7-Day Kayak Trip Down Canada’s Petawawa River
5-minute read plus lots of video content
Aqua Bound Ambassador Ken Whiting took a solo river trip down one of the world’s best canoe routes in Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park. But he chose a kayak instead of a canoe to tackle the river’s many whitewater sections.
Ken runs one of many rapids on Ontario’s Petawawa River (photo courtesy of @Paddle365)
“The Petawawa River in Algonquin Park is one of the best multi-day river trips in the world,” says Ken. While it’s a bucket list trip for canoeists, Ken opted to paddle a kayak instead. He was hoping to have to walk fewer portages—running the rapids instead.
He produced a video series about his 2024 trip for Paddle TV. Was a kayak the right choice? We’ll find out by enjoying the two hours of his trip footage and commentary in his 3-video series. Here’s the series trailer:
The Petawawa River and Algonquin
The Petawawa is a major tributary of the Ottawa River. It runs through Algonquin Provincial Park in Eastern Ontario before entering the Ottawa at the town of Petawawa, 116 miles total.
Ken opted for the 60-mile section from Cedar Lake to McManus Lake. Along the way he encountered gorgeous wilderness, large lakes and big whitewater.
Ken’s route on this 60-mile section of the Petawawa River in Ontario
In this video series, we’re treated to lots of great kayaking footage along this beautiful river, together with thoughts and instruction along the way.
Kayak Camping Ontario’s Petawawa River • Part 1
Ken embarked on his week-long trip in June with a low probability of seeing other people on his route and a high probability of encountering lots of biting bugs.
River levels tend to be higher earlier in the season as well. But 2024’s winter had very little snowfall, so the levels were much lower than normal for that time of year. Would it be high enough to paddle through the rapids sections? That was his hope.
Most trippers tackle this route in a canoe, but Ken’s boat of choice for his trip was a cross-over whitewater kayak. While that would make running most of the 50+ whitewater sections of the river easier, it would make it harder to handle any portages.
“These are the trips that keep me awake at night, too excited to fall asleep,” Ken says. “You do your best to plan for everything that can happen, but the unexpected is one of the big expectations.”
He has extensive whitewater experience and the correct gear. Even so, he recognizes that being solo in wilderness like Algonquin means making conservative decisions.
[Shout out to Algonquin Portage for providing Ken’s shuttle service to his launch on Cedar Lake.]
Video #1 follows Ken’s first couple of days:
Petawawa River Trip • Part 2
Ken achieves his goal of being able to run many of the whitewater sections he’d have to portage in a canoe. His 100 pounds of gear means his kayak isn’t as responsive as it would be empty though.
Still, he’s able to navigate many of the rapids just fine. He says, “A common mistake people make going down rapids is just paddling. Paddling hard. It’s a default reaction, but there’s no need to drive faster into the rock you want to avoid. You’re better off just cruising along keeping your speed in check. If you do need to take invasive action you can do it quickly.”
Ken’s trip includes partial portages—portaging his gear around a long rapids section while kayaking down—and some full portages around waterfalls. He’s able to run more than many people would because he’s developed his “reading whitewater” skills over his years of experience. Something, he says, that’s just as important as actual paddling skills.
During one trip down a rapids section Ken loses the dry bag that’s strapped to the rear of his kayak. Thankfully he discovered it before too long and could head back upriver to retrieve it! That reinforces his need to stick with conservative decisions to avoid big mistakes.
The Toughest Whitewater in the Park • Part 3
Ken describes how he packs his kayak for even weight distribution. He needs to keep the bow lighter so it has buoyancy in the water, yet balance his gear stowed throughout the boat.
That’ll be important on the final section of the Petawawa for his trip. Again, more beauty, wildlife, some stretches of calm flatwater and adrenalin-flowing whitewater. This includes Crooked Chute, one of the drops he needs to scout first. He decides to run it without the gear, so portages it around before taking his kayak down the Chute.
After the Chute, Ken’s route is beautiful with plenty of flatwater combined with plenty of Class 1 and 2 rapids. Ken looks forward to pleasant paddling. In this segment, Ken explains why he doesn’t feel the need to wear a helmet in mild whitewater whereas someone with less experience would.
Instead of spending another night on the trail accompanied by myriads of mosquitos, Ken decides to grind out the final 8 kilometers and finish his trip a day early.
Watch the third video below:
Ken’s Gear for His Petawawa Trip
The boat and the paddle are the most important gear items for a kayak camping trip on a whitewater river like the Petawawa.
Ken chose:
LiquidLogic Remix XP10—A whitewater crossover kayak, the Remix XP10 has a mobile skeg that offers great tracking when deployed and agility when tucked away. It performs well in both whitewater and flatwater environments. And it has the space and weight capacity to carry gear for multi-day trips.
Aqua Bound Aerial Major Fiberglass Paddle—Ken uses our Aerial Major Fiberglass whitewater paddle on his kayak camping trip on the Petawawa. With our revolutionary Lam-LokTM technology, these blades are hand-crafted for unmatched longevity. A backup paddle is also a must, just in case.
You can see a list of the rest of Ken’s camp gear, including the Zenbivy Sleep System, in the video descriptions on YouTube. He’s promised to make another video soon that covers his camping gear. You can look for that on the Paddle TV channel.
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