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River

South River

Class

Cascade/Dam

Size

Small

Visitability

Mediocre

Accessibility

Free

Activity

Quiet

Walk Time

1min

Trail

Moderate

Gorge Access

Moderate

Other Trails

none

County

Parry Sound

From North Bay, drive south on Hwy 11 to Secondary Hwy 534. Drive west for about 2 or 3 km until you see the dam on the left side of the road. Park in the small gravel area on the left. The small Chute and cascade is on the right side of the road.

Settlement

Powassan

NTS Map

31L/3

Easting

624239

Northing

5103635

UTM Zone

This is really just a small wide cascade system carrying excess water from the nearby Bingham Chute Generating Station. A small dam on the south side of the road allows maintains water levels to provide enough head for the small generating station, located about 200 m to the north of the road. Water is transferred to the station via a long penstock, which travels under the road and then through the woods (just visible on the north side of the road).

The Chute is located on the north side of the road, immediately downstream of the bridge. Flows are variable, and I assume that when flows are low, all water is diverted to the generating station. North of the road, the river spreads out into several channels, flowing over several low rapids and around several small forested islands. None of the falls are of any significance, other than the little chute shown in the above photograph. The river is considerably wider than the small Chute shown above, which probably represents 20% of the river flow.

Don't be fooled. This site is nothing special, although it is probably interesting to walk around the rocky landscape downstream of the road during low flow. I have not seen any private property signs, but please observe any that may exist.

The Chute drains a small reservoir upstream, which sits at approximately 252 meters above sea level. At the other end of this reservoir, lies the Elliott Chute Generating station, which cannot be visited. The much larger "South River Reservoir" is found upstream of the Elliott Chute Station, and is found at a mean level of about 265 meters above sea level. The development of these reservoirs required the relocation of several homes.

Bingham Chute is named after the Bingham family, who operated a grist mill here in the late nineteenth century.