More people should experience all the Grand River offers

The Grand River is one of Canada’s most spectacular waterways, and the best way to see it is in a canoe.

That’s why we applaud a new project that will make it easier than ever for people to paddle this wonderful stream.

The initiative — spearheaded by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and supported by local tourism organizations — will be worth at least $2.5 million.

But that’s just a drop in the bucket — or the Grand River — considering all the benefits the money and work should bring.

Consider, for a start, that the Grand is southwestern Ontario’s longest river and runs for 297 kilometres through farmland, forests, cities and towns before emptying into Lake Erie.

Then consider that this river is a natural oasis in an ever-growing, ever-changing province, a refuge where city dwellers can breathe in cool, fresh valley air as they watch a deer drink, an osprey dive or a heron wade in the shallows.

In the meantime, don’t forget the Grand’s also a treasure trove of culture and history, a home for thousands of years to Indigenous Peoples who were followed, in turn, by United Empire Loyalists, Mennonite settlers and then newcomers from all around the world.

No wonder the Grand won national recognition by being declared a Canadian Heritage River.

And no wonder, too, that the Ontario government, in partnership with service and nonprofit groups as well as local contractors, is delivering millions of dollars worth of improvements to increase the river’s public profile, boost its tourism potential and provide canoers with better access to it.

In the coming years, workers will upgrade 32 different canoe access points along the river, from Belwood in the north down to Port Maitland in the south.

The access points — 11 of which are in Waterloo Region — will all include parking, washrooms, canoe racks, picnic tables, benches, an information kiosk and map, garbage bins and better signage, including signs on the river that tell canoers how far they are from the next access point.

The upgrades will also bring improvements to people hiking riverside trails, such as the Walter Bean Trail in Waterloo Region.

None of this is the kind of infrastructure that captures front-page headlines. It seems like nuts-and-bolts stuff.

But have no doubt the money and effort will be wellspent.

One million people inhabit the Grand River’s watershed and half of them live in Waterloo Region, an area whose population is expected to surge by 12 per cent in the coming decade.

Millions more live within an hour’s drive of the Grand. Yet too often it is overlooked by people who don’t know it’s there or glimpsed through a car window by people driving on a bridge across it.

We can’t say if the Grand will become a tourist destination to rival Niagara Falls. But we think more Ontarians should visit this river for recreation, relaxation and rest — and experience what nature offers in their backyard.

Whether they brave the river’s rapids, paddle serenely through the forests around it or drift down its long, lazy oxbows they’ll discover these rewards.

They’ll also come away with a greater appreciation of the natural world along with the need to protect and preserve it.

Sounds like a Grand adventure to us.