I've not been able to filter search results for proximity to the river, which is where we want to be. Does anyone know how to do this or actually found such a place yourself? Thanks!
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I've driven along the Rhone for maybe 50 km south of Lyon to Vienne. None of it is a place where I'd want to canoe, it's more industrial than scenic. I think I came back onto the Rhone around Valence (after going to Chamonix). There is some nice scenery that may lend itself to canoeing on the Isere. There are also areas in the Ardeche, further south, such as Pont d'Arc where I saw a lot of people canoeing.
Posted by
Anacortes, Washington
153 posts
My information is many years old, but we went from Lyon to the Med and back in our boat in the early 1970s. At that time the river was essentially untamed and swift flowing. I understand that it has been canalized in large part since then and there may be stretches of water that are calm enough in which to canoe, but then it seemed a raging torrent to me.
We had to wait for almost two weeks in Lyon because of low water. Both recreational and commercial river traffic were at a standstill. Then the Swiss were persuaded to release enough water to allow traffic to go in convoys. We joked that the Swiss all flushed their toilets at the same time. The trip down river was really scary, as about a dozen yachts followed a guide boat in strict line, hopefully turning exactly where the boat ahead turned in order to avoid the shallow spots. It felt like white water rafting at times, but in a 45' motor sailer.
Coming back up from Marseille there was more water, but there were times I had to run my engine full out (which gave me a touch over nine knots) in order to inch forward in the narrow spots.
I would suggest you might consider looking for canoeing above Lyon on the river Saone, perhaps around Macon, where the current flows much more gently and has lovely scenery and lots of boating infrastructure.
Posted by
France
408 posts
nuke -- it's not that different now, at least during high river stage (high flow) conditions. We drove down to Marseille for a long weekend several weeks ago and the flow velocity in the Rhône south of Lyon was very high. I certainly wouldn't want to attempt it in a canoe. A kayak maybe, if I were younger, but not a canoe.
And Brad -- you're exactly right. The area immediately south of Lyon (St. Fons, Solaize) is where port facilities (large container ships) and petrochemical plants are located. You'll see signs for all the big ones -- Total, Arkema, Solvay -- as well as tank farms, process towers, interesting smells. To soften the visual impact, Total has painted large images of prominent historical figures on their bulk storage tanks, but most of those depicted would be obscure to Americans.
Although some of these facilities no longer are operating, others are, and the infrastructure still is largely there. The worst of it peters out once you get to the area around Givors.
eqpost -- some resources you may want to check as you do you planning are:
https://www.vigicrues.gouv.fr/niv2-bassin.php?CdEntVigiCru=20 -- a flood watch site
http://www.rhone-mediterranee.eaufrance.fr/surveillance/index.php -- a site where you can access data on stream flow in the basin (stations de mesures hydrométriques), including the Rhône