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My first post!
Usually I book several dates, 3-5 nights each, somewhere in Killarney, most of the time with a two-night stop in OSA. I love it there. This year, however, I thought I wouldn't be here for the summer, so no reservations were made. Alas, I'm here, and the long weekend is coming. I have 2-3 people who insist on going camping/canoeing in the backcountry. They're beginners, and I myself, despite having done this 15-20 times in the past few years, *don't* consider myself an expert.
I tried to look for a few familiar spots, but of course they're all booked until September 2037.
SO i thought maybe I should try somewhere else, somewhere new. NEver bene to Algonquin before. If someone can guide me and come up with some suggestions, I would be most grateful. I guess so close to the long weekend, it will be almost impossible to find anything. However, in the off chance that some spots are still available, given the level of experience we're carrying:
* Get to campsite in 6-8 hours, and stay there for 2-3 nights
* No more than 3 portages, 3km max, unless a bit more gives us the advantage of being able to book an empty campsite when nothing else is available
* Not too choppy waters
* Preferably somewhere not too crowded. Every time I go to OSA, in 4-5 nights, I see no more than 10-20 campers along the entire trip. Doesn't have to be that secluded, but some seclusion is nice.
Thanks. I really appreciate the help. Looking at so many campsites and lakes can be a bit overwhelming when you're not familiar with the territory.
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Where are you coming from and by 6-8 hours, do you mean from home or the access point?
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Whoops, should've mentioned these. We're coming from Toronto.
And I meant 6 to 8 hours of canoing and portaging.
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You can see exactly what's available in Algonquin on the CAMIS map.
Right now it looks like the Kiosk area would be your best bet, lots of availability around there for the long weekend. Same with the Brent area but that's a long drive from Toronto, and Cedar Lake can be choppy (though there are also smaller lakes along the Brent Road you can start a trip from). So in terms of trips starting from Kiosk you could stay somewhere along the Mink-Club-Waterclear loop, completing the loop itself over your first and last days. Or you could head instead to Maple or Erables.
There are also some lakes with vacancy surrounding North Tea, which you'd get to from the Kawawaymog access point. But North Tea itself is a big lake so wind could be an issue.
There seems to be nothing available within a day's travel of any of the west or south side or Highway 60 access points, except for a few small, not particularly popular lakes scattered around near Tim, north of Branch and west of Canoe.
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Great info. Thanks! Would you at the places you mentioned are worth it? I mean, I've been away on a lot of places in and around killarney. Some of them are breathtaking, really, like OSA. Others, I get there and go 'meh, it's alright'. Where on the meh to wow spectrum would these places fall on?
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Not like Killarney.
Killarney's scenery is pretty unique, other than a few spots in the Temagami area there isn't much canoe country within a day's drive of Toronto where you'd see landscapes like that. Algonquin is mostly typical Canadian Shield scenery, rolling hills and nice rocky outcrops/shorelines/small cliffs, beautiful but rarely dramatically stunning.
In the Kiosk area, Mouse Lake has nice beach site(s). Club Lake has interesting historical ruins at the portage landing to Mink and in the northwestern campsite, and a big wetland between the two lake basins that could produce wildlife sightings. White Birch and Waterclear have nice rugged rocky shorelines, though White Birch's campsites are clustered too close for my liking. Mink doesn't particularly impress me, though it does have bass if you're looking for some relatively easy summer fishing. Maple and Erables I haven't been to but I have the impression they're similar in landscape to White Birch and Waterclear, maybe someone else can comment.
If you made the long drive to Brent, there might be more scenic spots around there, though I don't really know the area. I've heard good things about Radiant Lake.
If you made the REALLY long drive to Lake Travers, you'd have two good options for scenic destinations: you could make a short trip with a long portage to Eustache Lake, or a longer trip with more portages than you asked for down the Petawawa River towards The Natch. Both of those would show up on a Google Image search (with Algonquin in the search terms, of course). An added scenic bonus to the Lake Travers option is that if you managed any extra time on the drive there or back, you could stop along the road to hike and/or paddle the Barron Canyon.
By the way, all the places I mention as potential camping destinations are places that, as of a few minutes before I typed this, are available for the Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend. I checked those nights since they're the most difficult. I didn't check for all the days you intend to stay, and of course I cannot guarantee they're not being booked up as we speak.
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Sepandee wrote:
My first post!
Usually I book several dates, 3-5 nights each, somewhere in Killarney, most of the time with a two-night stop in OSA. I love it there. This year, however, I thought I wouldn't be here for the summer, so no reservations were made. Alas, I'm here, and the long weekend is coming. I have 2-3 people who insist on going camping/canoeing in the backcountry. They're beginners, and I myself, despite having done this 15-20 times in the past few years, *don't* consider myself an expert.
I tried to look for a few familiar spots, but of course they're all booked until September 2037.
SO i thought maybe I should try somewhere else, somewhere new. NEver bene to Algonquin before. If someone can guide me and come up with some suggestions, I would be most grateful. I guess so close to the long weekend, it will be almost impossible to find anything. However, in the off chance that some spots are still available, given the level of experience we're carrying:
* Get to campsite in 6-8 hours, and stay there for 2-3 nights
* No more than 3 portages, 3km max, unless a bit more gives us the advantage of being able to book an empty campsite when nothing else is available
* Not too choppy waters
* Preferably somewhere not too crowded. Every time I go to OSA, in 4-5 nights, I see no more than 10-20 campers along the entire trip. Doesn't have to be that secluded, but some seclusion is nice.
Thanks. I really appreciate the help. Looking at so many campsites and lakes can be a bit overwhelming when you're not familiar with the territory.
If you've only been to Killarney and never Algonquin, keep in mind you've set the bar very high for yourself. Algonquin is beautiful, but it's not as mountainous and picturesque as Killarney... but I've had the nicest sunrises and sunsets I've ever seen in Algonquin.
Anyways, what you're looking for is pretty impossible... you won't find much seclusion if you're only going to be doing one days worth of travel, with minimal portaging, and during a long weekend. Also certain lakes will be prone to be more choppy than others, but it really depends on the day. One of the windiest days I've had was on Welcome Lake, which was a big surprise to me. But I would vote for a northern route in Algonquin, it's not as busy, and if you were willing to do the 4.5hr drive to Killarney anyways, it's pretty much the same distance. Starting from Kiosk, there's Manitou which has around 40 campsites so it's definitely not secluded, but some of them are far enough away from each other that you'll have enough privacy. Some really nice sites on that lake. You could also take Maple Creek into Maple Lake, which I really loved. Some very nice sites on their as well, and a bit more isolated.
If you wanted to stay in the south, just avoid launching out of Canoe or Smoke Lake, it will be crazy busy especially during a long weekend. You could take Source up to Linda, which is a nice, relatively private lake. The small island site there is one of my favorites. It's tiny but great for a group, and it faces northwest (away from passing traffic on the lake). You could also launch out of Rock Lake which has a couple nice lakes around there (Welcome has got a few beach sites, Linda is pretty big with a bunch of decent sites, etc.)
These are all suggestions but I haven't checked to see what's actually available. If I were you, I'd find a few route options, then post here and we can help you decide which would be best.
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There is a site available for the weekend on McCraney (Rain Lake Access), but it's only 2-3 hrs at most. There are opportunities to day trip out from there if you wanted to paddle more.
If you want to see what that area is like:
Last edited by spicol (7/22/2016 8:49 am)
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If you want quiet check out the east side. It's a couple tough portages in but they are in pretty decent shape and easy to follow. I was in to Robitaille Lake via Aylen lake access. It's a low maintenance area but beautifull. It will very likely be available. The sites I saw were pretty nice . Some day trip options away from the crowds. Was my first time to this area. Permit pick up at ease gate. Drive to access about 1 hr from east gate. I would park at access 18. Public access dock at Aylen Lake marina as the closer access 18A was tricky to find. Last minute reservations will be tough to find at popular locations. Just a thought. Have fun.
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beware of low water conditions,,,,dry spell has many creeks and streams at very low water conditions. check the "friends of algonquin park" web page for low water advisories . there are several warnings listed,, with more to come possibly? might help in planning and safe ya some grief , not to mention mud.
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