YCCC...............Ottawa's Canoe Camping Club

Trestle Rapids starts a bit above the put-in, and splits into a drop and flume, followed by an open channel with a lot of standing waves down river right. On river left is a gentler slope till below the footbridge, followed by a boulder garden, then by a ledge. Running from left to right just below the flume, and then down the haystacks, is a straightforward paddle. The drop on the right looks a bit too much for a tandem. Enthusiastic swimmers may choose to jump out of the canoe halfway down and swim the waves ...

The second set of rapids is below the main road bridge, about a half klick downstream. It's a series of small diagonal waves and boulder gardens, a good area to practice strokes, gearing up for the last rapids.

The latter, called Lover's, is right by Centennial Park, and is worth a look before running. The river splits, with only the right channel having water to float a boat. The river turns to the right and drops, creating a rooster tail and impressive souse hole. Running on the extreme left of this channel is straightforward - a tandem seems to fill completely when dropping off the rooster tail. Remember to wave at the rafters - if you swim here you will have an appreciative audience.

For access to the put-in, turn into the town of Petawawa off Highway 17 on to Doran Road. Follow this down to Petawawa Boulevard - the intersection here is odd, but go left. Turn left off Petawawa onto Portage, follow this for a good while and turn right onto Wilson. Follow down to the river. For the take-out, follow Portage where it crosses Petawawa Boulevald and turns into Victoria. Just past the Subway, turn left onto Algonquin, and then right onto Park Drive. Follow down to Centennial Park - the last leg is a short access road on the left.

Thanks to Doug Poulter for showing this route. This is a short run that could be easily done a couple of times in a day, or combined with the Ottawa to flesh out a day paddle.