Bambi wrote:

Yea, I read that. When APP called today about my reservation I asked them about 'backcountry' versus 'day-use' and she led me to believe that if you need to portage to the lake it's backcountry. Only the lakes that the open campgrounds are on would be available for day use. 
Although she did say she wasn't 100% on that. 

 
Every time you ask a different person you’ll get a different answer. As Rob was saying, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission. Unless you are doing something that is just obviously wrong.

Coureur des Biere I think part of the problem is that we're dealing with 3 different agencies here; Ontario parks, Camis, and the park itself!
OP makes an announcement, Camis adjusts their times, and Algonquin posts an update. By the time that's done, OP provides a new update and the others apply it all over again,  each time with a lag time for altering everything to match the "new " update, so eventually the updates on one system don't match the updates on the others!

Last edited by scoutergriz (5/10/2019 8:02 am)

breed85 wrote:

As of about 20 minutes ago AO has announced that it is officially Ice OUT on Opeongo.

And now common sense appears to be prevailing. 

Algonquin is opening up interior permits for ice free lake at certain access points starting today.
 

I first saw it on the official Algonquin Park facebook page but it also shows on the Ontario Parks Algonquin Alerts page now too:

http://www.ontarioparks.com/park/algonquin/alerts

_____________________________________________________________
Due to strong winds, warm temperatures and rain, ice conditions have changed dramatically since the afternoon flight on Wednesday May 8th.

--> We are partially opening the backcountry/interior for First Come First Served canoeing permits today, Friday May 10th, to ice free lakes in the immediate area of opened access points. <-- 

All access points are open starting today, except for 6 – Smoke Lake, 8 – Cache Lake, 14 – Hollow River-Dividing Lake, 16 – Kingscote Lake, 23 – Lake Travers and 24 – Bissett Creek Road. Staff at the permit offices will have more details about which lakes are open. 

No reservations for backcountry canoeing will be accepted until Wednesday May 15th.

We remind everyone that spring conditions mean increased risk due to high water, cold water, ice covered lakes and unmaintained portages. Some lakes in Algonquin remain partially ice covered and shifting winds may create a navigation hazard. Water temperatures remain near freezing and submersion could quickly become a life-threatening situation. Always wear a PFD or life jacket and stay close to shore. Do not take risks and paddle according to your skill level. Portages may be flooded or partially snow covered. Expect to encounter significant winter deadfall on most routes. 

The Petawawa River system is at historically high levels, extreme caution is required if using this system and only very experienced paddlers should be attempting to navigate.

Campsite reservation holders with arrival dates up to and including Tuesday, May 14th will be contacted and offered a full refund or the possibility to change their reservation with no penalty, depending on availability. If your reservation has an arrival date up to and including Tuesday, May 14th, please contact the Ontario Parks Reservations Call Centre at 1-888-668-7275 from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm Eastern Time to cancel or change your reservation.

Rock Lake, Tea Lake, Whitefish, Achray, Brent, and Kiosk Campgrounds opened May 10th.

Opening May 10th:
• Partial opening of the backcountry/interior for canoe permits. 
• Access Points: 
o 1 – Kawawaymog Lake, 
o 2 – Tim River, 
o 3 – Magnetawan Lake, 
o 4 – Rain Lake, 
o 5- Canoe Lake, 
o 7- Source Lake, 
o 9 - Rock Lake, 
o 10 - Sunday Creek, 
o 11 – Lake Opeongo, 
o 12- Pinetree Lake, 
o 13-Galeairy Lake-Whitney, 
o 15 - Hay Lake, 
o 17 - Shall Lake (permits available from East Gate until Sat. May 11th at noon), 
o 18 – Aylen Lake (permits from East Gate),
o 19 – Basin Lake, 
o 20 – Mallard (Sec) Lake, 
o 21 – McManus Lake, 
o 22 – Grand Lake-Achray, 
o 25 – Wendigo Lake (2km portage to access point), 
o 26 – North River, 
o 27 – Cedar Lake-Brent, 
o 28 – Brain Lake (4-wheel drive required), 
o 29 – Kioshkokwi Lake-Kiosk 

Opened May 10th:
• Rock Lake, Tea Lake, Whitefish, Achray, Brent, and Kiosk Campgrounds
o Achray and Kiosk Campgrounds will not have potable water.
o Some sites at Rock Lake, Tea Lake and Whitefish Campgrounds will be closed due to localized flooding or poor condition.
• Eastern Pines and Highland Backpacking trails
o Expect spring conditions of snow patches, flooded areas and possible windfalls. 
o Parking for the Highland Backpacking trail has been temporarily moved to the Old Railway Bike Trail parking lot in the Mew Lake Campground.
• Rock Lake Road and Booth’s Rock hiking trail

Opening dates to be determined: 
• Centennial Ridges Road is closed at Hwy 60 due to poor road conditions. 
• Western Uplands Backpacking trail is closed due to flooding.
• Whiskey Rapids hiking trail and Tea Lake Dam Picnic Area are closed due to flooding.
• Kingscote Lake Road is closed due to washouts.
• Basin Depot Road is closed at km 33.5, just before the hydro-line, due to a washout.
• Lake Travers Road remains closed past the Achray Campground Road due to washouts.
• Access Points: 6 – Smoke Lake, 8 – Cache Lake, 14 – Hollow River-Dividing Lake, 16 – Kingscote Lake, 23 – Lake Travers, 24 – Bissett Creek Road and 26 – North River Lake
________________________________________________________________

 

I just booked for interior 10 nights departing Sunday.

check mate,, game over

I think you can do walk up bookings for right now Bo, but no longer reservations until the 15th

boknows wrote:

hmmm.....am I correct in assuming that I can fish Opeongo Lake right now, but cannot camp on it until May 15th????

 
I don’t fish but I believe that 100% you are allowed to fish on Opeongo as a day tripper. As other have mentioned, they are giving out overnight backcountry permits but not reservations. At this time of year I bet you could easily get a “walk up” permit for most lakes as very few will be fully booked. Also I don’t think you’ll see lines at the permit office that are even half as long as what you see on popular summer weekends. Its mostly a small group of hardcore/obsessed people that even think about canoeing before the May long weekend.

Last edited by solos (5/10/2019 11:59 pm)