Paddling — Flatwater.
The Bonnechere River through the Town of Renfrew runs flatwater between named chutes — the town-reach chutes drop the river through downtown immediately upstream of the McDougall Mill. River parkland and Ma-te-Way Park give in-town put-ins; from there the river continues east about 5 km to its confluence with the Ottawa River at Castleford.
The brief.
The Bonnechere through Renfrew is flatwater-with-chutes — the named chutes through downtown require portage, and spring high water increases the hazard around them. Mid-summer through fall is the steadier paddling window.
Ma-te-Way Park on the north side of town is the practical put-in for downstream paddling toward the Ottawa River; downtown river parkland provides additional access. Below the Bonnechere mouth at Castleford the Ottawa River opens onto bigger water — different scale, different conditions, and downstream of the town's strict in-municipality scope.
Upstream of Renfrew the Bonnechere continues toward Bonnechere Valley township and (well further upstream) Bonnechere Provincial Park near Round Lake; those reaches sit in adjacent municipalities and are not claimed as Renfrew water.
3. places.
- 01
Bonnechere River — town reach
Flatwater between named chutes through downtown Renfrew; immediately upstream of the McDougall Mill.
Map ↗ - 02
Ma-te-Way Park (Renfrew)
Municipal park on the Bonnechere with practical put-in for downstream paddling.
Map ↗ - 03
Bonnechere mouth at Castleford (about 5 km downstream)
Confluence with the Ottawa River; boundary of in-town paddling scope.
Map ↗
Today's read.
Cool but comfortable for layered effort.
