r/u_taviv

Just got back from a 5-day loop through the French River Delta (the boat-access-only part west of the 400). GPS-measured 55.1 km, split 14.0 / 10.9 / 7.4 / 8.5 / 14.3 — off the water by mid-afternoon every day.

Site notes, since the reservation page tells you nothing:
- 687: blueberries everywhere, steep granite scramble to the pads
- 661: only stopped for lunch, would happily camp there
- 692: sandy beach, sits right above the rapids — best lunch or overnight spot before the Five Fingers
- 812: gorgeous granite slab, BUT about ten yachts anchor in the bay next door. Book 813 instead if you want quiet.
- 801: excellent lunch stop on the Georgian Bay shore
- 733 (Sabine Island): excellent
- 647: three fire pits, flat pads for 2-3 tents, good swimming, near the Dalles. Yellow bear-activity sign posted; we saw nothing.

Other things worth knowing:
- No whitewater skill needed. Take the most eastern channel through the Five Finger Rapids: two easy swifts, then a short steep 160 m portage at the Lily Chutes. Motorboats run the chutes, which is its own argument for portaging.
- "Remote" ≠ alone. Cottages, motorboats, and a yacht anchorage. Last day into Ox Bay, watch for wake — not everyone slows for canoes.
- Booked in March for August and had lots of choice. Site-specific booking, 5 months ahead. Parking and canoe rental out of Hartley Bay Marina (hartleybaymarina.com).
- GPX tracks for all five days are downloadable from the post if you want to load the route onto a GPS or into a planner.
- If you want to redraw the loop around different sites, gpx.studio makes it easy to plot it and get real distances before you book. For on the water, the Maps by Jeff "West French River" sheet (waterproof, portage elevation profiles, comes with Avenza/Garmin files) is the one that covers the delta.
- Shortcut worth knowing: day 4 can be cut from 8.5 km to about 5 km by going straight north from Sabine Island to the Dalles rapids and taking the 300 m portage through to 647, instead of looping west via Bass Creek and Bass Lake.
Full report and gpx files in my blog.