Paddling — Flatwater.
Essa's accessible canoe and kayak boat launch on the west side of the Nottawasaga River at Angus Community Park (6 Huron Street) opened in May 2022 and is free to use — the put-in for the NVCA's published Nottawasaga River Canoe Route from Angus downstream toward Edenvale. The Angus-to-Edenvale section runs roughly 19 km in 4–5 hours through the Minesing Wetlands approaches, with five portages of 80 to 300 metres around logjams along the way.
The brief.
The Nottawasaga is a remote wilderness river with shifting logjams and slippery banks — the NVCA's own river guide flags this as a corridor that can be hazardous year-round. Mid-summer low water is the most reliable window; spring is high and fast, and shoulder seasons can hide new logjam sections that the published map does not yet reflect.
The Township's accessible launch is on the west bank at Angus Community Park (6 Huron Street); from there the standard run is downstream to Edenvale (in Springwater Township). The Minesing Wetlands themselves — an internationally significant Ramsar site — sit downstream of Essa in Springwater Township, but the Angus put-in is the standard western entry to that paddle.
Pack for portaging and check NVCA river conditions before launching.
2. places.
- 01
Essa accessible canoe and kayak boat launch
West side of the Nottawasaga River at Angus Community Park, 6 Huron Street, Angus; opened May 18, 2022; no fees.
- 02
Nottawasaga River — Angus to Edenvale
~19 km wilderness paddle through the Minesing Wetlands approaches; 5 portages of 80–300 m around logjams.
Today's read.
Temperature (2.1°C) below the typical range.
By the book.
- 01The Nottawasaga River corridor between Angus and Edenvale has multiple logjams that require portaging; the NVCA's published canoe route map is the authoritative routing source.Source ↗
- 02Essa's accessible canoe and kayak launch is free; access is on the west side of the Nottawasaga at Angus Community Park (6 Huron Street).Source ↗