On August 6, I loaded my 17ft Merganser kayak for a paddle across the Grand River at the old Ferry Road. I went to Ferry Road's end on the Grand River's south side to launch. I would have gone to the north side to launch off the Old Ferry Road (near Bayside), but I wasn't sure there was access to the river. As it turns out, there is a path to the river from the corner of Old Ferry Road – so it would be a launch option with the kayak trolley.
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| Paddle track, 8.5 km (Merganser kayak) |
It's 1 km across the river at the old ferry location. I headed downriver to explore Birch Creek inlet to make a more extended outing. This 1 km creek inlet is mostly undeveloped except for a few farmer's fields on the west side. The inlet was good for bird sightings – Bald Eagle, Kingfisher, Nelson's Sparrow, etc.
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After a break at the mouth of Birch Creek on a small sandy beach, I paddled 2 km across the Grand River to a long, unnamed sandspit. Behind the sandspit, there's a large shallow inlet and a marsh with a narrow creek leading towards Old Ferry Road and Route 12. I had a nice walk on the sandspit but didn't paddle the inlet due to low water conditions at the time. At the sandspit, I did get iNaturalist quality photos of Short-billed Dowitchers—a rare shorebird to observe in PEI and globally threatened.
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| Short-billed Dowitchers |
Once back in the kayak, it was a straight paddle to the north side end of the old ferry route. It's an easy spot to go ashore (a bit rocky) and would make a great place to launch on this side of the river via a public 150m access trail. After some exploring, I made the 1 km paddle across the river in a 10-knot breeze without any issues. It was a great day on the river. This route is definitely a re-do outing – but beware of strong SW summer winds!
Click HERE for all my nature sightings of the day (denisag2, iNaturalist).
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