Field Guides/Toronto/Paddling — Flatwater
Strong
Best WindowMay through October
Variantscanoeing · kayaking · sup
RegionToronto, Ontario

Paddling — Flatwater.

A thirteen-minute ferry from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal puts a paddle on the Toronto Islands inner lagoons — the sheltered network between Centre Island, Ward's Island, and Algonquin Island. On the west end of the city, the Lower Humber River carries roughly 6 kilometres of flatwater between the Old Mill area and Lake Ontario through the Humber Marshes, one of the major Lake Ontario river-mouth wetlands.

Paddling — Flatwater in Toronto
01 — What to know

The brief.

The Toronto Islands lagoons are sheltered from open-lake wind by the islands themselves and offer car-free flatwater paddling minutes from downtown by ferry; rentals are available at Centre Island and Ward's. The Lower Humber River paddle (Old Mill to Lake Ontario) is flatwater through the Humber Marshes — a major Lake Ontario river-mouth wetland.

The Humber Bay Park boat launch at 225 Humber Bay Park Road West (Etobicoke side) is a free public ramp for sheltered Humber Bay paddling between the Humber River mouth and the Lake Ontario waterfront. Open-lake Lake Ontario conditions outside the Islands and Humber Bay are wind-exposed and dominated by harbour and ferry traffic — stay inside sheltered water.

02 — Locations

3. places.

  1. 01

    Toronto Islands inner lagoons

    Sheltered network of lagoons between Centre Island, Ward's Island, and Algonquin Island for canoe / kayak / SUP; rentals on Centre Island and Ward's.

  2. 02

    Lower Humber River (Old Mill to Lake Ontario)

    ~6 km flatwater stretch through the Humber Marshes; canoe / kayak / SUP.

  3. 03

    Humber Bay (Humber Bay Park boat launch)

    Sheltered Lake Ontario bay paddling from the free launch at 225 Humber Bay Park Road West; routes east to the Humber River mouth or along the waterfront.

03 — Conditions

Today's read.

Air Quality
16
eu-aqi · low
UV Index
1.5
scale 0–11
Humidity
76%
relative
Visibility
21.7 km
clear
Temp
+5.9°
H 13° · L 2°
Sun
05:55 / 20:32
14h 37m daylight
C
Marginal conditions for paddling — flatwater

Temperature (5.9°C) below the typical range.