Trip Rating: 3.75/5
One of my spring and fall go to trip destinations in the Welland Recreational Canal, in Welland. It is a calm, urban paddle through downtown where the water is lined with bars, stages for concerts and people jogging and going for walks. The history of this trip route is deeply routed in the history of Canada.
The Welland Canal was created in 1818 as a means to connect Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. The main function of the canal is for ships to bypass the Niagara River and the 320 foot tall gorge, which features, Niagara Falls.
In the past 200 years, there has been four iterations of the canal. In 1973, the last modification to the canal was made when the city of Welland was bypassed. The 12km stretched of bypassed canal was left in place and the Welland Recreational Canal was born.
Difficulty: This is a long, flat, straight paddle. There are lots of things to see on the way, but nothing overly exciting to contend with on the water. I like doing this paddle in the colder ends of the season because it is a bit more relaxed.
That being said, be prepared and always use the appropriate safety gear.
Trip Length: The canal is 12km long. You can enter the real canal at the far end. DO NOT ENTER THE REAL CANAL.
In total the trip is 24km round trip. I paddled for about 3.5 hours and didn't see the entire thing.
Credits:
@kayakontario