2022/08/18 – Speed River II

Good afternoon from west central Guelph. I’m going to follow the Speed River… again. This time, I’m going on the opposite side of where I went last time, starting from the Hanlon Expressway and going upstream to Woodlawn. Let’s go.

Starting on the south bank, where a good stonedust path leads from Water Street down through thick mature forest. Ample shade keeps things cool.

A bit more, then a crossover at Edinburgh. This reach has a series of weirs and a dam. They make for pretty, wide and navigable waters, but the tradeoff is higher water temperature and algae growth. I understand they love for paddling here, but is it worth the water quality?

Upstream of the Wellington Street Dam, a wide and flat pond leads to a wide and flat river through a decades-old park, and then to a wide and flat confluence with the Eramosa River. Great for paddling, but again, the water is kind of gross.

There’s ownership issues across the river, but the the north/west bank upstream of the confluence is publicly accessible, barely. Tight behind a vet clinic, bare and desolate behind one commercial building, but a bit spruced up behind a second building.

The riverbed becomes rocky approaching the next crossover at Nerve Street. Then there’s a new public addition to the east riverbank behind some condos. A nice space, looking forward to it being expanded as part of a future development phase.

At Macdonell, there’s another dam tucked under the road and railways. Makes the river wide and flat again, which is a benefit to the homeowners along Arthur Street, but yet again, the water isn’t so clear here.