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11/30/2017 1:54 pm  #1


Permit Office Summer Hours

For some reason I can't find these online. Does anyone recall how late the East Gate and Shall Lake offices remain open in the summer?

Thanks!

 

11/30/2017 2:44 pm  #2


Re: Permit Office Summer Hours

Shall Lake is generally open until 7pm.  We are not always able to get there by 7pm after work on Friday in which case we just go and camp on Crotch and pickup our permit in the morning.

 

12/04/2017 2:49 pm  #3


Re: Permit Office Summer Hours

Let me put this in a slightly different way. What is the LATEST permit office to stay open in the summer and what time does it stay open until? We're willing to base our trip around where we can start a trip later into the evening. Thanks!

     Thread Starter
 

12/04/2017 8:39 pm  #4


Re: Permit Office Summer Hours

John McClane wrote:

Let me put this in a slightly different way. What is the LATEST permit office to stay open in the summer and what time does it stay open until?!

Some permit offices are open until 9pm on Friday evenings.  However, interior permits CANNOT be issued after 7pm unless it is for campsites that don't require paddling to get to (jump off sites for example).  It's a very annoying policy and a drastic departure from how things worked back when I started doing a lot of canoeing in Algonquin in 1985.  MNR would seem to believe that everyone can take Friday afternoon off so they can get to the access point in time to get a permit but sadly that is not the case.
 

 

12/05/2017 1:01 pm  #5


Re: Permit Office Summer Hours

yellowcanoe wrote:

John McClane wrote:

Let me put this in a slightly different way. What is the LATEST permit office to stay open in the summer and what time does it stay open until?!

Some permit offices are open until 9pm on Friday evenings.  However, interior permits CANNOT be issued after 7pm unless it is for campsites that don't require paddling to get to (jump off sites for example).  It's a very annoying policy and a drastic departure from how things worked back when I started doing a lot of canoeing in Algonquin in 1985.  MNR would seem to believe that everyone can take Friday afternoon off so they can get to the access point in time to get a permit but sadly that is not the case.
 

Interesting. While I suppose I understand from a safety perspective, that is indeed annoying.

So basically, if you can't arrive by 7 pm you are not permitted to enter the park that night?
 

     Thread Starter
 

12/05/2017 2:15 pm  #6


Re: Permit Office Summer Hours

John McClane wrote:

So basically, if you can't arrive by 7 pm you are not permitted to enter the park that night?
 

Your options depend on where you were heading to.   On Highway 60, your only choice would be to car camp the first night and assuming you had a reservation, you could arrive as late as you want.  My wife absolutely hates car camping so for us that is an option we really try to avoid. 

Permits for Tim River, Magnetawan and Rain Lake on the west side of the park are now handled by the MNR office in Kearney so there is no point in going to one of those access points after hours as you would have to drive all the way back to Kearney to get your permit in the morning.

At Kawayamog, you would definitely be able to camp at one of the outfitters if you were renting a boat.  I don't know how keen they would be on hosting a group that isn't renting a boat.

Kiosk works well as the office is right at the lake.  You can either car camp or use a jump off site for the first night.

Brent is problematic as the office is out near the highway -- 40km away from the access point.  If you can't get to the office before 7pm you can car camp at Driftwood PP or Samuel de Champlain PP.   BTW, the jump off sites at Brent are awful so do not book those.

If you are entering via the Sand Lake gate for the Achray, Grand Lake, Lake Travers sector you can either car camp or use the jump off sites at Achray.  If you are lucky enough to have been able to book the single site on Number One lake or Pretty Lake for your first night, I believe they are able to issue an interior permit after 7pm because no paddling is required to reach these campsites.

Another tactic we've used when we are going with a group is to have one car leave early enough to get to the office before 7pm and pickup permits for the entire group. 
 

 

12/06/2017 10:33 am  #7


Re: Permit Office Summer Hours

Thanks for all that detailed information, yellowcanoe, I really appreciate it.

I must confess, however, that I knew all of that and my reference to not being able to get into the park was meant as not being able to get into the backcountry, so I apologize!

Seems like the only way to do it would be to paddle into a site close to a permit office, like you do on Crotch and come back out the next morning. I gather this is technically not allowed, but gets done from time to time?

     Thread Starter
 

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