Manigotagan River: Quesnel Lake to Wood Falls (4 days / 65 km)

The Manigotagan River is a popular entry-level whitewater trip that takes paddlers through the rugged Canadian Shield and into the boreal transition zone over the course of 65 km. There are many rapids and well-established portages. This river is mainly Class I-II rapids, with some must-portage waterfalls. We paddled this river over four days in mid-September. We saw no other paddlers. Water levels were low, but the rapids were still runnable and fun.

Trip Completed: September 2020

Trip Summary

Starting Point: Quesnel Lake (Q Lake Lodge)

Ending Point: Town of Manigotagan, Wood Falls

Total Distance: 50 km

Duration: 4 days, 3 nights

Difficulty: Intermediate

Location

The Manigotagan River is part of Manigotagan River Provincial Park, adjacent to Nopiming Provincial Park, located in eastern Manitoba.

Traditional Territory: This route on the Manigotagan River is on the traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki (source).

Maps & Resources

Guidebook: Manitoba Eco Network offers a list of campsites and rapids, with pictures and descriptions:

Overview MapList of campsiteList of rapids

Maps:

Garner Lake 52L/14Manigotagan Lake 52L/13Bissett 52M/4English Brook 62P/1

Campsite Reservations / Permits: No campsite reservation or permits are needed.

Outfitters & Shuttles

Shuttle services are offered by C&M Shuttle in Manigotagan. At the time of writing, shuttling a personal vehicle costs $120. They can also provide canoe rentals.

There are fully guided six-day trips offered by Twin River Travel.

Trip Report

Day 1: Quesnel Lake to Turtle Falls (12 km)

We left Winnipeg around 7:00 am. We met our shuttle, operated by former river steward Charles Simard, in Manigotagan and drove to Quesnel Lake (about an hour of driving past Manigotagan - the last 15 km is on a rough trail, but passable without 4WD). We put in around 11:30 am.

We ran some small swifts and a short drop before the Wendigo Falls portage ...