Click to see the full picture

"White Mud Portage, Winnipeg River", (1851-1856) by Paul Kane courtesy National Gallery of Canada.

Winnipeg River

By paddle: 257km; By air: 164km.

Satellite photograph of the Winnipeg River (courtesy NASA)

Scale: 1pixel=1km

Moan, moan, moan! That's all you hear from canoers about the Winnipeg River. They fixate on the eight dams that block the waterway that was once considered the most beautiful section of the entire voyageur highway from Montréal to the Athabasca country. These muscular, concrete obstacles, many dating from the twenties and thirties, seem easy after the endless Quetico portages. So let's get the fixation over with—the dams can be circumnavigated as follows:

Kenora
Not so dangerous after all, Whitedog Falls Dam.

Not so dangerous after all, Whitedog Falls Dam.

Canoe past the floating log barriers under the road and rail bridges; avoid going near the dam by taking overgrown trail around the canyon to the dam's right to a track beyond—tricky.
Whitedog Falls
Take trail on the dam's right at danger sign; cross road; down to lovely sandy cove—easy.
Pointe du Bois
Enter bay under metal walkway to powerhouse's right; follow road then trail to creek at dam's base—easy.
Slave Falls
Head right of mid-river island into right-hand bay before you pass under old cable-car wire and before dam becomes visible; walk over railroad causeway—easy.
Seven Sisters Falls
Don't be scared by massive embankment shown on map, you can clamber up it; take trail at powerhouse's right down through wiggly quarry area to channel beyond—moderate.
Into the Dalles.

Into the Dalles.

McArthur
Traverse mid-river island just to right of powerhouse—easy.
Great Falls
Clamber down very steep slope just to right of powerhouse and sluice gates—short but dangerous.
Pine Falls
From dam's right, cross road and down trail—easy.

So with navigational worries dealt with, you can enjoy a ride through a mixture of swift, French Riveresque narrows, like the Dalles and Whitedog Falls, across breezy, Queticoesque lakes, Roughrock, Tetu and Eaglenest. Wildlife abounds—we couldn't identify the creature crossing the river fifty metres ahead of us. It looked like a beaver, but wasn't flat to the water like a beaver. Perhaps it was a beaver pulling a branch—that's a familiar sight. Or perhaps it was a loon, lowering itself into the water as it felt threatened, but aren't those ears? It was only when it scrambled onto the bank that we recognised it as a young black bear; it looked slim like a dog with its drenched fur. They're good swimmers, but luckily mother was nowhere to be seen.

Is it a lake or a river? Dunno, but it's definitely raining, near Minaki.

Is it a lake or a river? Dunno, but it's definitely raining, near Minaki.

From Pointe du Bois onwards, the river is often accessible by road. On warm days the water can be filled with families fishing, teenagers swimming, and overpowered boats dragging five year-old children, rigidly gripping with excited terror to inflated rubber rings, shouting "Faster! Faster!"—So that's why dad needs a Mercury 225hp.

Though never as oppressive as Quetico, the Winnipeg River's horizons broaden shortly after the series of sun-kissed, golden, stone islands and grassy bays that follow the Slave Falls dam. From thereon, the river is more like the Rainy than the French, more prairie than shield, though even by the time you slide onto Lake Winnipeg, it hasn't conclusively decided which.

Our Itinerary

DateFromToDistance (paddle/air)
31 JulAnicinabe campground, Kenora
(15 393283E 5511980N)
Island near Minaki, Little Sand Lake
(15 379311E 5541064N)
37.0/32.3km
01 AugIsland near Minaki, Little Sand Lake
(15 379311E 5541064N)
Island, Tetu Lake
(15 353569E 5559769N)
40.5/31.8km
02 AugIsland, Tetu Lake
(15 353569E 5559769N)
Island, Winnipeg River
(15 334245E 5581555N)
35.0/29.1km
03 AugIsland, Winnipeg River
(15 334245E 5581555N)
Dorothy Lake
(15 305465E 5562734N)
45.0/34.4km
04 AugDorothy Lake
(15 305465E 5562734N)
Lac du Bonnet
(14 709711E 5571238N)
40.0/25.0km
05 AugDay off in Lac du Bonnet.
06 AugLac du Bonnet
(14 709711E 5571238N)
Riverbank near Silver Falls, Winnipeg River
(14 704129E 5600748N)
38.0/30.0km
07 AugRiverbank near Silver Falls, Winnipeg River
(14 704129E 5600748N)
Dog Island near Point Mitas, Lake Winnipeg
(14 685579E 5624558N)
36.0/30.2km

All coordinates are UTM/NAD83.

Turning westward into the evening sun, north end of Eaglenest Lake.

Turning westward into the evening sun, north end of Eaglenest Lake.