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| Ospawagon Lake to Thompson Overview Map |
This is a day trip that my wife and I completed on kayaks in early Summer. The water levels were quite a bit higher than my last attempt at this trip in mid fall a couple years prior. The higher water makes a set of rapids mid way through the trip runnable, however there is still the option to portage. The starting point is from a gravel road off of PTH 6 about a 15 minute drive from Thompson. There are 2 gravel roads that lead to Ospawagon Lake and either one would be okay starting point. The white line on the maps is our actual GPS plotted route.
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| Map 1: Ospawagon Lake |
The night before leaving we checked the wind forecast to ensure that the Ospawagon lake crossing would be an enjoyable experience. If the wind is above 15km/h significant chop can develop and you should allow more time for the lake crossing and plot your course accordingly. If the wind picks up spray skirts and partner rescue abilities are a must. Be extra cautious in the spring or fall as water temperatures drop and an immersion accident could end in tragic outcomes. (ProTip #1: Dress for Immersion). We left Thompson just before 8AM in the morning and after unloading our boats and getting our gear organized we were on the water by 8:30AM. The lake crossing casually took about an hour and a half and then we stopped for a snack at the mouth of the Taylor River.
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| Map 2: Taylor River to Rapids |
The second leg of our trip went by effortlessly. The current in the river definitely helped out. It was another hour and a half to the rapids. The portage is an extremely overgrown trail on the left side of the river. It can be easy to miss, but if you pull in anywhere on the left shore before the river makes a bend to the left, you should be able to find it easily on foot. The downstream exit of the portage trail was a different story. There was so much drift wood that we ended up dragging the boast and extra couple hundred meters to make it to the water. We found a nice spot on the rocks overlooking the rapids for lunch.
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| Map 3: Rapids and Portage |
My last time running these rapids I was in a canoe and the water was much lower. The water was so low that there was an exposed rock directly in our path. Foolishly we ran the rapids and ended up wrapping the canoe around the rock. The entire weight of the river kept the canoe pinned against it. The canoe was laid to rest there for the winter and we had to get picked up by a motor boat. From experience my advice would be to not run the rapids if you can see any exposed rocks.
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| Map 4:Rapids To Manasan Falls |
It was about 50 minutes from the rapids to Manasan Falls where the Taylor River flows into the Burntwood River. The current on this leg of the trip is virtually nonexistent. Before approaching Manasan falls you will have some interesting views of the Birchtree Mine head frame on the right side of the river.
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| Map 5: Manasan Falls |
This part of the Burntwood River always freaks me a out a little bit. The area marked off in red can be extremely choppy and the currents seem to change direction very quickly. If your going downstream the easiest way is to stick close to the river right shore, as we did on the map. Stay loose and be prepared to plant your paddle and brace if necessary (ProTip #2: Don't drink too much wine with lunch). If your going upstream stick to the river left side and an eddy current can suck you right up to the falls. Then when crossing the bay in front of the falls you will have to cross more centrally.
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| Map 6: Manasan Falls to Thompson |
The rest of the trip is relatively easy. Just follow the current down. We choose to exit at the Thompson Water Ski club on this trip and finished out day 5:15PM. The boat launch just past the Miles Hart Bridge is actually an easier exit point as you can drive your vehicle right up to the water. You can really cross the bridge anywhere, but if you want to avoid the bigger standing waves go between the pillars closest to the river left side and then it's just an easy peel out to the boat launch. Safe Travels!
Download the Google Maps File for this trip
here!
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