What is the preferred direction of travel?
Prevailing winds are from the west-southwest (direction of the jet-stream), so it can be a bit easier paddling northeast, from Kingston to Ottawa. Of note, winds are more unpredicatable in the fall (storms moving up the east coast of North America can drive winds inland, creating an east wind). In terms of currents in the rivers, since the Rideau traverses two watersheds, you will be with or against minimal currents both ways. The southern half of the Rideau (Cataraqui Watershed) flows south while the northern half (Rideau Valley Watershed) flows north. However, since the Rideau is a slackwater system, there are no appreciable currents to contend with. If you are portaging your canoe/kayak and only doing one section of the Rideau, consideration might be given to heading “down” rather than “up” to make portaging easier. If you’re doing the entire Rideau this is not a consideration since half will be “down” and half will be “up”.
