Canoeing from Bolton to Toronto - Humber River Weekend Trip

This video summarizes our two-day canoe trip down the Humber River, starting from the village of Bolton and ending at the mouth of the Humber in the Lake Ontario in the west end of Toronto.
Wilderness Canoe Association: www.wildernesscanoe.ca/
WCA on KZbin: / @wildernesscanoeassoci...
The Terra Incognita (Erik): / @the.terra.incognita
terapr0 (Lachlan): / @terapr0
Canoepoler (Stephen): / @canoepoler
Kayaking the Humber River (Summer 2021): • Kayaking the Humber Ri...
Strava for Day 1: / strava
Strava for Day 2: / strava
During the majority of the year, most of this river is too shallow to paddle, so we completed this trip in the early spring, on the weekend of April 1-2, 2023 when the water level was essentially at its peak. In between Day 1 and Day 2 we spent the night camping near the river. Throughout the two days, there were a total of 10 man-made obstacles (mostly weir dams) that we portaged around.
We passed many landmarks along the way including: the Nashville Conversation Reserve, the Kleinburg Film Studios, the Kleinburg Water Resource Recovery Facility, The Country Club (former golf course), the Humber Valley Golf Course, the Weston Golf & Country Club, Scarlett Woods Golf Course, and the Lambton Golf & Country Club. We also passed several communities and neighbourhoods including: Nashville, Kleinburg, Elder Mills, Vaughan Mills, Woodbridge, Humber Summit, Mount Olive, Thistletown, Humbermede, Pelmo Park - Humberlea, Weston, Humber Heights, Westmount, Roselands, Scarlett Mills, Lambton Mills, Warren Park, Baby Point, The Kingsway, Old Mill, Swansea, and Humber Bay Shores. All these locations are within the municipalities of Caledon (Peel Region), King Township (York Region), Vaughan (York Region) and Toronto. We paddled under more than 60 bridges, including: Hickman St, Highway 50 / Queen St N, Humber Lea Rd, King St E, the Historic Sneath Rd bridge, Caledon King Townline S, Huntington Rd, the historic McEwen Bridge (Kirby Rd), Nashville Rd, Highway 27, Major MacKenzie Dr W, an Elder Mills trail bridge, Rutherford Rd, Vaughan Mills Rd, 6 bridges for the Country Club (formerly Board of Trade) golf course, Clarence St, Woodbridge Ave, Highway 7, Canadian Pacific Rail's MacTier Subdivision, Highway 407, Canadian National Rail's Halton Subdivision, Steeles Ave W, 9 bridges for the Humber River Trail, Finch Ave W / Islington Ave, Albion Rd, Highway 401, GO Transit's Weston Subdivision (Kitchener Line), St Phillips Rd, Lawrence Ave W, Eglinton Ave, Scarlett Rd, Canadian Pacific Rail's Galt Subdivision (GO Transit's Milton Line), Dundas St W, Old Mill Rd, TTC's Line 2 - Bloor Danforth Subway, Bloor St W, The Queensway, GO Transit's Oakville Subdivision (Lakeshore West), Lake Shore Blvd W, Gardiner Expressway, and the Humber Bay Arch Bridge.
I hope you enjoyed this video. Please COMMENT and subscribe!
Thanks for watching.

[@wildernesscanoeassociation]

It was great having CJ on the trip, and he made some rather obviously valuable contributions!

[@cjhoyle]

Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this rare opportunity!

[@mikelandry3375]

Thanks for this video.

[@cjhoyle]

No problem, thanks.

[@waynesimmonds9646]

Good to see your videos. Keep adding them, I for one really enjoy. Nice commentary on the dangers of "strainers", Safety from obstructions is way more important than many realize.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. I felt it really important to strongly emphasize the dangers of paddling on a fast river like this at that time of the year.

[@royieg2543]

Paddled very small section of the humber from my house in Toronto, looking forward to do it all one day. Thanks for inspiiring me to do it all, great video.

[@cinthia9602]

That was an awesome video. Very fascinating trip.

[@Riverstoryz]

Unfreakin’believable!!! That was great. So much fun. Packed with information. So well done!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

[@wildernesscanoeassociation]

Hey Chris, we just recorded nearly 500 clips of the journey downriver. We should talk.

[@The.Terra.Incognita]

Great video CJ and a pleasure paddling with you! 🛶 🌊 🌲

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks Erik, you as well!

[@brycemartin7670]

One of the most valuable contributions made by CJH is the video documentary. Lots of work goes into it and great to watch.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! The number of hours I put into preparing this particular video was far above any others I've done before, but it was a labour of love and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

[@WheelsonaBike]

This was amazing to watch. Thanks for the commentary, CJ, it's always an educational experience.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks Agnieszka, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@gregsalsman]

Looked like an awesome trip. Never thought to try the upper humber all the way down. I really enjoy your canoe trips. You inspired me to do one of my own. I recently went to Algonquin for the first time. Thanks for sharing this adventure!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! It's certainly not a trip for everyone, but that's a big part of why I enjoyed it so much. I feel honoured to have helped inspire you to do your own canoe trip!

[@tenspeedca]

Great adventure, thanks Chris.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks Ken!

[@TomBeakbaneToronto]

This is an informative synthesis of geography, history and paddling tips. Thanks! Let’s paddle this in the spring of 2024.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@HadyBharterofficial]

Suasana sungai dan tempat yang baru yang pernah saya lihat.sangat menghibur sukses selalu kawan ♥️🫰👍💪🏻✌️🙏

[@schtoltheimreinbach]

what a nice adventure. I only do bike trails but this looks fun

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! It was a lot of fun indeed.

[@morganillsley94]

what a great adventure!🛶👍👍

[@cjhoyle]

It's an adventure I'm sure I'll never forget :)

[@psoscia]

Wow!...that was awesome... congratulations 👏

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks!

[@prayfornathannatureshow]

Great video and props to the Wilderness Canoe Association for organizing this trip.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! I consider myself very lucky to have been invited to participate in this unique trip.

[@dalehalliday3578]

I live in Humber Bay Shores community, and regularly cycle down the Humber trail, so very interesting to see from the canoeist's vantage. Well done.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! I love the Humber River Trail and it was neat getting to see places I recognize from a whole new perspective.

[@raymonddaviau4502]

Really enjoyed this video, keep it up.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks!

[@tombikes4164]

Great trip CJ! With the strong current, large volume of water, low temperatures and strainers/sweepers it was not without risk. Glad you were safe.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! It was a lot different from the types of trips I normally do, and certainly not something I would have felt safe doing on my own.

[@shivabalannagakumaran6019]

Great to see an amazing Canoe trip video between Bolton and Toronto!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@ronjordan986]

Always great watching your videos. Very much appreciate you taking us to places we will unlikely never see in the flesh.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! I really enjoy visiting places that are not very common to visit. It's a luxury having an audience that I can share these adventures with.

[@BioDave1955]

I really enjoy your paddling videos. This one was especially enjoyable. Thank you for posting this video.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@canoepoler]

Thanks for this very comprehensive video (and the plug) and for coming along to round out the crew for a very enjoyable and surprisingly challenging trip!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks for having me along!

[@cherylhoyle1098]

Great video!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks!

[@michaelstern4674]

Hi CJ another very nice canoe trip.i realy enjoyed it

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@JustFluffyQuiltingYarnCrafts]

While living in Swansea, as a child, I never even thought of how far north the Humber extended. This was a wonderful journey and I appreciate the work involved in providing this nicely edited and narrated trip down this great River. Thank you for sharing. ❤

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks you. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@AliPez]

Thanks for a great video. Scenery is beautiful. As always, you and the guys at the canoe association have outdone yourselves. Still waiting for a new bike tour, CJ. Regards!👍

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks!

[@anthonysestito]

Nicely done and great narration! Thanks for sharing. Spent many many years riding the Humber bike trail from top to bottom and always dreamed of a trip like this.

[@cjhoyle]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was a really unique experience.

[@colingeorgeh]

Great video. Thank you for sharing.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@TorontoLiveMusicVids]

Fantastic video! Learned a lot. Congratulations to you and your fellow intrepid canoeists!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words!

[@MrYu2ube]

Wow, what an adventure! Excellent video - I loved hearing about the region you traveled through, and the precautions needed to take such a trip.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! It was fun learning about the different places we passed along the way.

[@letter2steve]

Such awesome detail. Great job.

[@cjhoyle]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@onnobokhove]

Very nice. A trip through memory lane; 1990-1995. In the summer turning the corner onto the Humber River was always somewhat scary in a racing K1.

[@cjhoyle]

Awesome, those sound like fun times. Thanks!

[@drpulpit]

The Humber River, as soon as I saw that in the title, my mind immediately went to The Rock, to the grand Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Humber, there being one of the major Salmon fishing rivers (at least when I lived there in the late 60's) a beautiful, beautiful river. but then I saw the name Toronto, and knew, oops, you weren't as far East as I thought. I like your bike videos.

[@cjhoyle]

While I was doing research I saw that NL also has a river called the Humber. The only other Humber River I'm aware of is in England, so it's actually a fairly uncommon name. In contract, last year I made videos about the Grand River, and there are dozens of rivers with that name around the world.

[@joshuavincent7884]

I've lived in Vaughan my whole life and I didn't know this was even possible...this was so awesome to watch, thank you for sharing the experience!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@smyproductions]

Grew up in Bolton , cool stuff. That strainer/ sweeper around 9:00 had me nervous watching 😂

[@Johnny.Mohawk]

I was just kayaking up the Humber a few days ago. First time paddling this season. I started at that public boat launch just south of Bloor St. Paddled up to the first weir, then to the mouth of the river, across to Sunnyside Beach area, then back to the boat launch for a nice 10K run. The wind was blowing downriver which made the trip back to shore more of a workout lol. All in all a decent trip. I’m going up the Rouge River as far as I can get this weekend

[@kenwilliam42]

I waited to see if I was going to see the return of the overnight oats and sure enough, I was not disappointed. Lol

[@cjhoyle]

haha I'm a creature of habit.

[@adventureswithjosie]

Great video Christopher! It was interesting to watch you go on this type of canoe trip! That's really neat that during high water levels you can paddle most of this river. I actually already follow all of the people/organization that you tagged in the description on KZbin and Instagram, so it was cool to see that they were all on the trip with you.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Wow, it's really a small world sometimes! I usually try to keep my trips a bit of a secret on social media until after the videos from them are ready to share. This one was no exception, although I was aware that other members of the group had already posted some things, and I was curious if anyone had seen them and recognized me.

[@adventureswithjosie]

@cjhoyle I actually hadn't seen what they had posted about the trip. I don't always scroll through everything on social media if I don't have time, and sometimes miss things. I probably would have recognized you though if I had seen their posts. That's so cool that they invited you along on this trip!

[@CyFoxDen]

I learned a lot about bridges.

[@jimboate7922]

Gees that looked a bit scary in spots with the strong currents and low hanging strainers. I thought you might loose your camera off your helmet at one point. Thanks for sharing and stay safe my friend 👍

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! It was definitely not a trip for beginners, and I'm glad that came across in the video.

[@treq6331]

Lets goo

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks.

[@stevesly285]

Hi Ceej. Have watched your adventurous and inspiring videos for a few years now. Just curious to know, since you are somewhat of an experience paddler have you read the book "Paddle Down the Amazon" by Don Starkell which documents the adventure that his Son(s) and him took from the Red River in Winnipeg all the way to the Amazon river over the course of 1980-1982. If not I strongly recommend it. Also, if you are old enough to recall a 45 min NFB called "Paddle to the Sea" produced in the mid 1960's. A Native boy carves a one piece canoe with an Indian figure inside complete with a lead counter weight so it would always right itself. Starts out from roughly Timmins and follows "Paddle's" adventures through the great lakes to finally exit at the mouth of the St Lawrence river into the vastness of the North Pacific. I will watch you overnight oats recipe video which I've been meaning to do, and if anyone does ask me what inspired me I'll simply tell them "It's all according to Hoyle"

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! To be honest with you, I'm not much of a book reader, but I definitely have fond memories of seeing Paddle to the Sea in my childhood. I definitely will need to watch that again soon.

[@DejanOfRadic]

What a strange experience to see the river that I know so well from the trails. I've been over almost every one of the bridges, including the McEwan....and I was almost knocked off of the train bridge where the UP line now runs. Great job, with lots of very interesting narration. However, I have to say.....how could you have cut the video off just before the epic skyline view just to the east of the Humber Bay!!?? The water is shallow there and perfect for a book end view, letting people unfamiliar with the city really experience the contrast of wilderness and metropolis. In any case,myour video shows this contrast very well....but that would have dropped the mic.

[@furryfriends2898]

Hi, thank you for your lovely video. I love Humber River and visit it every day as I live next to it 😅😊❤ I made lots of videos of this river on my channel too. Can I join you on ur boat next time when u pass Humber River with ur boat??😊 thank you in advance

[@Ticatsfanx351]

Hey there! I have recently interested in projecting and covering the old Toronto Carrying Place Trail. Reportedly the groups would have travelled up the river as well since it was a trade route. Do you think this would be possible or would the whole thing have to be run in your direction? I have a whole host of other questions if you or your friend would be willing top field them.

[@garyg4158]

love watching your videos! I have a question...what was that that appeared from the water at 14:33? Was it just a piece of wood? fish?

[@driftwoodkitty]

It was a floating branch.

[@oldgael1]

CJ.....when you were stealth camping did you make a conscious decision to not have any campfires somthat you would not attract attention? And what kind of meals were available to the stealth team? Thanks

[@cjhoyle]

We decided ahead of time that we wouldn't have any campfires. As you pointed out, there is nothing stealthy about campfires. On this trip, each paddler was responsible for their own food. Some people had small cooking stoves with them. I stuck with my usual food plan of meals that required no refrigeration or heating.

[@theastuteangler]

0:17 false, Toronto is 1 hour northwest of Toronto

[@mikietonon]

dude went right by my house