Not saying that I'm current on this subject, but I did the loop from Opeongo through Big Crow, Lavielle and Dickson etc to get back to Opeongo in 2016.  At this time Dickson was really green; pretty matched the colour of the foliage around the lake.  When I returned in 2020, Dickson had returned to it's more natural colour and looked 'normal'.  I asked the driver of the water taxi from AO the status of Dickson as it looked like the bloom was over and he told me that the tests werecoming back clean and it was just bureaucratic red tape that was holding up the all clear (I'm paraphrasing here).  Would be nice that this was resolved as I loved the scenery around Hardy bay and Dickson and would like to spend a bit more than a couple of hours just paddling through.  Anybody have any personal experience last summer/fall?

faitzy wrote:

Not saying that I'm current on this subject, but I did the loop from Opeongo through Big Crow, Lavielle and Dickson etc to get back to Opeongo in 2016.  At this time Dickson was really green; pretty matched the colour of the foliage around the lake.  When I returned in 2020, Dickson had returned to it's more natural colour and looked 'normal'.  I asked the driver of the water taxi from AO the status of Dickson as it looked like the bloom was over and he told me that the tests werecoming back clean and it was just bureaucratic red tape that was holding up the all clear (I'm paraphrasing here).  Would be nice that this was resolved as I loved the scenery around Hardy bay and Dickson and would like to spend a bit more than a couple of hours just paddling through.  Anybody have any personal experience last summer/fall?

 
Pre COVID I heard the same thing from a friend out if Whitney. Nothing official but rumour mill is just the government beuraceacy getting in the way of reopening.

If they reopen Dickson my Spring plans are going to change in a heartbeat. 

Just a reminder on some of biology/ecology around blue-green algae:

- Blue-green algae is naturally occurring but doesn't normally cause problems
- The problem comes when there is a large enough algae bloom to create dangerous levels of toxins
- Algae blooms themselves can occur naturally and in the case of both Dickson and Ryan this appears to be the case
- So far there is no meaningful way to predict when a bloom will occur, the bloom in Dickson was a shock to everyone
- Blooms are believed to be happening more often, and in places like Dickson with no human activity (like agriculture fertilizer run off) to explain the occurrence
- There is no water treatment, at least no portable water treatment, to filter out or neutralize the toxin
- The toxin is fatal and even on a lake as large as Lake Nippissing, a local algae bloom can create enough toxin to kill pet dogs who drink from the lake while being walked by their owners. 

So given the lack of any way to predict a blue-green algae bloom and the fact that if the toxin is ingested there is a high probability of death, there probably isn't any better approach than to test annually and wait until there are no repeat blooms for at least a few years before declaring the lake safe to camp on. 
 

Even though Dickson is still listed as closed on the friends site, I noticed that it appears as bookable on the parks site.  Anyone know anything about it?

Looks like they're in business.  Everyone, pile on!
https://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/news/2017/2017-03-14_algae_bloom_dickson_lavieille_ryan_lakes.php 

Last edited by IanTendy (6/14/2021 1:59 pm)

Sweet, just altered a reservation for 2 nights on Dickson

I'll be on Dickson one week from now, so I'll likely have some campsite recommendations when I get back. Although it may be pouring rain so I might not explore as much as I would otherwise!

Last edited by Uppa (6/23/2021 9:56 am)