canada Post community mailbox on the left.
At 1.3 km turn left onto a gravel road signed as Wabun Lake Rd. 45.224061 -76.866762 with a “Forest Access Road – Use At Your Own Risk”. As this is a narrow road please use caution. After 2.7 km, turn right on Wabun Lake Road 45.222607 -76.839180, (leaving the access to Wabun Lake straight ahead). After 300 m, 45.220086, -76.837893 there is an opening for parking. 75 m ahead is the put-in. Depending on your vehicle’s ground clearance, you can choose to go close to the water. Vehicles with less ground clearance can park sooner and avoid the rough areas.
Optional Afters: If the weather is nice, Barnett Park 45.293741 -76.741150 has a gazebo, toilet and nice shoreline. If the weather is inclement, then the Redneck Bistro 45.299626, -76.722127 in Calabogie at 12609 Highway 511 near the intersection of 511 and Madawaska St. is a fine place for a bite (and beer for non-drivers). We’ll vote after the paddle on the venue.
Time: Scheduled departure from the launch is 10am. Allow sufficient time to unload and park up the road. The drive from the Almonte CR29 Esso using the suggested route is 76.2 km and will take approximately 1 hr 3 min. according to Google. I would allow 1hr 15 min.
Bring: lunch, bug juice, binoculars, sunscreen, etc. Ensure you are equipped with life jacket, bailing bucket, whistle, heaving line, extra paddle, etc.
Registration: You must pre-register for this event by completing the form found here. Registration is limited. In order to give everyone a chance, priority will be given to members who were not on the latest trip (August 24) until Tuesday morning September 16. Then all registrations will be processed in order.
Your MVFN membership must be up-to-date (check your membership card). You can update and pay for your membership on the MVFN website. You may bring a friend or two, subject to the approval of the trip leader.
In case of severe weather, this event may be rescheduled a day earlier on Saturday 27th September or cancelled. If in doubt, contact Art Solomonian at (613) 794-4548 or the trip leader before 8 A.M.
Contact Information:
Trip leader: John Grierson 613 519 3538. Please note that cell service is marginal, so there is no guarantee of a response.
John’s Email
Our next trip will be in 2026! Thanks for a great season (excepting the Fall Camp).