Crowe River, Ontario

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The Crowe River is a spring whitewater paddling river found east of Peterborough, Ontario. It’s part of the Highway 7 group of rivers and creeks.
The Crowe can be paddled in several sections:

Crowe River Fish Hatchery:

Class III to V

Directions:

The section of river is located North of Hwy #7. Take County Rd. 48 North out of Havelock. Before the road takes you to the town of Cordova make a left on Preston Road, followed by a quick right onto Fire Route 18 (indicated on the map on this page). Drive along this road until the cottages stop on the left. Keep an eye for an opening in the trees and a park area. You should be able to see a falls off to your left. This is the take out. The put in is about a 5 min drive north. Park in the boat launch parking lot.

Description:

The Crowe River Fish Hatchery section is a short paddle but the 6 rapids make it a very intriguing section of river. This is the type of river you run in the morning twice before heading down the road to Crowe Bridge. It starts at Cordova Lake. The first drop is a class V dam drop. It looks very intimidating with no real line and several nasty looking holes. Safety considerations are paramount.

The next section is within meters of the first and is as equally challenging. It is good to get a look at these two rapids before gearing up, as scouting can take a while.

The next 3 rapids are class IIIs with some fun waves and holes in them. At the 2nd to last rapid the river splits. The common route is river left.
Needed: detail on the river-right route. Can you help? Click the “edit” links at the top of the page and share what you know. Every little bit helps.
The final rapid also splits. River left is more of a rapid where as river right is a falls. You can scout on any side of the river at this rapid. The falls can be quite technical depending on water flows and depth is unknown.

The take-out is to the right after the falls. Jump in the car and make another quick run of it before heading off.

This section of river has been paddled when other rivers in the area were at minimal flows and is still a challenging set of whitewater.

Crowe River Bridge (Playspot):

Class III to IV

Directions:

West of Marmora, take County Road #50, south of Hwy #7. Turn Right on 12th line. Follow to Stop Sign. Make a right and follow to bridge. Please respect No-Parking signage.

Description:

This well known play spot can get quite busy in the spring. Depending on levels, the number of surfable waves adjusts. However, in lower water, there are nice waves 100 meters or so down river. In higher water, there are several waves for all boats, from long, flat, glassy waves, to steep crashing waves to holes. In higher water, the eddy access becomes more difficult to achieve, but with some practice, it is attainable. Note that at higher levels, swimming is not recommended, as down river there are rock shelves, as well as a low head dam. This play spot is great for spectators, as they can stand on the bridge to get an overhead view.

Calaghan Wave (Playspot):

Class III:

Directions:

There are several ways to get to this location depending on where you are coming from. The one from Hwy#7, East of Marmora, is to take Tiffen Road South to Callaghan Rapids Road. Make a left and drive until you can’t reasonably drive anymore. Take the trail that heads south (to the right) along the river down to the campsite (yes there is enough room to turn a car around).

Description:

When at the campsite you will see a 3 ft river wide ledge that depending on water levels will either tempt you or have you put in down stream. From here you want to get to the middle of the river. There is a horizon line that comes up pretty fast you want to make sure you’re at river center in the main flow. As you drop over the horizon line stay center through the first set of waves, this can be quite shallow before the wave. Past the wave, paddle river right to the eddy behind the island. This is the eddy that you will access the wave from. There are several other play features on this rapid with a very forgiving hole just meters down stream. There are no real hazards to a swim here, other then the cold. This play spot is a fast steep wave and seems to keep its form at lower water, when Crowe Bridge’s waves are getting smaller. The take out is on river right and there is a small path along the river that will lead you back to the campsite.

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Other area activities:

The Crowe is one of the rivers included in Mackfest.

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This entry needs more detail on:

• nearby accommodation
• where to find water levels
  
• what the river looks like at various levels.
  Can you help? Click the "edit" links at the top of the page to add information.