Kayaking the Lower Humber River & West Waterfront (Toronto)

In this video I shared my Monday August 2nd experience of paddling from Ontario Place to Old Mill Station in Etobicoke. Along the western waterfront of Toronto there's a long breakwater which shelters a 5 km stretch of shoreline and creates a channel which is great for paddling in. Starting from Brigantine Cove, I kayaked west through this channel to the mouth of the Humber River. After paddling underneath the Humber Bay Arch Bridge, I headed up the river as far as Bloor St, where the Line 2 Bloor-Danforth subway also passes over the river at Old Mill Station. From there the water gets shallow so I turned around and headed back to where I started.
Along the way I passed many landmarks including Budweiser Stage (Molson Amphitheatre), Exhibition Place, the ExPlace Wind Turbine, the Martin Goodman Waterfront Trail, the Argonaut Rowing Club, the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club, the Boulevard Club, Palace Royal, Sunnyside Beach, the Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion, Gus Ryder Swimming Pool, Humber Bay Shores. Lake Shore Blvd W, the Gardiner Expressway, CN Rail line, the Queensway, the South Kingsway Boat Launch, Riverside Dr, the Humber River Boat Launch, the Toronto Humber Yacht Club, Bloor St, the Line 2 Subway and the Old Mill Bridge.
I also encountered lots of other interesting watercrafts including foldable Oru kayaks, foot powered kayaks, dragon boat canoes, transparent clear-bottom kayaks, outrigger canoes, rowing shells, and a 'Hobie' pedalboard.
I was also very lucky with my wildlife sightings including cormorants, a mother Mallard duck with 2 small ducklings, a Great Egret, a Beaver, a Muskrat, a Turtle, and a Mink.
Strava for this adventure: / strava
Kayaking around Ontario Place: • Ontario Place (Toronto...
Kayaking the Humber River - Rexdale to The Kingsway: • Kayaking the Humber Ri...
Kayaking up the Don River: • Kayaking up the Don Ri...
Kayaking around the Toronto Islands: • Kayaking around the To...
Kayaking from Toronto to Port Credit: • Kayaking from Toronto ...
Kayaking to see Theodore Tugboat: • Kayaking to see Theodo...
Biking the West Waterfront: • Waterfront Trail (West...
Large Beaver comes out of the Water: • Large Beaver comes out...
My Kayak Bike Trailer: • My Kayak Bike Trailer
Linear Limo Recumbent: • Assembling my Linear L... ​
My kayak is a 1999 Dagger Redline (whitewater). I filmed this video using a Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone. I protect the phone from sinking in the water using a homemade floating pouch.
Buoyant Smartphone Accessory: • Buoyant Smartphone Acc...
I hope you enjoyed this video. Please COMMENT and subscribe!
Thanks for watching.

[@UguysRnuts]

Excellent work! Your route today is through my own stomping grounds. I live on the Humber and started commuting to work by canoe in 1972. Few know the significance of the Humber to Toronto's founding. The first European structure in what is now Toronto was at it's mouth on the stretch of water First Nation people referred to as "The Carrying Place". This river was the thoroughfare to Simcoe and Georgian Bay for the indigenous peoples and the Voyageurs engaged in the trading of furs. Just about every feature you covered factored into my life. I water-skied in the Aquarama Show at the Ex for three years as a teenager, had a job driving a golf cart at Ontario Place, learned to play squash at the Argonaut Club and was a Lifeguard at Sunnyside on the beach. You went right by my house and our old dock. It's now used as a floating amphitheatre for a group of stage performers. My Dad tried to save the THYC yachts from sinking on the night of Hurricane Hazel in 1954. He hung onto several for many hours until the current and debris parted their lines. They ALL broke into driftwood upon smashing into the submerged bridges. My Mom was the bookkeeper at the long-gone "Lackies" marina on the eastern bank at the South Kingsway and my earliest employment was working the gas pump there for Tom Lackie. Thanks for making this, and ALL your information packed paddlelogues. Looking forward to our eventual gam. ~Mike

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! It's great to read about all your local connections! I'm familiar with your dock and hope to one day attend one of those evening stage performances.

[@class2g165]

Good and clear commentary….I remember kayaking down the river with my daughter and friends🙂

[@cjhoyle]

Thank you, it's a nice place to paddle.

[@laurashurr9944]

This video is fantastic! Thank you for speaking so clearly and giving all that information. It helped me feel more comfortable trying this route.

[@BioDave1955]

Love to watch these narrated paddling adventures. Thanks so much for these.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, glad you're enjoying them.

[@cinque8335]

Fantastic video and stumbled on it after I paddled this portion this past summer. Sometimes couldnt beleive it was Toronto.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's definitely one of my favourite places to paddle in Toronto.

[@anthonyarmata4525]

So awesome! Thank you so much Chris! 😊😊😊

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, no problem!

[@mikelandry3375]

Great scenery. Thank you!

[@cjhoyle]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks.

[@martinvanoene7192]

The wild life was super special to see! It made me feel so hopeful! Awesome ! Thanks so much!

[@cjhoyle]

Ya for sure! It's great to see that wild animals are able to coexist with the millions of humans that live in Toronto.

[@davidpalmer4210]

Great job narrating CJ! It was interesting and very enjoyable to watch, thanks!

[@cjhoyle]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@adventureswithjosie]

Looks like a really nice day of paddling! That's cool that you got to see all of that wildlife, especially the mink!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! Since getting my kayak I've had so many great wildlife encounters. Far more this summer than any other in the past. Minks are actually quite common here, I typically see one nearly every time I go kayaking in Toronto. Muskrats are much more rare, that was only my 2nd time seeing one ever!

[@adventureswithjosie]

@@cjhoyle Very cool! I actually haven't seen too many minks over the years. The most recent one I saw was earlier this summer along a river. I used to see Muskrats a lot more often when I lived in Southern Ontario, mostly lots of beavers around the area where I live now it seems. The last Muskrat that I saw was near Orillia two years ago.

[@valentineyapp]

...mate! that was nice...

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@tombikes4164]

Thanks for another informative video. I hope to kayak there someday too.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@khannadeem12345]

Beautiful content and very informative, with great enthusiasm you did this video keep it up👍

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@GarieTag]

Nice video I live in Hull on the river Humber England

[@cjhoyle]

Cool! We also have a Hull in Canada, but it's not close to the Humber River. If you look at a map of Ontario I'm sure you'll notice there are a lot of places named after places in your country.

[@normg2242]

The transparent canoes are from a rental outfit at the Kingsway launch site

[@cjhoyle]

Good to know.

[@kendrewpape987]

I've had my Oru for a few months and yesterday I tried this same adventure. I couldn't launch from the pier in Brigantine cove because I wasn't comfortable with the drop down to the water level. When I reached the Humber arch bridge there was a small portage at the end of the breakwater. Is the water level lower during the autumn months? Great trip! I look forward to replicating more of your city kayaking adventures in the Spring.

[@cjhoyle]

Awesome! I've heard that the water level in the lake has been quite low lately. I don't necessarily think it gets this low every autumn, as there are many factors which impact the depth of such a large lake. I remember it being pretty low in the spring of 2021, and needing to portage over the sandbar near the bridge. In the spring on 2022 it wasn't like that. How were the fall colours on the Humber?

[@kendrewpape987]

@@cjhoyle I was really looking forward to the fall colours and the Humber Valley was as spectacular as I'd hoped. That said, I think the colours were at their peak when I paddled from Balmy Beach to the Scarborough Bluffs on Thanksgiving.

[@BIGNICKELL1]

I enjoyed your video and plan on doing something similar this summer but I'd be curious to know how far is it from the Humber Bridge to Old Mill Bridge? I am debating on where to launch my kayak from as to get the maximum kaying time.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks. The Old Mill Bridge is approximately 3.5km upstream from the Arch bridge.

[@BIGNICKELL1]

@@cjhoyle Thanks. That helps me decide on where to disembark from.

[@vm3574]

Hi CJ, love what you are doing. What do you think of Intex excursion pro to do this trip?

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks! I've never tried an inflatable kayak myself, but I've seen a ton of them paddling throughout Toronto (including all portions of the route shown in this video). Go for it!

[@vm3574]

Great. Thanks CJ

[@qwaqwa1960]

I'd suggest that should be a hard "G" in BriGantine...

[@cjhoyle]

oh ok, good to know. I can't say I've ever heard that word pronounced before by anyone else, and mine was just a guess.