| The Grand River in Southern Ontario is a trip with | | | | hopes and found dreams. There are old gypsum |
| minutes of driving... yet hours of paddling. Canoeists are | | | | mines... the Grand River Navigation Company... |
| stunned at discovering such a wilderness so nearby. | | | | abandoned railway lines... grist mills and dams. |
| You can explore this river for a week or a day... it all | | | | What is also unique about tripping on the Grand is that |
| depends on the time window. | | | | you don't need the 40 kg food pack... you can replenish |
| As you paddle the Grand River, towering pines and | | | | food & water at villages along the way. There |
| majestic Carolinian hardwoods rule the shore. Lush | | | | are some campsites... but in other places you spend a |
| groves of willow, cottonwood and sycamores braid | | | | "print-less" night along the shores. If you bring your |
| the river with islands. The Grand River drops over a | | | | canoe or kayak... the "Grand River Rafting Company" |
| thousand feet between its source and Brantford. It is a | | | | does shuttle services. This is the perfect river with |
| flow of swifts and pools... and portages are minimum. | | | | something for everyone, beginner or experienced. |
| The natural flooding levels of the Grand have | | | | An excellent "day paddle" is the run from Glen Morris |
| preserved its pristine conditions. Below Brantford, the | | | | to the Brant Park Conservation Area... with one |
| last 70 miles of the river becomes a wandering | | | | portage and a 6 hour paddle. For those that would like |
| Mississippi with a 50 ft. elevation drop. The Grand is like | | | | to canoe but prefer a softer approach... the Grand |
| two rivers in one... quick on the top, slow on the bottom. | | | | River offers hotels and B&BS along the way. In |
| In the year 2000, the Grand River won a national | | | | fact the River Ridge Bed & Breakfast in Paris, |
| award for the best managed river in the world... those | | | | Ontario has a package where you can paddle the |
| are bragging rights worth exploring. The clarity of the | | | | Grand... pull your canoe up and walk to the B&B |
| water invites you to swim and there are cascading | | | | for the night... and then paddle on down the next day. |
| springs to drink. It is hard to believe this is southern | | | | Come ride on the "spirit back" of the Mighty Grand |
| Ontario. | | | | River. |
| With the restored waters, have come rainbow & | | | | See what won the respect of the ancient Iroquois. |
| brown trout, smallmouth bass, pickerel, pike... over 80 | | | | Watch with each stroke as the canvas of the |
| species of fish. And hovering above is the bald eagle, | | | | Carolinian forest opens and closes before you. |
| osprey and stalking blue herons. There are no moose... | | | | There is a "Timelessness" here... |
| but there are deer, beaver, coyotes, mink, turkeys and | | | | A great journey ever flowing... but never going home. |
| otter. The Carolinian forest along this river has more | | | | Who knows what we discover on these trips... |
| specimens of plants and wildlife then anywhere else in | | | | It is like finding something lost... that was never had. |
| Canada. A "nature smorgasbord" sitting unnoticed right | | | | But when done... |
| at our very back door. | | | | When the paddle is laid down... |
| The area is steeped in history... the Attawandarons... | | | | When the shore is touched... |
| the Hurons... the Ojibwa... and the Iroquois have all | | | | You are different... |
| passed through these waters. The Europeans almost | | | | Even if it is only for the moment of being there. |
| destroyed the valley with their conquest... but with them | | | | If you're interested in the Grand River Valley... this is the |
| came a different history. Paddle through a place of lost | | | | invitation to experience! |