The Grand River Story...

The Grand River starts about an hour's drive below Owen Sound near Dundalk. It finishes the journey 300 kilometers later at Port Maitland on Lake Erie. It is the largest river in Southern Ontario. It is located 1 hour west of Toronto... or 1 hour east of London.



From Dundalk to Brantford is 200 kms, and the river drops over 300 meters in elevation (upper part). But from Brantford to Lake Erie the Grand River only drops 13 meters in elevation over a 100 kms (lower part). 

The lower part of the Grand is a murkier clay bottom, with a 2 meter depth, Mississippi-like... motor boat city! While the upper part is more shallow (1m), with clear pools of moving water, running over gravel... a paddlers mecca!

In the 1960's the river was dying... one could sit along the shoreline with a sling-shot and shoot the "poop"! We were told as kids you don't swim, fish or paddle in the Grand.

In the year 2000, in Brisbane, Australia... the cleanup efforts of the Grand River won the Thiess Riverprize... the world's most prestigious award for river management.



Four things contributed to this success story... reforestation of the headwaters, sewage waste management, no-till farming and public education.

As a result of this cleanup, there are 90 species of freshwater fish. With healthy fish populations have returned the Bald Eagles and Osprey. People now paddle, fish and swim in the river. In fact the Grand River has become a wilderness tourism destination in Southern Ontario.

One of the prettiest sections of the Grand to paddle May til October is from the village of Glen Morris down to the Cockshutt Bridge in Brantford.

Because the river is shallow, it warms up quickly by May. The river speed is about 2-3kms/hour with some fun splash sections for the novice and experienced. There are numerous different sections to paddle. One can do a 10-20 km day trip to multi-overnight trips.



At Grand River Rafting you can bring your own boat and have us shuttle... or you can rent a boat with us looking after everything.

How it Works... the idea is that you park at the end point and we shuttle you upstream... then you take as long as you like paddling back to your vehicle with no time limit.

Information on Grand River canoe trips.

Information on Grand River single & tandem kayak trips.

Information on Grand River stand up paddleboard trips.

Information on Grand River turbo-tubing trips

Information on Grand River two-man yak trips... safe for non-swimmers.

Information on Grand River rafting trips.

Information on personal boat shuttles. TBA