Nith River, New Hamburg

"an excellent no-shuttle required picturesque location"

Nith River in New Hamburg has a dam near Huron Street. Above the dam is William Scott Park. The dam has the effect of creating a long and mildly winding stretch with next to no current at low flow and little current until the flow on the rest of the river is above moderate.

From William Scott Park you can paddle upstream 6 km within sight of the Christner Road bridge without touching bottom even in the low flows typical in a dry summer. This river section is lined with trees, bushes, some farm land, a few houses & cottages. It is a nice location for a lazy no-shuttle paddle. It is also a great place to stretch your arms if you want.

The William Scott Park access has a concrete pad at the water's edge as part of a boat launch. An alternate put in location would be the park on Wilmont Street. It is a favorite spot of geese. In low water the banks are muddy and the river shallow. But it is a fine spot to put in. Also it is open year round, so accessible when William Scott Park is closed for the season.

If you want to extend your paddle, beyond Christner Road there is a small swift (at summer low), but once past that you can paddle about another 1.5 km to a culvert bridge across the river. Please note that culvert bridges can be extremely dangerous on upstream side, with the confined spaces and constricted flow.

This stretch often has a variety of wildlife: osprey, eagle, fox, beaver, goats, wild turkey, bass.

work in progress . . .

• island, dead end channel, distance to head of easy paddling, continue to 2 culvert bridges (reference Gary's article)