Grass River Canoe Trip - Pisew Falls to Paint Lake

by Harvey 21:14 0 comments Thompson Manitoba Pisew Falls Paint Lake Kwasitchewan Falls Kachikaskwatainok Rapids Sasisgigwan Rapids Grass River

So this was a canoe trip that I was planning for a while that got postponed due to an ill fated canoe trip last summer. I had a pretty hard time finding any actual information on the trip so I figured it would be a good idea to post this on-line.

Kwasitchewan Falls on the Grass River

Rapids on The Grass

Kachikaskwatainok Rapids

First off, if you are planning this trip I would like to recommend the book, Wilderness Rivers of Manitoba. The author of this book didn't actually run this section of the Grass River, but he somehow had a helpful map that included the location of the portages; only one of which we were unable to find. He also had some important safety tips that I would recommend following. However, I would have to disagree with him about his choice of bug spray. Citronella sucks, bring the strongest DEET you can find. I was able to borrow a copy of this book from the Thompson Public Library. You can buy it if you want, but there is only one page that is relevant to this canoe trip.

The next advice I have is to choose a suitable time frame to complete the trip. We completed this trip in one night and it was only possible due to absolutely ideal weather conditions. If I was to do it again I would stay two nights and have more time to relax. I was originally under the impression that the current of the Grass River would speed up our travel. This is not the case, most of the trip was similar to crossing a lake, and wind can be a huge problem. Once you get to Paint Lake it is only about another 10km to the Paint Lake Marina, but there are some very wide open patches of water that can be impossible to cross if it is windy.

The starting point can be found about an hours drive south of Thompson.  There is an access road to the Grass River behind a gravel pit just north of the Pisew Falls turn off on Highway 6. It is on the east side of the highway and it's a good idea to have 4x4 since the road can get really washed out. An alternate option would be to go down the paved Pisew Falls access road, carry all of your gear down to the suspension bridge, and put in there.

Please see the following map for more information on the route we took and obstacles we encountered.

Update August 2013: One of the most common questions I get about the trip by people who are interested in the route is, "How do I find the portages and what condition are they in?" Basically two out of three long portages... were in okay condition. They were wide, direct, trails that looked like they could fit an ATV. The first portage can be very muddy if it has rained recently and the opening is pictured below. The second long portage at Kachikaskwatainok rapids is on the right side of the river close to the starting of the rapids. We approached very cautiously, but were able to find easily. The only portage we could not find was just after Kachikaskwatainok. We ended up bushwhacking our own trail, based on our map, that was very time consuming. I am still not sure where that portage was located or what condition it is in. Supposedly it is on the left side of the river, but the current is strong in this section and we wanted to play it safe. Check out my Google maps file for more information.

The opening to the first portage.

Update: You need Google Earth installed on your computer for the map plug-in below to work. If it still isn't working in your web browser you can directly download the map file here.