Toronto Kayaking Plans

These plans were made for a kayaking trip on September 4th, 2016. You are free to use these plans as well.

Back to my homepage.

Things We Need

• Inflatable 2-person Kayak (INTEX Explorer K2)
• Rental Kayaks / Canoes: Toronto Adventures but note the poor reviews of filthy PFDs, canoes/kayaks and expensive hourly pricing
• Transport Canada Approved PFDs* (Eric has 2, JZ/VZ have 2)
• Buoyang Heaving Line* (1 per boat kit - on sale for $14.99 at time of writing)
• Whistle* (1 per boat kit)
• Scoop/Something to bale out water* (1 per boat kit)
• Flashlight if we stay out too late* (1 per boat kit)
• Ziploc Bags for valuables/car keys
• Bugspray and/or Sunscreen
• Water Bottle
• Towel(s)
• Sandals/Water shoes
• Ziploc/Waterproof bags
• Hat
• Snacks

* = required by law, enforced by OPP on waterways

Other Peoples' Trip Reports

• Toronto Star (Archived Link): "we saw at least one Caspian tern [...], a large heron with stunning all-white plumage, a northern map turtle basking on a log, a great blue heron taking off over the reeds, and Don spotted an osprey soaring gracefully overhead, scanning the river for its next meal".
• Water is not clear

Map

Launch Points

• One: From Old Mill Rd, a little further South toward Kings Mill Park is a parking lot (free) which you should be able to recognize since Toronto Adventures is perpetually squatting there.
• Two: (Backup) From the Queensway, North on Stephen Dr., then North on Humber Valley Rd is a public boat launch, often used by people with motorboats who want cheap/free access to Lake Ontario. Free Parking (I think).

Kayaking Route

Down the Humber River to Lake Ontario. Dependent on weather, we might also go through the mouth of the river and into Sunnyside Beach..

See our proposed route map here.

Post-Kayaking Plans

Lunch at either Rocco's Plum Tomato Trattoria (Italian) or Just Greek. Both have free street parking nearby on residential streets.

Post-Trip Notes

There is a shallow portion between the primary boat launch and the public boat access point. Stay along the west bank of the river. It might be best to just launch from the secondary point next time.

Pretty interesting sights and views, calm water, lots of birds to see and lots of parking even when we arrived at 10:15am on a long weekend Sunday. We didn't make it all the way down to the mouth of the river and turned around just above South Humber Park (just out of view of the bridges!).

We went to Rocco's Plum Tomato and they took forever. We were there for 1h 45minutes, totally unacceptable.