Washademoak Lake from Motts Wharf Route
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Quick Facts
| Features | historic wharf, lake |
| Access | beach |
| Route Difficulty | moderate |
| Water Body Type | lake |
| Current Type | minimal |
| Route Type | loop |
| Route Distance | 6.9 km |
| Portage Distance | none |
| Estimated Time | 2 hours |
| Elevation Change | 0 metres |
| Scenery Rating | recreational |
| Cell Reception | variable |
| Fees | none |
Description
Note: Open lakes have little protection from the wind. Windy conditions can drastically vary the speed and difficulty of your trip. Please plan accordingly.
There are 13 old steamboat wharves in the Lower Wolostoq (St. John) River valley that are maintained by the St. John River Society. There are several more maintained by local municipalities. These steamboat wharves provide important public access points to the river. Motts Wharf is one of several wharfs on Washademoak Lake. It is maintained by the Village of Arcadia (previously Cambridge-Narrows) and includes a sandy beach, a changing room, and a porta-potty.
We started our day by having an amazing breakfast at the Norwood-on-the-Washademoak Bed & Breakfast. We found this Bed and Breakfast several years ago while looking for paddling locations, and have stayed there every year since. It makes a great central location for exploring the waterways in the region and it is a beautiful property overlooking Washademoak Lake. Motts Wharf is right in front of the Bed and Breakfast, so we didn’t have far to go.
We launched from the beach and crossed the lake towards Crafts Cove. It was 1.2 kilometres across the lake and it was quite windy. This is a large lake so be cautious in windy conditions. If there is much wind, I would suggest finding a more protected place to paddle like Colwells Wharf nearby.
The two main considerations with wind are direction and strength. We prefer to paddle into the wind when we start so that when we get tired, we can let the wind push us back to where we started. This way we can also gauge the strength of the wind. If the wind is too strong you won’t make much progress and risk waves being big enough to swamp your boat. Unless you have a sea kayak, and training in self-rescue, stick close to the shore in windy conditions. That way if you happen to swamp the boat you could get out and swim, dragging your boat to shore. You don’t want to have to drag a swamped boat far, or worse, have to leave your boat behind. Remember that wind will usually pick up more in the afternoon.
On our visit the wind was strong but manageable. We got splashed by the waves, but they weren’t large enough to swamp the boats. When we got to Crafts Cove, we decided that we would continue up along the shore instead of going to check out Crafts Cove. We could see the road in Crafts Cove, and it didn’t look like there was much to explore. We stayed close to shore and took advantage of any protection from the wind we could find. There were lots of houses and docks along this section of the lake. I was hoping to get to Big Cove. Big Cove has several small islands and a couple of significant wetlands in the inner cove. The wind was strong, and progress was slow. We only made it halfway to Big Cove before we ran out of time. We had reservations for supper at Gulliver’s World Café in Gagetown that we didn’t want to miss.
We crossed back over the lake (again just over 1 km) and headed towards Rouses Cove. After getting splashed by the waves on the crossing, we entered the protected cove. We were excited to see ducks, a kingfisher and eagles in the cove. It was the first wildlife we saw all day. They knew where to stay protected from the wind.
After exploring the sea of lily pads in the cove, we went back out into the main lake. Now the wind and the waves were pushing us back towards the wharf. We partially surfed and partially paddled all the way back to the wharf. We packed up the boats, caught the Gagetown Ferry, and made it to Gulliver’s World Café just in time for another amazing meal. Check out our video to get a sense for the conditions we were paddling in.
Washademoak Lake is a long lake that gets progressively narrower after you pass by Cambridge-Narrows. Near Coles Island there are many wetlands before it narrows in to where the Canaan River flows into the lake. There is some debate about whether Washademoak Lake is actually a lake or just a wide section of the river. Either way it is a great place to explore.
Map
Directions
From the intersection in Cambridge-Narrows, turn onto Bridge Roade (route 715). Drive 11.7 kilometres and look for Wharf Road on the left. Turn into the road and after 500 metres, and a sharp turn to the right, you will come to the wharf. The access road is a gravel road. On the far side of the wharf there is a trail down to a beach that provides access to the water.
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Route Last Paddled: September 22, 2024.
Page Last Updated: December 29, 2024.