5 Unconventional Trips to Take on Your Personal Watercraft This Summer

Get On Your SeaDoo And Go Out For A Rip

A new twist on a tried and true past time has been popping up over the past few years. More and more people are taking to the waterways on their PWC’s for the day and multi-day trips all across Ontario. Don’t dismiss PWC’s as only good for a few hours and nothing else – the technology has come a long way and a PWC is right up there with a snowmobile as an adventure tour staple.

So, with that in mind, here are 5 suggestions for awesome PWC day trips you should try this summer.

Trent-Severn Waterway

This is a great place to start for anyone new to PWC tripping. It’s enormous (386 kilometers), relatively protected, easily accessible and offers overnight camping at most locks. The Trent-Severn connects Lake Huron and Lake Ontario using a network of canals and locks. There are tons of public boat launch, and maps/charts of the area are readily available. You could plan 100 trips on this waterway and never see the same thing twice.

Magnetawan River

The Magnetawan River is known for its whitewater, but you can navigate it on your PWC starting at Burk’s Falls and ending at Ahmic Harbour. The Magnatewan twists and turns, making for a ton of fun on your PWC. If you’ve got a little extra time after you hit Lake Cecebe, trip over to Goose Lake. It’s just east of Lake Cecebe, accessed via the Magnetawan, and is a PWC paradise.

The North Channel 

Where else can you see pink granite islands covered with windswept pines and 120 miles of the most beautiful freshwater in the world? Nowhere but Georgian Bay. Put in at Killarney, and don’t stop for lunch until you reach the Benjamin Islands. The Benjamins are perfect for exploring with a PWC because most of the passages between islands are too shallow for regular boats. Spectacular scenery + open water to rip around on = PWC heaven.

 

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Lower Ottawa River

Launch at LeFaivre Marina and spend the next two days traveling the waterways there to Ottawa before you end in Montreal. One note – Carillon is Parks Canada’s tallest lock and may take a while to get through so be prepared for that.

1000 Islands

Located on the St. Lawrence River between Kingston and Brockville, the 1000 Islands offer the perfect mix of open water and protected channels for exploring. Just be aware – the north shore is Canada and the south is the United States. Going through US waters is no issue, but have your passport handy if you want to go ashore on U.S. Soil. Oh, and did we mention there’s a castle? Yeah…there’s a castle.