QUEBEC BROOK & MADAWASKA FLOW paddling, Adirondack Park


Aug 2024 - Santa Clara CE Tract Madawaska Road Update: The Madawaska Road will NOT be opened this year due to repeated storm damage and the need for a broad look at long-term, proactive repairs before reopening to be prepared for any more major weather events in the future. The gate is locked and the road is only passable for lessees.



Aug 29 & 30, 2010 - MADAWASKA FLOW, QUEBEC BROOK, ONION RIVER.  ~6 mile drive on rough dirt roads  - several turns, pay attention to directions in guidebook by Cilley Adirondack Paddler's Guide.  Easy 0.42-mile portage to the flow.  Paddled to a roomy campsite near the dam.  Short carry past dam & old road, rough put-in on Quebec Brook.  Soon take a R on Onion River, which stays fairly wide for over a mile then gets narrower - a couple of beaver dams to go over.  Eventually, too little water to continue.  Jennings Mtn to the N.  Back to QB & further downstream to rapids which I ran solo in the Royalex Prospector then carried back up along a path.  Stopped at a designated campsite that looked like it has never been used - has my vote for the worst backcountry campsite in the Adirondacks.  After a quiet night & misty morning, we drop off our overnight gear & continue upstream on QB.  The main channel has multiple "S" turns but shortcuts can be taken if you are willing to push thru the lilypads.  After exploring a spur to the SE we paddle SSW on QB which soon narrows.  Views of Jenkins & St Regis Mtns.  We go over 3 beaver dams before entering Quebec Pond which is ringed with red & white pines.  A private lean-to is seen.  Headwind on the return.  In general black spruce & tamarack are seen on the lowest land, pines on drier land, and hardwoods up on the hills.  3 or 4 camps were seen en route, otherwise a very nice wilderness feel.  4-6 hours of actual paddling each day.  Loon on the flow. 









Sep 29, 2008 - QUEBEC BROOK.  From Blue Mountain Rd.  Some beaver dams & obstructions.  Portages fairly flat & easy (used to be railroad over 80 years ago).  After 2nd portage there is a short rapid that was very difficult to line, then a longer rapid.  On return, we took out at the top of rapids (class 2 if more water) & portaged along a path with some blowdown within sight of the stream for ~5 mins - much easier than lining.  Personally, I don't see why this is not the official portage.  Moose tracks.  Above the rapids, the stream is wider but shallower, grassy in parts.  Views open up - hills aflame with color.  Able to go under old railroad bridge; Onion River enters.  Lunch near the dam with a view of Madawaska Pond.  6+ hours.  Not paddled often judging by entries in the register.  Tough trip but worth it.  Feet in the water a lot - Chota Mukluks invaluable.  Bell Merlin II turns well especially when heeled.










Mon Sep 12, 2005 - QUEBEC BROOK. Santa Clara/Northern Flow Rivers Tract. Put-in is on Blue Mountain Road (good dirt) next to bridge ~ 13 miles W of Paul Smiths. In 1st 5 minutes see a beaver then 3 otters. Narrow winding stream (gets wider as you move upstream), banks of grass & alder. Soon reach 1st carry, an easy 5 min. Paddle a short distance & have to get around a logjam. 2nd carry is not far beyond & a little longer than the 1st. Then the trouble began..... Not long after putting in again I am getting out to line up a short rapid; soon after there is a much longer rapid but no marked carry. I find a path near the S shore & looked for portage signs (none). Having gone too far on a rough path, sometimes around deadfall, I eventually push thru the alders & get back on the brook. Hindsight suggestion: do not put in where marked on the 2nd portage but continue on path for ~5 mins. to a rocky spot on the brook at the top of the rapids - there is an orange ribbon on a tree here which is easily missed when you have a canoe overhead. Upstream, the brook is wider now & all flatwater. I stop at a campsite marker but find no evidence of a fire ring or that anyone has ever camped there. Hear then spot a red-tailed hawk. Duck under an old railroad bridge before the confluence of the Onion River (a river that runs into a brook?!) Couple of DEC trucks nearby doing some work. Maples are already turning red on Jennings Mt. to the N. Short carry around bridge (tough take-out) & dam & into MADAWASKA FLOW. Much boggy shoreline with white pines on N shores - couple of camps will be torn down after leases expire. Continued E up Quebec Brook thru many lilypads & the steep side of Rice Mt. to the NE. See 2 more camps before turning around into a headwind & see another otter. Recommended. 15 miles, 7.3 hours. Bell Merlin II, a 15' solo canoe.


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