Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this video I shared my Saturday July 31st experience of paddling down a less commonly explored portion of the Humber River. Since this particular segment of the river has many shallow rocky sections and noticeable current flows, I decided to paddle it only in one direction. Using my bike trailer, I towed my kayak up to the West Humber Parklands at Albion Rd in Toronto's Rexdale area. After locking my kayak to a tree, I rode the bike and empty trailer down to Home Smith Park in Etobicoke's Kingsway neighbourhood. Leaving my bike and trailer locked up downstream on the river here, I boarded a #73 TTC bus which took me back to where my kayak was waiting for me. I was then able to paddle the kayak 15km downstream on this river to my bike and trailer. Along the way I passed underneath of many bridges including Albion Rd, Highway 401, CN Railway, St Phillips Rd, Lawrence Ave W, Eglinton Ave W, Scarlett Rd, the CP Railway, Dundas Street and many pedestrian/bike bridges for the Humber River Recreational Trail. Along the way I also passed 4 golf courses: The Humber Valley Golf Course, The Weston Golf Course, Scarlett Woods Golf Course, and Lambton Golf & Country Club. I also portaged the kayak around 2 man-made weirs in Cruickshank Park and Raymore Park. I decided to end my kayaking adventure just south of Dundas street because the next 2 km of the river downstream has 6 more weirs in rapid succession which would have meant a lot more portaging than actual kayaking!
Many segments of the river seem very isolated from the city and I was lucky to have many excellent wildlife sightings including Beaver, Mink, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Canada Geese and Cormorants. Along the way there were several sections that were shallow and rocky where the kayak got stuck on the bottom. It was easiest to just get out and walk through these sections. I also encountered some small rapids where the water was deep enough that I could paddle though. I'm sure during the spring runoff this river is much more suitable for paddling.
Since I own a white-water helmet, I decided to wear it just to be safe. I concluded that this was a good choice, especially since rocks on the bottom of the river can be slippery to walk on, and I was doing this adventure solo. Please do your own research and be sure that you have the correct equipment if you're going to attempt an excursion like this yourself.
Strava for this adventure: strava.com/activities/5718478379
Kayaking up the Don River: youtu.be/Cto3mRCCoTw
Kayaking around the Toronto Islands: youtu.be/VGAl5wxcK6A
Kayaking from Toronto to Port Credit: youtu.be/COXPXunbCzY
Kayaking to see Theodore Tugboat: youtu.be/6fnf0my1I24
Kayaking around Ontario Place: youtu.be/7X0BZhaR7Zk
Canoeing under Hwy 401 in Trenton: youtu.be/emMTD_N1FKQ
Large Beaver comes out of the Water: youtu.be/RjUgO-rMgnc
My Kayak Bike Trailer: youtu.be/LyU9RWm-Bwg
Linear Limo Recumbent: youtu.be/r9tRAEzPuQs
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: youtu.be/A9wBPPL3BbM
I hope you enjoyed this video. Please COMMENT and subscribe!
Thanks for watching.
In this video I shared my Saturday July 31st experience of paddling down a less commonly explored portion of the Humber River. Since this particular segment of the river has many shallow rocky sections and noticeable current flows, I decided to paddle it only in one direction. Using my bike trailer, I towed my kayak up to the West Humber Parklands at Albion Rd in Toronto's Rexdale area. After locking my kayak to a tree, I rode the bike and empty trailer down to Home Smith Park in Etobicoke's Kingsway neighbourhood. Leaving my bike and trailer locked up downstream on the river here, I boarded a #73 TTC bus which took me back to where my kayak was waiting for me. I was then able to paddle the kayak 15km downstream on this river to my bike and trailer. Along the way I passed underneath of many bridges including Albion Rd, Highway 401, CN Railway, St Phillips Rd, Lawrence Ave W, Eglinton Ave W, Scarlett Rd, the CP Railway, Dundas Street and many pedestrian/bike bridges for the Humber River Recreational Trail. Along the way I also passed 4 golf courses: The Humber Valley Golf Course, The Weston Golf Course, Scarlett Woods Golf Course, and Lambton Golf & Country Club. I also portaged the kayak around 2 man-made weirs in Cruickshank Park and Raymore Park. I decided to end my kayaking adventure just south of Dundas street because the next 2 km of the river downstream has 6 more weirs in rapid succession which would have meant a lot more portaging than actual kayaking!
Many segments of the river seem very isolated from the city and I was lucky to have many excellent wildlife sightings including Beaver, Mink, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Canada Geese and Cormorants. Along the way there were several sections that were shallow and rocky where the kayak got stuck on the bottom. It was easiest to just get out and walk through these sections. I also encountered some small rapids where the water was deep enough that I could paddle though. I'm sure during the spring runoff this river is much more suitable for paddling.
Since I own a white-water helmet, I decided to wear it just to be safe. I concluded that this was a good choice, especially since rocks on the bottom of the river can be slippery to walk on, and I was doing this adventure solo. Please do your own research and be sure that you have the correct equipment if you're going to attempt an excursion like this yourself.
Strava for this adventure: strava.com/activities/5718478379
Kayaking up the Don River: youtu.be/Cto3mRCCoTw
Kayaking around the Toronto Islands: youtu.be/VGAl5wxcK6A
Kayaking from Toronto to Port Credit: youtu.be/COXPXunbCzY
Kayaking to see Theodore Tugboat: youtu.be/6fnf0my1I24
Kayaking around Ontario Place: youtu.be/7X0BZhaR7Zk
Canoeing under Hwy 401 in Trenton: youtu.be/emMTD_N1FKQ
Large Beaver comes out of the Water: youtu.be/RjUgO-rMgnc
My Kayak Bike Trailer: youtu.be/LyU9RWm-Bwg
Linear Limo Recumbent: youtu.be/r9tRAEzPuQs
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: youtu.be/A9wBPPL3BbM
I hope you enjoyed this video. Please COMMENT and subscribe!
Thanks for watching.
