The surface of the Chenaux River is generally frozen from the beginning of December until the end of March; however, safe traffic on the ice is generally from mid-December to mid-March.

The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.

The Chenaux River rises in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François at the mouth of Lac Fortin (length: 0.9 kilometres (0.56 mi); altitude of 657 metres (2,156 ft)).

This small lake between the mountains is located south of Lac Gagné and southwest of Lac la Flippe at: From the mouth of Lake Fortin, the course of the rivière des Chenaux descends with a drop of 284 metres (932 ft) over 20.2 kilometres (12.6 mi) especially in the forest area and parallel to the edge of the Laurentian plateau, 4 to 5 km away, according to the following segments: The Chenaux river flows on the west bank of the Lombrette river, in Saint-Tite-des-Caps, in an area near Domaine-Lombrette, between route 360 and route 138.

[1] The toponym "rivière des Chenaux" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.