Dumoine River
Dumoine is an incredible whitewater river in Quebec that flows north to south into the Ottawa River just north of Algonquin Park. It vies for the top spot in our list of favourite rivers. There are only two mandatory portages (and a few carryovers) and some surprisingly long and ridiculously fun rapids. The river provides an exceptionally beautiful experience of the Canadian shield and is a mix of both open lake and tight river paddling.
The Dumoine is considered an intermediate level river, so please don't start with this river if you're just getting into whitewater unless you've hired a professional guide to go along with you. Many of the rapids are drop and pool, but there are still several that will eat your canoe if you screw up. Including incidentally a rapid called "Canoe Eater."
This river is pretty light on the portages except for one major one around the Grand Chute. Please note that there is a much easier portage trail if you follow the road up the hill to the right and then take a left past a building and follow the signs. For your return trip, there is a beautiful scenic (but brutally rocky) trail along the river that's a real delight. There are some excellent lookout points along the way to take in the incredible power of the Chutes massive rapids. Definitely don't make the same mistake Tim did and carry his gear down that one.
The campsites on the Dumoine are excellent. Split Rock has added the sites to Google Maps for easy planning, but note that it's a long paddle between site 16 and the Chute, so you'll need to plan accordingly.
There are three main put-ins, described below. You'll end the trip by crossing the mighty Ottawa river and land in Driftwood Bay, Ontario. The exact take-out depends on your outfitter or wherever you left your car.
