Dirk, Claudia, Stefani and Katrina Van Wijk

Come join us on the river this summer.

  MKC offers whitewater Kayak & Open Canoe instruction, all summer long - Weekend and 5-Day courses,  and runs 2-hour Family Rafting excursions here on the 5km section of the Madawaska River. 

Or join us on the legendary Ottawa River with OWL Rafting, our sister company..... for a 1-Day or 2-Day whitewater rafting excursion - High Adventure & Family Rafting.  We want to make your experience a memorable one.

Please find water levels for the full length of the Madawaska River below - updated once a week in our paddling season.  Descriptions on what the levels mean, are below the table. 

The Madawaska River Levels - 2011:

Date Upper Mad Middle Mad Lower Mad
April 21 90 cms 50 cms 220 cms
  HAPPY EARTH DAY
April 26 140 cms 52 cms 210 cms
April 28 140 cms 70 cms 230 cms
May 02 170 cms 108 cms 270 cms
May 04 160 cms 132 cms 270 cms
May 05 120 cms 108 cms 287 cms
May 10 90 cms 65 cms 175 cms
May 11 90 cms 45 cms 120 cms
May 19 55 cms 29 cms 107 cms
May 23 75 cms 55 cms 110 cms
May 25 60 cms 70 cms 170 cms
May 30 83 cms 83 cms 182 cms
June 3   56 cms 120 cms
June 6 35 cms 38 cms 73 cms
June 10 32 cms 29 cms 58 cms
June 13 35 cms 38 cms 70 cms
June 17 32 cms 32 cms 58 cms
June 20 20 cms 26 cms 55 cms
June 25 60 cms 85 cms 140 cms
June 28 40 cms 40 cms 90 cms
July 2 34 cms 34 cms 95 cms
July 4 34 cms 34 cms 55 cms
July 6   26 cms  
July 11 28 cms 28 cms 56 cms
July 16 30 cms 10 cms 40 cms
July 18 30 cms 34 cms 40 cms
July 22 12 cms 5 cms 25 cms
July 24 8 cms 3 cms 10 cms
July 25 8 cms 27 cms 13 cms
July 26 10 cms 26 cms 14 cms
July 27 10 cms 26 cms 14 cms
July 28 10 cms 3 cms 20 cms
July 29 10 cms 3 cms 20 cms
Aug 1 12 cms 26 cms 15 cms
Aug 6 12 cms 3 cms 13 cms
Aug 8 10 cms 27 cms 13 cms
Aug 13 4 cms 27 cms 15 cms
Aug 17 4 cms 27 cms 15 cms
Aug 19 5 cms 3 cms 15 cms
Aug 22   26 cms  
Aug 26 3cms 3cms 20cms
Aug 29 3 cms 26 cms 18 cms
Oct 11   25 cms 40 cms
Oct 18   25 cms 50 cms
Oct 20   26 cms 60 cms
Oct 25   26 cms 45 cms
Nov 01   26 cms 35 cms
Nov 10   26 cms 42 cms
       

The Madawaska River, from a paddling point of view is divided into three sections:

Upper Mad - Whitney to the town of Madawaska

Middle Mad - 5km section below Bark Lake Dam to Lake Kamaniskeg, where MKC is located

Lower Mad - The Palmer rapids section down to Griffith

The gauge is updated weekly, during MKC's season (mid May - Labour Day).   The river levels are given in cms (cubic metres per second), with the paddling level in brackets (eg. high water).

Water levels for the middle Madawaska, in the summer months only flow between Monday and Thursday.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday normally see a minimum 3cms flow, unless specifically indicated.


Water Level explanation for Whitewater Paddlers

Upper Madawaska - the section between Algonquin Park (Whitney) to the town of Madawaska (Bark Lake)

Level (in CMS) Comment
> 120 very high water
60 - 120 good paddling level
25  - 60 medium/low levels
< 25 low, too little water to paddle

Middle Madawaska - the section infront of MKC, between Bark Lake and Lake Kamaniskeg (there is an MNR  minimum flow requirement of 3 cms)As of July 8th, the water releases are Mon - Thurs. from 9am - 3:30pm only.

Level (in CMS) Comment
> 50 huge, with some keepers
25 - 50 high
25.6 regular MKC release level -great!
15 - 25 low, but navigable
< 15 too low to paddle

Lower Madawaska - this is both Palmer Rapids and the section from Aumonds Bay to Griffith, as the Palmer Dam feeds this whole section. (the minimum MNR flow requirement is 10 cms)

Level (in CMS) Palmer Snake Rapids
> 250 washed out huge - be careful, water runs through the trees
120 - 250 pushy, with boily eddy lines high
80 - 120 high, three chutes at Jessups great,   forgiving and perfect for Haas' hole
40 - 80 good medium,   very enjoyable paddling
25 - 40 good low, but still a good run
10 - 25 low very low, rocky

  


Copyright ©1996 Madawaska Kanu Camp Inc./OWL Rafting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Created by: Jim Dodds