Michipicoten Day Trip

This sea kayak day trip is a wonderful combination of natural and local history, experiencing the beauty and serenity of Lake Superior and all with minimal instruction.

Since we are fortunate enough to be blessed with both the warm, calm waters of the Michipicoten River on one side and the exhilarating beauty of Lake Superior on the other, we are rarely at a loss for a paddling day (lightning does keep us on shore however).  This means we can choose what we want our paddling day to look like.  We'll always head out into the bay if the lake allows us.

Our day starts at 9am with just enough instruction to get you comfortable in your boat.  We'll stop along the way for a shore lunch and any other rest stops the group wants and we'll finish up usually around 4pm.

Michipicoten Bay: While this bay isn't exactly pristine wilderness, it is still rather remote.  We start our paddle out the mouth of the river, past historic government docks, where all of the town's supplies came in before the road was built; we then continue on past the houses tucked in past the treeline along Long Beach and over to the sand dune shores of Sandy Beach.  We usually take a break here if anyone needs a rest stop.  Here you can find the prettiest outhouse in all of the land.

Back in our boats, we then get to paddle in amongst the small archipelago of islands that dot this section.  The paddle though here is nice and sheltered and since the water is so clear you are able to see right down to the bottom.  For geology buffs- you will notice evidence of the last ice age as we pass by "turtle-rock".  Next we continue on to the harbour where we get to see a little waterfall tucked away in the corner known as the Great Canadian Log Ride- due to the switchbacks the water follows before falling into the lake.  This area has some great history that includes Francis H Clergue's island and the area he chained his "guard" bears to.  The harbour still has a wharf as well as some remnants of an old dock.

Weather permitting, we will continue on past Oakes Cove and make one last stop at the lighthouse.  Not as grand as some lighthouses go, however, there are a few old buildings that you can explore and the helicopter pad makes for a nice sun-warmed area with a fabulous view.  At this point we can choose to either paddler straight back to Rock Island or retrace our path back along the shoreline.

Michipicoten River: We are fortunate enough to have the option of paddling up river if the lake gets too rough.  We start our paddle upstream but typically the current isn't very strong so it doesn't require much of a workout.  We can duck into a little wetland area just off the main channel to see if there are any birds, check out the lily pads and maybe even practice bracing since it is quite shallow.  There is no fear of tipping over since you would only have to put your paddle down to prevent yourself from going over.

Next we'll paddle over to the other side of the river so we can get ourselves up the narrow channel that was once the grand entrance to the famous Hudson's Bay Post.  While not much remains of the original buildings, it is still worthwhile to get out of our boats and take a peek.  Carrying on upstream, we paddle past the Old Fort Friendship.  This once tourist attraction has fallen into disrepair and makes for wonderful relic exploration.  Depending on the endurance of the group we can either continue on towards the hwy 17 bridge or turn around and paddle downstream.

On the way back you can find evidence of the lamprey control systems, where historically they would shock the river to kill the lamprey.  Past the marina we are sure to see more than a few birds and then we will take a small detour to paddle to the bottom of Silver Falls where the Magpie River flows into the Michipicoten.  This can be quite a thundering experience depending on the level of water flowing.  We'll continue down the main channel heading back so that we can take advantage of the downstream current.