French River

About

From Lake Nipissing's outlet through 110 kilometers of granite channels to Georgian Bay, the French River earned designation as Canada's first Heritage River in 1985. The upper section runs Class I water to Recollet Falls, where paddlers portage around the drop before entering the narrow channels and granite gorges of the Dalles Rapids section. Below the Dalles, the river opens into an archipelago of islands and bays leading to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. French River Provincial Park protects much of the corridor, which follows the historic Voyageur Heritage Route through Ontario's Parry Sound and Sudbury districts. The granite bedrock creates a maze of channels and small rapids rated Class I-II overall, with the character shifting from river to inland sea as paddlers move downstream toward Georgian Bay.