Canoe camping French River

The French River flows through a landscape that remains largely as it was when the Voyageurs explored it over 300 years ago. The river’s valley contains nationally significant indigenous archaeological and historical resources.

This trip will be a "figure 8" loop of the lower section, starting at Hartley bay marina (off Hwy 69). The bay will likely be crowded due to the long weekend & have motor boats on the water, but once we reach Wanapitei bay & the lower channel, traffic will reduce to a trickle. The "figure 8" loop will allow us to return to the starting point without going through the same section twice. For more info, this trip is straight off Kevin Callan's book "paddling killarney & french river prov parks). There are some steep cliffs & narrow channels to explore along the waterway and lots of islands on the Georgian bay crossing.

Difficulty: novice to intermediate. slow river paddling, 2 portages and the 2km section into Georgian bay that can be windy

Itinerary:

1. Friday- meet in KW, carpool & leave in the afternoon to Grundy Lake prov park (RR#1, Britt, ON).

2. Saturday- Meet at Hartley Bay marina (2870 Hartley Bay Rd, RR#2, Alban, ON) for 9:00am, pick up permits, load up and paddle off.
   total loop is about 45km, over 3 days.

3. saturday & sunday nights: backcountry camping on the river
4. Arrive KW at 8:00pm on monday 3rd

Canoe rental places:
1. Hartley bay marina (fully booked)
2. French river supply, HWY 69 at French river bridge
tel: 705-857-2128
$35/day x 3 days
they also offer drop off service for $260. it's only a 20km drive to the marina, so you may want to skip that.

Fees:
1. Grundy lake Prov park: 2 campsites have already been booked & paid for. cost is $8/person for one night

2. french river park camping fee $10/person/night for 2 nights
   Park does not allow booking in advance. permit will be purchased at Harley Bay marina when we arrive. several backcountry campsites on the way, first come first served.

3. marina charges $10 launch fee per canoe

4. parking fee $10/car

Pls indicate on your RSVP profile: if you have canoe/kayak, if you have partner, if you are driving or being driven by whom.
For new people, take the list, find yourself a partner for paddling and sharing rental fee of canoe. find yourself a ride and share the cost with the other passengers.
If no spots left and you interested, sign up anyway, there is a waiting list and often a few will drop out 1-2 weeks before event.

Pls be punctual for saturday departure. it's a long trip and we will try to paddle 15km on the first day

There is a pretty good trip report of this loop trip on the French, with good description of what to expect and lots of pictures:
http://www.loonislandoutdoors.com/TripReports/FrenchRiver/FrenchRiverDelta.php

Grundy lake is also not too bad. If you have never been there, it has a series of interconnected lakes, good for swim, jump or canoe. see link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO9AeSkOSyk