• Launching ramp Rampe de mise à l'eau de la chute du Pin Rouge 46°50'28,491"N
  78°36'36,836"O
• Parking Stationnement de la chute du Pin Rouge 46°50'31,064"N
  78°36'39,115"O
• Wild camping Camping du lac Desquerac 46°49'11,095"N
  78°38'3,798"O
• Wild camping Camping 46°48'28,823"N
  78°39'42,462"O
• Wild camping Camping 46°49'30,376"N
  78°46'11,596"O
• Wild camping Camping de l'île Hurricane 46°49'45,939"N
  78°46'58,449"O
• Sandy beach / Swimming Pointe de sable du Chenal Bélanger de l'île La Tortue 46°52'34,786"N
  78°49'32,387"O
• Sandy beach / Swimming Plage de l'île La Tortue dans le Chenal Bélanger 46°54'0,598"N
  78°49'53,876"O
• Halte sur galet Halte 46°54'20,798"N
  78°57'33,082"O
• Carrying Portage du lac Grindstone 46°49'4,779"N
  78°38'31,331"O
• Halte sur galet Halte 46°53'44,021"N
  78°54'16,74"O
• Wild camping Plage du Chenal Bélanger de île La Tortue 46°54'45,422"N
  78°50'19,756"O
• Wild camping Camping près de l'île La Tortue 46°53'48,472"N
  78°48'16,145"O
• Wild camping Camping de l'île du lac Grindstone 46°48'47,246"N
  78°42'7,219"O
• Carrying Portage du lac Desquerac 46°49'5,652"N
  78°38'28,799"O
• Rocky escarpment Falaise 46°54'22,916"N
  78°58'11,849"O
• Wild camping Camping sauvage 46°53'44,125"N
  78°58'28,688"O
• Wild camping Camping au nord de l'île Smith 46°52'28,319"N
  78°58'23,94"O
• Wild camping Camping 46°50'0,025"N
  78°58'40,79"O
• Launching ramp Rampe de mise à l'eau de Kipawa 46°46'41.5"N
  78°58'51.2"O
• Parking Stationnement du quai fédéral 46°46'39.6"N
  78°58'52.5"O

  Shuttle service

You are looking for a means of transport to get to the starting point of this dream route? You have a single vehicle and you want to move it from the starting point to the arrival point?

The Hinterland Coop offers you a road transport service.

  Directions to the starting point

From Témiscaming, take the road to Kipawa Bay (8.2 km). Turn right onto the road to Maniwaki (31.4 km). Turn left (9.3 km). The launch is on your right (78°36'36,836"W | 46°50'28,491"N).

Free outdoor parking (unattended/ at your risk) Position :  78°36'39,115"O | 46°50'31,064"N

View the route from your location on Google Maps

  Directions to the arrival point

KIPAWA

From Témiscaming, take the road to Kipawa Bay (8.8 km). The launching ramp is on your right in the municipality of Kipawa (78°58'51.2"W | 46°46'41.5"N).

Outdoor parking
Position :  78°58’52,5”O   46°46’39,6”N

View the route from your location on Google Maps

  Topographic maps

Topographic maps at 1/50,000 scale are available for the entire route and we recommend that you use them.  31 L/15 Lac McLachlin / lac Desquerac / lac Grindstone / lac Bedout / lac Audoin / lac Sunnyside /   lac Kipawa (section Sud)  The use of a GPS containing the route layout is also required.

Water level 

Data sheet of the "Kipawa Dam" station.

  Obstacles et dangers

• The Kipawa reservoir and its adjacent lakes are composed of a hundred bays and have a multitude of islands. It is very easy to feel disoriented and get lost while navigating this immense expanse of water.It is therefore necessary to have in your possession a GPS in which you have previously downloaded the route and batteries in sufficient quantity for the duration of your stay. It is also important to have a paper water map and compass.
• Lake Kipawa is tumultuous and even dangerous when there are strong winds. It is recommended to go along the shores. Some sections run along large rock walls without any possibility of landing.
• The wind can change rapidly in strength and direction. It can create short, sharp waves that make it difficult to maintain a direction that could destabilize boats and cause them to capsize.
• Near the large rock walls, the waves collide with each other (swells) making boats unstable.

  Campsite

Campsites are sufficient and of quality located on peaks, beaches and islands.

They are distributed along the course. It is essential to leave the campsites in an impeccable condition following the principles of ethics Sans Trace.

  Human presence

• Movement of motor boats.
• Several outfitters scattered throughout the reservoir and on nearby lakes.

History

Kipawa Lake is located on the ancestral territory of the Anicinabeg of Hunter’s Point.

As early as the mid-18th century, several forestry companies began harvesting the white and red pine forests of the Kipawa. At the end of the 19th century, J. R. Both Lumber was well established.

Part of the Kipawa River became a reservoir following the construction of the Laniel and Kipawa dams in 1911. The Kipawa Dam, built to supply electricity to the plant and the city of Témiscamingue, is located at the mouth of Gordon Creek near the municipality of Kipawa.

Geography

With an area of 300 km2 and 1,307 km of banks characterized by many rocky cliffs, this body of water extends over five cantons. The lake is complex in form, being connected with several other bodies of water: Green, Grindstone, Bedout, McLachlin, Sheffield, Audoin, Sheffield, Trout, Hunter, Sunnyside and Moran.

The water reaches a maximum depth of 40 meters and its average depth is 11.5 meters.

The main hydrographic slopes of the Kipawa reservoir are:

• North side: l'Africain stream, Lavallée river;
• East side: Lake Bois Franc which flows into the Kipawa River;
• Southwest: Beauchêne river draining Beauchêne lake, Petit lac Beauchêne, Windy, du Diable, Pin Blanc, Grand lac George and Petit lac Georges;
• East side: the Ottawa River.

The reservoir is a veritable maze consisting of:

• Berries: Chemagan, des Plongeurs, Profonde, du Huard, Dorval, Pratt, des Anglais, Campbell, McLaren, Dubreuil, Coalpit Bay, Trout and Pratt;
• Islands: McKenzie, Fox, Bears, Big Moose Island, Garrot, Strawberry, Turtle, Bronson and Latour.
• Peninsulas.

The Kipawa tank is powered by:

• North side: Carr Lake discharge; Moran Lake, St-Amand, Grand Knife Lake and Guay Lake; Coeur Lake discharge; Caribou Lake discharge; Aubry Lake discharge; Bat Lake discharge; Clément, Jack-White and McKeown Lake discharge; Raisenne Lake discharge; Audoin Lake; Hunter Point Lake; Little Grindstone Lake; McCullough Lake; McKillop Lake;
• East side: McLachlin Lake; McKillop Lake discharge; Kipawa River;
• South side: discharge from Trout Lake (which empties into Pratt Bay).

Wildlife

The species observed on the Kipawa reservoir are the loon, the great heron, the osprey, the American crane, the bald eagle and a multitude of ducks.

Flora

Red pine giants, often tricentenaires or more, line the Kipawa reservoir in several places. There are also sugar maple trees and black ash trees. This body of water is characterized by areas with a high concentration of mature forests, including McKenzie Island, which has never been extensively logged.

Toponymy

The name Kipawa comes from Algonquin and means "It’s closed". The toponym was spelled in many ways before the Kipawa variant became official: Kippawa, Kippewa, Kepawa, Kipakowe, Kipahowe.

You can stretch the fun by combining your paddleable route with the adjacent course:

Kipawa Archipel Paddle Course