Paddling — Flatwater.
The Avon River widens into Lake Victoria through downtown Stratford — a calm, dammed flatwater stretch about two kilometres long that is paddleable on a canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard from the riverside boating concession on the Queen's Park side. Wildwood Reservoir, managed by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority on the upper Thames near St.
Marys, adds a larger flatwater body within easy reach of Stratford.
The brief.
The downtown Avon paddle is one of the few city-centre flatwater paddles in southwestern Ontario — the river is normally calm and easy thanks to the dam at Lake Victoria, and the paddle threads the Stratford Festival grounds, the Shakespearean Gardens, and the Avon River park system. The Boathouse on the Queen's Park side has been the riverside boating concession on Lake Victoria since the 1960s, with seasonal canoe, kayak, and pedal-boat rentals.
Wildwood Reservoir is a UTRCA-managed lake on roughly 1,400 hectares of conservation land; sailing, swimming, and small-boat use happen alongside paddling under UTRCA rules. May through October is the practical paddling window — the Avon freezes in winter and the city's swan flock returns to the river in early spring.
2. places.
- 01
Avon River / Lake Victoria (downtown Stratford)
Roughly two-kilometre dammed flatwater stretch through the Avon River park system; calm conditions and central access.
- 02
Wildwood Reservoir
UTRCA-managed flatwater body near St. Marys; flatwater paddling alongside sailing, swimming, and motor-boating.
Today's read.
Temperature (2.5°C) below the typical range.
By the book.
- 01The downtown Avon River paddle is centred on the City of Stratford's riverside park system and the dammed Lake Victoria stretch; standard municipal park rules apply on the riverbank.Source ↗
- 02Wildwood Reservoir paddling is subject to UTRCA's published rules and lake-use schedules; day-use and lake-use fees may apply.Source ↗