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I've yet to be led astray by the advice received on this forum so here I am again asking for your recommendations on where to go camping. This September (14-16) I am going to be taking a small group of youth into the Park for the weekend. There will only be 4 youth between 16-18 years of age. Although this will be the first canoe tripping experience for all but 1 of them they are all in great shape and I have no doubt that they will all be able to cover good distance if needed. My regular canoe tripping partner will also be coming with us for a total of 6 people.
They've left things pretty open for me to plan with little to no preferences on what they want to experience. I think the two most important things they would want is relative isolation/privacy and a good swimming area. We will need to rent 2 canoes for the trip, so access points where that is possible is a must. We are driving up from Orillia so access points on the east side of the Park won't work. We will be leaving the fishing rods at home so we don't need to be concerned about that. Here is what I've considered so far:
1) Kiosk - Mouse - Maple
I've been to this area before and think that it would be a good option, particularly if we got the beach site on Mouse. We would launch from Kiosk and travel to Mouse on Friday. On Saturday we would make our way to either Maple or Erables and camp there (which lake has better sites)? On Sunday we would travel up Maple Creek and out.
2) Magnetawan Access to Misty
I went to Misty last year and thought it was a nice lake with lots of day trip options. We would launch from the Magnetawan access point and travel through the Petawawa to Misty on our first day. We would stay on the same site for the two nights and consider doing some day tripping on the Saturday. Return to the access point the way we came.
3) McGarvey Lake
I've never been there but hear it is beautiful. Is getting there doable on this trip? Which access point would be best to enter from? Is this lake as nice as I've heard?
4) Please Give Your Own Suggestion
I'm still relatively new to Algonquin with only 5 trips into the Park. I love adding new lakes to my list of lakes visited, so let's hear your best recommendation.
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by RCShevalier (7/26/2018 8:13 am)
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Maybe consider access 1, kawawaymog- north tea- Lorne- Sisco-lost dog - north tea
Scenic, large campsites, some with sand beach at north tea, specifically campsites just past lost dog portage. You can base camp on north tea, then do the Lorne sisco loop as a day trip. Good portages, but do the loop counter clockwise so most long portages will be downhill. Makes it that much more fun.
Campsites on the small lakes are not very big but the lost dog campsites, one beside the portage, the other directly across from it, would hold multiple tents, is on the water, sandy bottom. Gives the feeling you're in the middle of nowhere.easy to get to with a short portage from north tea and sites not used much. Day tripping as far as you like. Small islands on west arm of north tea are too small for multiple tents, but large island is a great place too.
Did this trip with youngster last year. The loop tuckered out enough as a day trip for a great nights sleep. Ofcourse wind maybe a concern, north tea is a large lake, but getting to campsites in west arm should be possible.
Pics from lost dog sites on algonquinadventures.com (PCI project)
Can send pics from other sites, if interested, just pm me.
Have a great trip, wherever you going.
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I wouldn't plan this trip to entice others based on the Mouse campsite (or any fancy campsite). Leaves to much disappointment if the site is not available.
I second the North tea loop. I'd also recommend clockwise but for a different reason -- the prevailing winds are not a fun paddle in North tea, and even worse coming back out on to kawawaymog (though the latter is unavoidable).
The welcome lake loop through Rock L access is nice, too. Good beaches on welcome, nice open sites on Louisa. Very doable in your timeframe.
Last edited by Zemantics (7/26/2018 9:57 am)
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If this is not only their first time canoe tripping, but also their first time canoeing, I would recommend a route with fairly small lakes. For one thing, the water won't kick up as much on a small lake, for another, you might not find much ability with the kids in the stern, and a smaller lake will afford fewer problems of consequence if the end up all over the place.
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My first recommendation is to avoid lakes that predominantly run east-west as they tend to be the most exposed to wind. Lakes that predominantly run north-south tend to have less headwinds to deal with.
For a 3 day trip I would suggest a base camp for 2 nights. Day 1 paddle in, day 2 explore/day trip, and day 3 paddle out the same way you went in. That increases confidence for the newbies who now have an idea of where they are going and what to expect. It also saves time on the setting up and tearing down and your day trip on day 2 can be more relaxed knowing camp is already set up whenever you get back.
A few routes I would consider:
1) Canoe to Joe with a stop at the totem pole, camp on Joe, day trip up to Tom Thomson and depending on energy levels portage from Little Doe to Baby Joe to make a loop out of it.
2) Rock to Pen with a day trip to Clydegale. Not nearly as busy but still well traveled and readily done by novices with a single portage.
3) Shall Lake access point tripping Crotch to Shirley. It feels like a more remote access point, long gravel road in with no campground to start you off. Still just one portage but a bit longer than the others.
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I like Rock - Clydegale. I recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want / can’t do a challenging trip. Either base camp on Pen and do day trips, or do 1 day on Clydegale then move to Pen afterwards.
You’ve got a few waterfalls on route, nice campsites, easy portaging, wildlife viewing opportunities (moose!) and the Booth Rock trail hike with a nice lookout. It’s plenty to keep you busy for a few days while getting the full backcountry experience, all while not exerting yourself too much.
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Make sure they can swim. PFD's at all times within 3 meters of the water.
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How about Booth? I've never been, but there seem to be several beach sites and surely one of them would be available in September.
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Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone. Keep them coming.
I will add the North Tea loop to my list of options. I've never been that way so it would be cool to explore a new part of the park. The big downside as I look at it is the motorboat accessibility. I always find that takes away from the canoe trip experience.
I will also consider Rock to Pen. The downside to this one is that I will have all of these boys plus a few others camping at Whitefish Lake Group Campground a few weeks before this. I expect we will probably be doing some exploring down to Rock and it would be nice to show them a whole new area.
I had also considered either Shirley or Booth. I've been to both these lakes before and did really like them. I was even considering looking into the option of the Tattler cabin. If we did go with Booth we would be packing the fishing rods as I've had pretty good luck on that lake in the past.
This will not be the first time canoeing for any of these boys, but I believe only one of them has done a back country trip. I'm not worried about their abilities swimming, paddling, or portaging, and as previously mentioned I will be taking them to Whitefish Lake soon and will be able to get a better feel for how they do.
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One thing i wanna mention, not sure if you'll need to rent canoes or not. We used northern outfitters, right on kawaywamog, canoes were good, there are tent sites available if you end up getting in late, for a small fee. ( $15.00 a tent) Access to amable du fond short paddle, no crossing the whole lake. There's also an a frame cabin available, use your own sleeping pads and bags inside, no beds, but might be handy if it rains. Minimal fee charged for that.
However, if you do not rent from them but want to launch there then there's a launching fee. We were 8 days on north tea and surrounding area, and only 1 motorboat sighting, Rangers checking permits on a Saturday. No other motor boats seen at all.
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I think the previous suggestion of Kawaywamog to Lorne is a good one. Lorne is a nice lake. I also like the suggestion of camping in the same spot for 2 nights as it gives you options on whether you want to day trip or perhaps just sit around and relax at camp. A possible day trip from Lorne may be to head up to Fassett and if you are feeling energetic you can then head down Fassett Creek to Manitou, back to North Tea, and complete the loop via the 2040 m portage to Lorne.
Another suggestion, if you really don't mind travelling long distances, is to go from Canoe Lake to Big Trout in one day. You can camp there 2 nights and make the trip a loop by going back an alternate way. If you have 6 healthy bodies, paddling 2 (hopefully fast) canoes, and are disciplined on packing light then it is very feasible. This is a trip I'd like to do sometime, solo.
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solos wrote:
I think the previous suggestion of Kawaywamog to Lorne is a good one. Lorne is a nice lake. I also like the suggestion of camping in the same spot for 2 nights as it gives you options on whether you want to day trip or perhaps just sit around and relax at camp. A possible day trip from Lorne may be to head up to Fassett and if you are feeling energetic you can then head down Fassett Creek to Manitou, back to North Tea, and complete the loop via the 2040 m portage to Lorne.
Another suggestion, if you really don't mind travelling long distances, is to go from Canoe Lake to Big Trout in one day. You can camp there 2 nights and make the trip a loop by going back an alternate way. If you have 6 healthy bodies, paddling 2 (hopefully fast) canoes, and are disciplined on packing light then it is very feasible. This is a trip I'd like to do sometime, solo.
Canoe to Big Trout seems very ambitious, it’s a 10hr day without any breaks or setbacks (headwinds, low water levels). I’ve gone as far as Otterslide traveling with a partner, and Little Otterslide traveling solo (double carries) and personally, I would have no interest in pushing through Otterslide Creek after that day. 3 canoes will be slower as well, loading/unloading, talking to each other etc. And I don’t think a crazy intensive day is a good first experience for a youth group. The worst part though would be getting to Big Trout close to sundown and having to paddle around to find an available site – it’s a huge lake with such spread out sites, your risk spending a lot of time paddling around specially if you’re arriving late. Even for people who like long travel days, there are too many variables here that it’s not worth the risks, in my opinion
Getting to/from Lorne would be more feasible, despite a youth trip probably not enjoying the portaging needed to get there. But looping all the way around north and through Manitou would again be way too long and not worth the risks. Again this is just my opinion though 
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I was just throwing these ideas out there. You never know exactly what people are looking for. Certainly I wouldn't do the trip unless I was prepared to start paddling early in the morning, the weather was decent, and I had a contingency plan. Single portages are a must and I don't have to worry about the dog talking my ear off.
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