Bennett Lake and Fagan Lake Trip Report May 2023
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- Created: Thursday, 01 June 2023 20:32
Bennett Lake and Fagan Lake Trip Report May 2023
On May 30th some club members headed to Bennett Lake, near Perth, to explore the area. It was a 1-hour drive from Kanata and we were expecting a hot day with low winds. We paid a $10 fee to launch from Ennis Cottages trailer parking lot. We brought along swimsuits in case we got hot. We paddled south from the launch, heading around the lake in a clockwise direction. We also paddled south along Fall River and into Fagan Lake before returning to Bennett Lake and paddling the western shoreline back to the launch. There were cottages on the lake in some places. Many were not occupied yet. The south end of Bennett Lake, Fall River and Fagan Lake were the most scenic and had only a few cottages. Bennett Lake north of Ennis Cottages towards Fallbrook had marsh areas and would not be as good for swimming. We did not see any motor boats and only saw one other canoe. We noticed a few blackflies when we stopped to eat lunch but they did not bother us with bug spray on.
We saw herons, hawks, an eagle, lots of loons, mallard ducks, Canada geese, pigeons, lots of fish including bass, beaver lodges, a muskrat and a deer. We saw some waterlilies and some large rock walls. We looked for black terns and their nests. They can be spotted here and are rare but we did not have enough bird knowledge to identify them.
Near the end of our day a floatplane tried to land where we were but at the last minute continued flying. We paddled out of the way. It circled around and then actually landed and took off again. For the rest of our paddle we stayed very close to shore and kept looking up! It was an enjoyable day and we would go again. We paddled about 20 km.
The nearby Balderson Village Cheese Shoppe looked inviting but we arrived there after 5 pm and it had closed. It is a popular place.
