I am wondering if anyone has canoed the Grants Creek/Pooh Lake route written about by Kevin Callan in"Weekend Wilderness Adventures in Southern Ontario"? Sounds like the portages are pretty tough! Would love to hear from anyone with info.Thinking about trying it the long weekend in May. Also wondering about fishing.Kevin reported that his party had no luck at catching any fish.

Did it a couple years ago. One of the portages had some blow-downs that you had to get around but that might not be an issue now. A couple of the short portages have steep sections at the start but the footing is decent as long as it's not wet.Nice little route, several nice cascades, little creek feeling. Good Bass fishing but not sure when season opens. Didn't see a single person. I'll have a look back at the map and try and be more specific.


Slipper, did you put in at the park on Hyw 17? There's a couple of steep portages if you start at the hyw 17 and make you way up.

You might want to check out my webpage:

http://www.mcelroy.ca/bushlog/20040519.shtml

Thank you both (Gail and Slipper) for the info.I was looking for different paddling routes to do this year. I first read about this route in an aticle in" 2005 Canoe Roots" magazine, called "Been There,Haven't Done That". Then I did a search and came across Slipper's webpage. The pictures were great.By the way,I love your site!! But after buying Kevin Callan's book and reading his report on the route I began to wonder if it was worth the effort.Will probably still do it it May.Can't fish Bass as season opens in June.

Esther

Thank you for your kind comments about my website..

Here are some further comments for your consideration that you may or may not be aware of. Please take these as comments, not recommendations.

Twenty years ago, the Algonquin Park Map showed canoe routes down Bissett Creek, Grants Creek, and Mackey Creek. The Bissett Creek Route started at Big Bissett Lake, while the Grants Creek Route started at North Rouge Lake. Mackey Creek was accessible from Grants Creek via portages through Mary’s Lake and Eeyore Lake. In principle then, it would be possible to work your way up Grants Creek, starting at Hwy 17, to the vicinity of Pooh Lake and then to descend Mackey Creek (or vice versa). Whether this was ever a practical route or not, I have no idea.

I don’t know when these routes were abandoned, but it was at least 10 years ago and I don’t think there has been any maintenance on these routes in the interim. Last year, we had problems finding portages, but we eventually did find them. It’s just that it was slow going at times.

If you could locate a park map from the ‘80s, I’m sure you would find it very useful in indicating where the portages used to be..

Lower Grants Creek is still regularly used, or at least regularly enough to keep the portages open -- but not marked; you still have to find them. Lower Grants Creek is a very pleasant paddle. Two very scenic waterfalls within a few km of Hwy 17. These two waterfalls are separated by a little jewel of a lake – Logslide Lake – a bowl in granite. The portages around the two waterfalls are quite steep and rough. Not really a problem, but enough to give me pause when I’m traveling solo.

A little farther upstream (and a 600m portage) is Grants Creek Marsh. If you have a naturalist bent and appreciate marshes, you’ll be impressed. Lots of interesting birds here.

For info on lower Grants Creek see:
http://www.valleyexplore.com/canoe/grantscreek.htm

I have no experience with the section of Grants Creek upstream of the marsh and downstream of the bridge just east of Kanga Lake.

Much of this area ia accessible by ATV, but I don’t think that that’s a big issue. (Except perhaps for vehicle security. Several years ago, I ran into a problem off the Bissett Creek Road.)

Regards
Slipper

Aka Bob McElroy