Paddling — Flatwater.
The Old Ausable Channel runs roughly 14 kilometres through Pinery Provincial Park as a relict bend of the Ausable River, isolated from the main Ausable since channel realignment. The water is sheltered, slow, and threaded by overhanging Carolinian forest on both banks.
Above the falls at Rock Glen Conservation Area, the Ausable carries a short flatwater segment accessible from the conservation area.
The brief.
The Old Ausable Channel is a flatwater paddle through dune-and-savannah park interior — essentially still water, family-friendly, with no rapids or significant current. Canoe and kayak rentals are available at the park in season; daily vehicle permit or Ontario Parks pass required at Pinery's gates.
Paddleable May through October; the channel is partly in shadow under the Carolinian canopy, so summer water stays cool. Above the falls at Rock Glen, paddling is on the upper Ausable — short and relatively shallow; not a multi-day route.
Pinery's Riverside campground sites front directly onto the channel for direct put-in.
2. places.
- 01
Old Ausable Channel (Pinery Provincial Park)
~14 km of relict-river flatwater through the park; canoe and kayak rentals available at the park; sheltered Carolinian forest banks.
- 02
Ausable River at Rock Glen (Arkona)
Short flatwater segment above the falls accessible from Rock Glen Conservation Area.
Today's read.
Temperature (4.7°C) below the typical range.