Madawaska River
Middle Madawaska River Gauge:
The Middle Madawaska rapids are location below the Bark Lake Dam. During the summer this section receives recreational water releases from Monday to Thursday, 9am – 4pm.
The Madawaska River is celebrated as one of the best places in North America to learn whitewater paddling.
Flowing past our front door, through a forest of hardwood and pine, the dam-controlled water is warm, clean, and dependable all summer long. This 5km section of drop-pool whitewater is known locally as Bells Rapids, or to paddlers as the Middle Madawaska.
We’ve been paddling on the Madawaska River for more than 45 years and know every current and eddy. Rapids like Staircase, Chalet, Gravelpit, Cottage, and Claudia’s Roller range from an gentle Class I to a splashy Class III. Each location creates its own unique learning opportunities.
Classes move downstream, using the many teaching spots, including a maze of gates hanging across the river at Chalet Rapids. These are used for races, and are also great for technique training and accuracy.
Often, our classes venture out for a full day River Trip on one of the many local rivers. Destinations depend on the time of year, water flow, and skill levels. The Lower Madawaska, the Petawawa, and the Ottawa River are all popular destinations.
Palmer Rapids
Palmer Rapids, named after the town along this narrow section of the Madawaska River just downstream of MKC, boasts friendly Class I-II rapids.
The upper chute, known as Jessup’s, is often the finale of a weekend “introduction to whitewater” course for both Canoeing and Kayaking. The middle section at Palmer has great teaching spots for ferrying and eddy-hopping, and the bottom boasts a smooth river-wide wave easy to attain from either side, making it a fantastic spot to learn to surf whitewater. Just before the run-out, the rapid turns sharply to the left creating choppy waves that have left many paddlers out of their boat—not to worry—just below is a large friendly lake that is great for swimming.
MKC Weekend classes in July and August are usually held at Palmer Rapids, just a 30 minute drive from our Centre. We head out in the morning, pack a riverside lunch and return each afternoon for a homemade snack at MKC.
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is renowned for its big warm whitewater all summer long.
It is a world class destination for freestyle kayaking, with huge dynamic waves at every water level. Flowing through two channels, this river has something for everyone. The Middle Channel is lower volume with technical lines and less intimidating rapids. The Main Channel is where most of the river’s water flows, creating large features and big water lines to play with.
Our Friday River Trips often head to the Ottawa River: our beginner and intermediate students paddle the Middle Channel; our advanced students paddle the Main Channel. Often our advanced classes will make several trips to the Ottawa throughout the week.
We offer custom Ottawa River Instruction courses.
Additional Locations
We are surrounded by incredible rivers and love to teach on all of them! Contact us about creating a custom excursion with MKC to a river on your list. Our most common destinations are: the Gull River, the Upper Petawawa, the Gatineau River, the Riviere Rouge, and more!
