Manitoulin Island offers a beautiful, quiet getaway in Ontario’s Northeast. We barely scraped the surface of the world’s largest freshwater island during our 4-day adventure in Manitoulin this summer. One of the highlights of our trip was kayaking down the Kagawong River, which empties over Bridal Veil Falls, one of Manitoulin’s top tourist destinations. We pulled the kayaks out of the river, and headed over the road and down the stairs to check out (and swim under!) this beautiful waterfall.
Read on for more about what to expect when you the Kagawong River, which is fed from Lake Kagawong, the second largest inland lake on Manitoulin Island, or visit our Where to Paddle page for links to more great kayaking destinations in Southern Ontario and beyond.
Our Recommended Trip
Put In / Take Out:
We camped and launched at Norm’s Tent and Trailer Park, a private campground that backs onto Horseshoe Bay on Lake Kagawong. Our lake-side campsite had a very small sand beach we were able to push out from.
Trip Length: ~6km, 2 hours.
Cost: We were already camping so didn’t have to pay any additional access fees.
Degree of Difficulty: Beginner friendly. While shallow bays like Horseshoe Bay can likely get very choppy in high winds, the river’s mouth was only ~0.5km away from the campsite, and the river itself was sheltered and calm with no detectable current.
The Gear Recommendations
Life jackets and all Transport Canada required safety gear is always a must. Sunscreen and sun hats are definitely recommended when you’re out on the water. We had no issues with cell service in Kagawong.
Kayak the Kagawong River
Kayaking the Kagawong River was one of the highlights of our trip to Manitoulin Island. The river empties over Bridal Veil Falls, one of Manitoulin’s top tourist destinations.
We launched on the shallow and relatively calm Horseshoe Bay on the much larger Kagawong Lake (Manitoulin’s second largest in-land lake), just a short paddle from the mouth of the river.
We couldn’t get over how clear the water was, both in the bay we launched from onto Lake Kagawong and in the Kagawong River.
A beautiful iris I found in the marsh along the river.
The river meandered along through some marshes and wetlands before we arrived at a public boat launch at Highway 541, where the water was dammed off.
A Visit to Bridal Veil Falls
We pulled the kayaks out on the left side of the river, leaving them in the grass at a small public boat launch, and then headed over the road and down the stairs where we were met with views of the beautiful Bridal Veil Falls.
The Falls are a busy tourist attraction as visitors can climb behind and swim under the falls. There are also walking trails along the creek that runs out from the Falls.
Exploring Kagawong
After swimming at the Falls, we headed back across the road and over the bridge to the Kag, a food truck that served chicken fingers, fried, hot dogs, and onion rings. It was right next door to an ice cream shop. The perfect mid-point for our paddle before heading back to our campsite!
Additional Reading
Check out our posts on the other lakes at Bon Echo Provincial Park:
More Kayaking Destinations
For more trip planning inspiration, don’t miss our Where to Paddle page for links to more great kayaking destinations in Southern Ontario and beyond.
