Take your pick: adrenaline packed or slow and contemplative?
Published on Aug 10, 2020
Crossing the city of Sherbrooke in a kayak? Yes, it’s possible! Thanks to the Corridor Bleu on the Saint-François River, along with my lover and my parents, I was able to paddle my way across the city! Here, we discovered a route that would give us a whole new perspective to admire the city of Sherbrooke.
By Jessie Jolin
It looks like it’s going to be a hot one, and it’s just as well; in this kind of weather, there’s no better place to be than in the water! Our plan for the day? Follow the current of the Saint-François River over a distance of 16 km, starting out from the Parc Optimist in the Lennoxville sector where they’ve installed a parking area and a boat launch.
At first sight, one might think this to be a very urban route (after all, the route leads us right through the heart of the city!) but surprisingly, there’s a lot of vegetation and nature to be seen. For the first few kilometres, the shorelines are wooded, and, besides the very faint sound of cars driving by, it’s really quiet. We even surprise a couple of deer by the water.
These last days have been very warm and dry; therefore, the water level was rather low. The current is just strong enough to paddle without much effort, while still maintaining a good speed. After about four kilometres, we arrive in the most urban sector of the route as we pass under a railway bridge and a few viaducts. From the river, we can see the Saint-Michel Cathedral and a good part of the downtown area. When we reach Île des Soeurs (not to be confused with the one we find south of Montreal!) we take this opportunity to step out of our boats and relax for a moment.
As we continue on our way, we cross the Magog River which throws itself in the Saint-François; and, a little further down, we pass by the Mena’sen, a rock formation where a cross was built, and which, according to an old legend, commemorates a man-to-man fight between an Abenaki and an Iroquois.
The second part of the course takes us through more untouched territory. In fact, we can spot several different bird species, among them a bald eagle and more than a dozen herons. A true paradise for amateur ornithologists!
Our adventure comes to an end as we reach the Maison des arts et de la culture de Brompton where they’ve installed a dock to make it easier for us to get out of the water. The ride down the river took about 4.15 hours, following a very relaxed beat and including a few pauses.
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