Close
Close
Browser Compatibility Notification
It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.
Skip to Content
Business DirectoryEventsContact
open new window to View our Facebook Page open new window to View our Twitter Page open new window to View our YouTube Page open new window to View our Instagram Page view our Business Directory

City of Kawartha Lakes Tourism Logo

Contact Us Main menu icon
  • Explore

    Featured Activities

    • View our Boating and Paddling page
      Boating and Paddling
    • View our Scenic Drives page
      Scenic Drives

    Explore

    • Arts and Heritage Trail
    • Cross-Country Skiing
    • Farms and Agritainment
    • Fishing and Hunting
    • International Plowing Match 2024
    • Maple Syrup
    • Snowmobiling
    • Snowshoeing
    • Trails
    • Trail Cycling
    • Winter in Kawartha Lakes

    Highlights

    • View our Kawartha Lakes Experiences page
      Kawartha Lakes Experiences
    • View our Scenic Drives page
      Scenic Drives
  • Stay

    Featured Activities

    • View our Boating and Paddling page
      Boating and Paddling
    • View our Trails page
      Trails
    • View our Shop Local page
      Shop Local
    • View our Find Your Fall page
      Find Your Fall

    Stay

    • Bed and Breakfasts
    • Camping and RVs
    • Cottage Resorts
    • Hotels, Motels and Inns
    • Houseboating
    • Towns and Villages

    Highlights

    • View our Kawartha Lakes Experiences page
      Kawartha Lakes Experiences
    • View our Scenic Drives page
      Scenic Drives
    • View our Top Attractions page
      Top Attractions
  • Eat and Drink

    Featured Activities

    • View our Fishing and Hunting page
      Fishing
    • View our Trails page
      Trails
    • View our Festivals and Fairs page
      Festivals and Fairs
    • View our Find Your Fall page
      Find Your Fall

    Eat and Drink

    • Bars and Nightlife
    • Craft Breweries
    • Dining
    • Eat Local
    • Farmers' Markets
    • Kawartha Dairy
    • Maple Syrup

    Highlights

    • View our Houseboating page
      Houseboating
    • View our Shopping and Wellness page
      Shopping and Wellness
    • View our Top Attractions page
      Top Attractions
    • View our Eat Local page
      Eat Local
    • View our Boating and Paddling page
      Boating and Paddling
    • View our Performing Arts Theatres page
      Performing Arts Theatres
  • Plan Your Trip

    Featured Activities

    • View our Fishing and Hunting page
      Fishing
    • View our Trails page
      Trails
    • View our Festivals and Fairs page
      Festivals and Fairs
    • View our Find Your Fall page
      Find Your Fall

    Plan Your Trip

    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Events Calendar
    • Getting Around
    • Getting Here
    • Itineraries
    • Lindsay TSTT
    • Rosedale TSTT
    • Towns and Villages
    • Trip Planner

    Highlights

    • View our Parks and Beaches page
      Parks and Beaches
    • View our Shopping and Wellness page
      Shopping and Wellness
    • View our Top Attractions page
      Top Attractions
  • Search

family on the shore of Nogies Creek ready to launch canoe

Bobcaygeon Paddling Routes

Show or hide navigation More
  • Open new window to share this page via Facebook Facebook
  • Open new window to share this page via LinkedIn LinkedIn
  • Open new window to share this page via Twitter Twitter
  • Email This page Email

Explore Canoeing and Kayaking in Bobcaygeon

This bustling town spans three islands right at the meeting point of two large lakes–Sturgeon and Pigeon–creating a winding network of canals, making it an ideal place to launch your canoe or kayak. Home of the famous Bigley’s and Buckeye Surf, this community offers many options for the beginner paddler with equipment rentals, shopping, restaurants, and accommodations right on the water.

Multiple boat launches makes it easy to cruise through the Big Bob Channel linking Sturgeon and Pigeon Lakes, as you make your way back down to Little Bob Channel to complete the loop.

Bobcaygeon Town Route
Bobcaygeon Town Route

Bobcaygeon spans three islands at the meeting point of two massive Kawartha Lakes–Sturgeon and Pigeon. Take this half-day trip with three launch points and plenty of options to pull over and enjoy the sites, restaurants, and shopping for which Bobcaygeon is known. Stay aware and respectful of power boat traffic as you navigate this winding network of canals that makes for a unique paddling experience.

Nogies Creek Route
Nogies Creek Route

Less than 15 minutes from Bobcaygeon, Nogies Creek is an ideal destination for day trips, wild edible excursions, or a casual dip of the paddle. The wetland north of the put-in is rich with bird and beaver activity, with the Nogies Creek Waterway an area of special conservation concern owing to its unique natural features and geology along with a host of fisheries and wildlife.


Routes designed in Partnership with: The Land Canadian Adventures

Canoeing in Bobcaygeon

Bobcaygeon Town Route

Difficulty: Easy, but be aware and respectful of power boat traffic

Time: Half-day trip with plenty of options to pull over.

Distance: Details on 3 launch points & routes below. Paddle as short or as long as you wish, but generally from 2km-3km round-trip.

Portages: None

Shuttle Info: round-trip – no shuttle required

 

Download the Route Guide

Of the many communities in my neighbourwoods that do justice to the Canuck stereotype of commuting around town by canoe, Bobcaygeon is probably the best example. Sure, Lindsay and Coboconk are trail-towns built up around the Trent Severn Waterway, but Bobcaygeon spans three islands right at the meeting point of two massive Kawartha Lakes, Sturgeon and Pigeon, creating a wending and winding network of canals that make for a unique paddling experience. Gliding by waterfront bistros and shops and riverside condos is like window shopping, only slightly wetter, and I’d never parallel parked a canoe before our first family paddling trip in Bobcaygeon town!

There’s so many places to put in and explore depending on your goals for the day, and your family’s appetite! Over the years, our family has relied on Kawartha Coffee Company and the Grilled Cheese Hideaway, so for our most recent Bob-town paddle, we moored at the wharf alongside Bobcaygeon Inn’s Waterfront Patio. We weren’t the only folks on the water on a downright hot autumn afternoon, so the place was buzzing with that summer’s-last-hurrah vibe, accentuated by cold drinks and tasty pub snacks. As we were loading the boats to leave, our waiter popped down with some nachos to go, creating our first ever experience of the canoe drive-thru.

If you’re looking to balance the amenities and summer festivities of Bobcaygeon with some paddling, there are plenty of options to choose from. This town really is a limitless “choose your own adventure” kind of place for paddling, but here are some options to get you started.

1) From Buckeye Surf Rentals Shop to Green Bay

Difficulty: Easy, but be aware and respectful of power boat traffic

Distance: Approx. 2km round-trip from the dock behind Buckeye Surf to Green Bay, but as short or as long as you wish!

Portages: None

Shuttle Info: round-trip – no shuttle required


For canoe, kayak and standup paddle board rentals, look no further than Buckeye Surf & Snow Shop the local outdoor store and outfitters on the Main Street waterfront.  They have canoe, kayak and standup paddle board rentals. You can park your bike or vehicle and hop right into your rental craft from their riverside boardwalk and explore the waterway northeast towards Pigeon Lake from there. Of course, Buckeye staff can help you choose the right craft based on your experience and ability, and outfit you with the appropriate PFD, paddle and safety gear for your day trip.

2) From Bobcaygeon Beach Park through the Big Bob Channel

Difficulty: Easy, but be aware and respectful of power boat traffic

Distance: 2.5-3km round trip (about 1 hour) from Bobcaygeon Beach Park to Big Bob Channel

Portages: None

Shuttle Info: Round-trip – no shuttle necessary


 If you’ve got your own boat and gear, then there’s no shortage of places to park and launch yourself. To join in the thick of waterfront activity, put in at Bobcaygeon Beach Park on Park Street to the east and explore the private islands in Big Bob Channel. Parking there is free, but tends to fill up with beachgoers on summer days.

From here, you can paddle northeast and lock through or portage the most popular TSW Lock 32 to access the heart of the downtown Bobcaygeon waterway. Pretty much everything in downtown Bobcaygeon is within a 10 minute walk from the water, so wherever you plan to paddle you can be sure to have your pick of preferred dining spots within easy reach. You’ll notice many places for canoe and kayak parking make it easy to access the shopping and snacking possibilities of Bobcaygeon.

3) From Bolton Street to the Little Bob Channel

Difficulty: Easy, but be aware and respectful of power boat traffic

Distance: Launch from end of Bolton Street out into Little Bob Channel for however short or long as you wish!

Portages: None

Shuttle Info: Round-trip – no shuttle necessary


For a more remote feeling only minutes away from town, put in at another perfect canoe launch at the base of Bolton Street.  Plenty of free parking, and easy launching for solo and family paddlers opens up the southern view of undeveloped cedar forest shoreline just a couple hundred meters’ paddle across the Little Bob Channel.  Keep your eyes peeled for the lively bird scene in this area of the Kawartha Lakes, including great blue herons, belted kingfishers and osprey.

Canoe trip on Nogies Creek

Nogies Creek Route

Difficulty: Easy

Time: day trip, with overnight potential

Distance: choose your own adventure

Portages: None

Launch/pullout: Nogies Creek Canoe & Kayak Launch

 

Download the Route Guide

For a so close, yet so far away paddling experience, we’re so fortunate to have Nogies Creek less than 15 minutes from Bobcaygeon. Our family has been fortunate enough to explore this section of the waterway for special day trips, wild edible excursions and even just a casual dip of the paddle after a hard day’s work on our family’s nearby woodland property. We put in just upstream of where the creek opens up into a little pine-fringed lake that is a true hidden gem. You can access the put-in at the Nogies Creek Canoe and Kayak Access point about 5 kms north of the highway along Bass Lake Road. There is a convenient place to park and launch your boats from a shallow gravel beach.

The wetland area immediately to the north of the put-in is rich with bird and beaver activity, but downed trees choke the channels. We always head south downstream, where the creek wends and winds away from Bass Lake Road before it opens up into a small lake a couple hundred meters on.

A small cluster of islands due south from the mouth, keeping our eyes peeled for the eagle aerie atop an older white pine. We’ve been lucky to spot its inhabitants both in their nest, and hunting above Nogies and its environs. In the past, the tallest pines on the mainland of this area were home to a blue heron rookery, but the birds seem to have moved their nests since the arrival of the large raptors; adult herons are still a common site fishing along the shoreline. Adding to the richness of birdlife are loons, mergansers and other ducks in their season, as well as plenty of songbirds, including the white-throated sparrow whose “oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada” sings the praises of Nogies’ classic Canadian Shield setting.

After exploring the central islands, we head due east, past the orange buoys marking the dam, and after one kilometer, reach the rocky cliffs marking the eastern limit of the little lake. Here you’ll find numerous places to park your boat, and have a dip, and play at rock-climbing on the granite face of the steep shoreline. There are a few excellent jumping rocks here: please be sure to scout your landing!

On our way back, we stop at the largest island in the little lake, where there are handy canoe pullouts on both the northeast and southwest sides. We always forage for shoreline sweetgale and trailside wintergreen to make some wild edible tea, remembering not to take too much from any individual plant or area. There is much to explore on this island, including an ancient white pine whose final resting place forms a bridge over a small cove, and a traditional camp respectfully maintained with firewood and some bushcrafted furniture. The canoe becomes our picnic table when we prop the gunwales up on some of the handy logs and unpack our shorelunch while one of the group gets a fire going for tea and coffee. Please remember the woodpile.

This paddling route is part of a larger area that several local organizations are working together to protect, called Nogies Creek Waterway, an area of special conservation concern owing to its unique natural features and geology along with a host of fisheries and wildlife. That said, there is no fishing along the route detailed above, since it is a muskie breeding sanctuary. Despite the fact that their common name comes from the Oji-Cree word maashkinoozhe meaning the “monstrous” or “hideous pike”, they are an impressive fish and can put on quite a show if you happen to sneak up on them as they hunt quietly just below the surface. One time on Nogies, my partner Briagh surprised a hunting muskie with her paddle and it shot out abruptly, perpendicular to the boat, before it rounded our canoe, throwing off a wake of blue and green!

The little lake on Nogies is a perfect spot for dropping your boat in the water for an afternoon’s paddle and the four km round trip route easily makes for a 3-4 hour excursion with time for island hopping, a cool water dip and a bite to eat. Just don’t disturb the stealthily hunting muskie!

Nogies

Father and daughter canoeing

Nogies

Mother and daughter at campsite


Explore More Paddling Routes by Community:

Coboconk Map
Coboconk & Area
Fenelon Falls
Fenelon & Area
Kinmount Map
Kinmount & Area
Linndsay Map
Lindsay & Area
Subscribe to this Page

Contact Us

Kawartha Lakes logo

© 2017 City of Kawartha Lakes Tourism
180 Kent Street West 
Lindsay, Ontario, K9V 2Y6
Email
Toll Free: 1-866-397-6673
Phone: 705-324-9411

Privacy PolicySitemapContact UsMunicipal WebsiteAbout This Website

Kawarthas Northumberland logo

Ontario Tourism Logo
Canada Logo

 

Connect with Us:

open new window to View our Facebook Page open new window to View our Twitter Page open new window to View our YouTube Page open new window to View our Instagram Page
×