Daytripper: Mattawa via Rutherglen

Map to Mattawa via Rutherglen.
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This Daytripper takes us to Mattawa via the back roads of Calvin Township (with a little of Bonfield and Papineau thrown in) and then home via Hwy 533.

We exit Hwy 17 east at Rutherglen and head south. The concession roads are well-signed but we do take a number of turns so you may want to take a copy of this Daytripper with you.

Turning left on Development Road we continue east to Mount Pleasant Road. At the turn there is a sign advertising paragliding.

That’s the intriguing thing about back roads – you never know what you will find! On Mount Pleasant road I caught up to the township grader that was keeping all the roads in good condition.

We turn left onto Peddlar’s Drive and after passing the old barn we find another interesting sign – Aboriginal Adventures. Left again, we come to Brule Road, a sure indication that Etienne had passed this way a few hundred years ago. Brule runs south to the intersection with Adams Road where we turn left again. We cross the Amable du Fond river – the same river we saw on our Daytripper to Kiosk. There have to be trout in that river!

Adams Road joins Hwy 630 and we follow it east for about 1.5 kms where we proceed straight east onto Homestead Road (do not follow the paved road around the corner). As one might expect, there are numerous farms in the area and even one unusually tidy small sawmill. We follow Homestead to Chenier Road, which will take us right into Mattawa. There are some very nice homes and gardens as you enter Mattawa from this seldom-seen side.

In Mattawa I spotted some murals and backtracked to get a better look. At the Ottawa River I found a portage where I could have launched my birch bark canoe and headed down river with a load of furs. I found the attractive wall murals that seem to be de rigueur for most towns.

I had packed a lunch knowing that the park in Mattawa is a pleasant place to eat. There are a number of shops in town where you can pick up lunch fixings in case you have a hunger attack. There are no stores on the way back to North Bay so you may want to get some snacks before we head out north on Hwy 533 past the park and boat launch.

A short side trip to La Cave is worth a look as we get to see the Ski Hill that used to be – Mount Antoine – and the Otto Holden dam and generating plant.

Back on the road you pass a camp called ‘No Regrets’. Note the optimistic mail boxes – one for regular delivery and one for Air Mail.

Hwy 533 is a very winding road – designed, I am sure, for motorcycles, but watch for transports that are cutting miles off their trip by using this connecting link road. There are many little lakes and hills where the photographer can have a field day. This trip will be very scenic about mid September when the leaves begin turning colour. Timber Lake is particularly pretty and supposedly is home to speckled trout, but I know that Harriman has tried fishing there for years and never caught one.

We take Hwy 63 to North Bay but on this day the sign at the old fish hatchery caught my eye. It is now a Fish Culture station. I immediately thought of little schools of fishes reading Izaak Walton’s Compleat Fisherman as a primer for their Cultural Studies, but was assured at the station that it is was not that kind of place. Right in front of me a critter streaked across the road. It was dark brown, smaller than a fox, bigger than a marten, but ran like a mink or marten. My guess is that it was a fisher – but that would be just too appropriate!

Hwy 533 is rough in places but it is not a road that one should drive too quickly in any case. The gravel roads in the townships were all in good condition.

Total distance round trip from North Bay was 210 kms. Time for the trip: All the time in the world.

Website: www.mattawa.org