Great Loop: Dinghy Exploring The Fur Trappers Route - Bad River Anchorage

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 The Moon is setting over Devils Door and the Bad River Anchorage

Canoeists follow the Fur Trappers Route


We spent two days at the mouth of the French River.  Waterways in this area were strung together by early trappers to create a path to market.  On nautical charts you can still find Voyageur Channel.  We set out to explore the portion of this area accessible by dinghy.  As we travelled we found canoeists travelling this ancient route.  One that was known to the First Nation Indians and shared with the early French traders.


As we were exploring the Voyageur's Channel, we saw two canoes negotiate the final rapids on the French River.



A group of Canoeists made camp on the rocks above the channel.



The next morning we saw them pass through the Devils Door and into the Bad River Anchorage


Exploring by Dinghy



From the anchorage could see Devils Door, the entrance to the Voyageurs Channel.  At high water it is quite treacherous


We were lucky the flow was low.  With our small  outboard motors we just barely had sufficient power to overcome the current.


Jen and Elliot were happy they made it through Devils Door



We travelled as far as we could.  Rapids prevented us from continuing further upstream.



So we stopped for pictures





Elliot used his swimming pool style lounge chair as an impromptu vessel for rapids running!

Ollie, the wonder dog, used the time to recover rocks from the water.



The floating lounge chair actually worked well for running the rapids.



The French River had cut many channels which provided a plethora of paths for exploration.



The next morning we got a photo of the moon setting over the landscape 



The anchorage was calm as it greeted the new day



Pivot is illuminated by the dawn light



Georgian Bay was an excellent host.  She provided many lovely and memorable moments of beauty and tranquility.  It was easy to see why the Canadians are so proud of this area.  As their summers are short. Visits must occur over a four month period, with July and August being the best months.

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Berthing

  • We anchored in  Bad River Anchorage
  • Cost:  FREE
  • Services: None
  • Cell Phone Coverage:  None
  • Relax, un-wind, explore and enjoy

Track Log



Location: Bad River Channel, Killarney, ON, Canada

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