I live north of the cities by an hour and a half but I have canoed down there as well.  There is a wonderful park called Lebanon  Hills.  It has lakes and portages.  Few people use this park for its fine canoeing.  I met some people from another board there to canoe and at the end there is a great picnic building!  We were able to catch lots of sunnies and some small bass.  The portages are short and flat.   Here is a link to the park:
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More by our house we spend a lot of time on the Rum river and almost never see anyone there.  There is also a some canoe only lakes, in the cities but I can't remember where at the moment.