The French River is located approximately 320 km (200 miles) north of Toronto. Flowing westward out of Lake Nippissing, the French River (approximately 112 kilometers long) winds towards Georgian Bay through the most beautiful wilderness and waterway in Ontario. Typical of the Canadian Shield, the landscape is rugged and blanketed with thick forest. The river is a huge and diverse resource made up of interconnecting lakes and gorges, rapids and swifts. Central Ontario's French River is the symbolic dividing line between northern and southern Ontario. To wilderness canoeists, however, it's more than a line on a map, it's a line stretching back into our history.

This Canadian Heritage River makes up the French River Provincial Park hosting numerous Heritage Sites along its shores. This historic transportation route has remained relatively undisturbed throughout time. French Missionaries began to appear in the early 1600's followed by a wave of Europeans who swept across the continent eventually claiming it for their own. Everyone who went west by the traditional route, paddled the waters of the French River. The shoreline you see is the same as Champlain spotted in 1615.

The French River contains many areas of exceptional beauty. Its varied habitats host rare and endangered species of plants and animals. The French River has a rich historical background and unspoiled wilderness along its diverse route.

French River Trips