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71 wrote:
Gidday
I just listened to a voice mail telling me that my Reservation for May 4th is not valid as it is not opening until May 6th. I wonder if it is because I was supposed to be heading in at cedar and beyond? I just saw a picture of the Brent Rd....still snow covered!
71
Yeah it's because of Cedar... They just put up an update. The other backcountry access points are still the same Tentative dates...
Cross your fingers!!
Last edited by MatteoP (4/29/2016 1:55 pm)
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Anyone at the park today? This sun must be doing some damage
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My brother and I are headed to Kawartha Highlands tomorrow very early. We will be coming out on Wednesday. I will then be leaving on either Thursday or Friday for Algonquin for a few nights starting on cache lake.
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Today's satellite image shows the park pretty much ice free, with Opeongo and Cedar being a bit more stubborn. I suspect official "ice out", based on Opeongo, will be declared tomorrow or Monday at the latest.
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New photos from the 27th and 28th:
Updated: Saturday, April 30, 2016
Algonquin Park Ice Conditions
Ontario Parks is reporting that the 2016 opening dates for some areas of Algonquin Park will be delayed until May 4 or 6, 2016 (subject to change) due to winter conditions, ice covered lakes, and inaccessible snow covered roads.
Strong spring sunshine is melting Algonquin Park's ice cover. Limited open water is expected in some areas of Algonquin Park for the weekend of April 30 - May 1, 2016, but ice on some lakes could persist into the final days of April or early May depending upon geographic location and the weather conditions over the next several days.
Ice is disappearing from small lakes and medium-sized lakes. With help from the strong sunshine and the wind, partially ice-covered conditions are becoming increasingly common in some areas of Algonquin Park, but conditions vary greatly.
Large lakes are expected to hold their ice cover longer, as well as some "problem lakes" in the Park's backcountry (ones at higher elevations or not exposed to windy conditions or having limited inflow/outflow). Park staff will be checking on these during an ice flight to assess overall ice conditions in Algonquin Park scheduled for May 2, 2016.
Snow-covered gravel roads with muddy sections continue to prevent travel to backcountry access points. As a result, they are currently closed to public travel, with many gated or barricaded to prevent infrastructure damage. Many facilities in Algonquin Park remain closed, including some campgrounds, backcountry access points, snow covered and/or muddy roads, plus several inaccessible trails.
The timing of Algonquin Park’s ice out varies because of a number of factors, including the volume of the lake, its elevation above sea level, the current flow into or out of the lake, and the shape of the lake as exposed to wind.
The latest satellite imagery is showing deteriorating ice quality and limited open water in Algonquin Park. Satellite imagery provides assistance in determining ice out in Algonquin Park, but what is observed in various satellite images is often different that what Park staff see on the ground. Black-coloured lakes in satellite images may still be ice covered enough to impede travel by canoeists and anglers.
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Just got home from a few nights at Rock Lake. All the lakes you see along highway 60 are ice free from what we could see. Saturday was beautiful and probably took care of a lot of ice that may have lingered on bigger lakes. There was a few patches of snow on Rock Lake road, and apparently a lot of hiking trails are still very snowy. We hiked Two River's Trail and there was a lot of ice for the first 3/4 of it…very slippery. I can see how someone managed to break their leg on a hiking trail last weekend.
I hope the fly over goes as planned tomorrow and they open it up even if it's limited to the lakes with snow free roads. I'm itching to read more trip reports!
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I just got home from 5 days at Mew and as Flybites says the lakes along 60 are ice free. The portages are another issue though. On Friday I went from Kearney Lk. up to Sproule and Titmouse. On sections of the portages where not much sun reaches there is still snow which some spots was still a good 8-10 inches deep. The soft snow wasn't the issue, it was the thin hard crust on top which supported you for a few second before giving way. This was quite jarring with a canoe on your head.
Unfortunately for me I was supposed to head to Brent on Tuesday but because of issues with the road and it not opening until at least Friday I'm having to change plans.
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The ice went out on Kioshkokwi Saturday afternoon. Still snow in the bush in shady areas.
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Went in Friday morning. Smoke was still frozen as far as you could see from the highway. Ice free this afternoon. Still some snow in the bush in shady low sunlight areas. Great weekend to be out thou! The season is apon us. Finally.
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YUP!!!!!!!!!From Algonquin Outfitters on Facebook
May 1st 2016, 6:55pm - we received the official word from our Lake Opeongo crew last night. "ICE IS OUT, ICE IS OUT,ICE IS OUT, ICE IS OUT!!!! Both arms are clear and all portages are accessible. - Aaron and Emily"
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Anyone know what time the flyover is at today?
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Anyone know what time the flyover is at today?
My understanding is that Opeongo is generally the last lake to be ice free so is there really a need for a flyover?
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Anyone know what time the flyover is at today?
My understanding is that Opeongo is generally the last lake to be ice free so is there really a need for a flyover?
Kind of doubt the park would use a vendors Facebook update to determine the backcountry's opening day. Here's to hoping it opens today.
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Kind of doubt the park would use a vendors Facebook update to determine the backcountry's opening day. Here's to hoping it opens today.
Yeah, they are not going to make a decision based on a Facebook posting. However, I'm sure someone from Algonquin Outfitters has been on the phone with park HQ to report the conditions at Opeongo and Cedar Lake. Park staff themselves can see the condition of lakes along highway 60 which we have been led to believe became clear of ice on the weekend. Kioskokwi is supposedly clear of ice. If many of the major access points are known to be clear of ice than does it really matter if they send up a plane and find there is still some ice on more remote northern lakes such as Burntroot? No one is getting into those lakes on the first day permits are issued and with good daytime temperatures and nighttime temperatures staying above freezing what ice may be left can't last much longer.
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Kind of doubt the park would use a vendors Facebook update to determine the backcountry's opening day. Here's to hoping it opens today.
Yeah, they are not going to make a decision based on a Facebook posting. However, I'm sure someone from Algonquin Outfitters has been on the phone with park HQ to report the conditions at Opeongo and Cedar Lake. Park staff themselves can see the condition of lakes along highway 60 which we have been led to believe became clear of ice on the weekend. Kioskokwi is supposedly clear of ice. If many of the major access points are known to be clear of ice than does it really matter if they send up a plane and find there is still some ice on more remote northern lakes such as Burntroot? No one is getting into those lakes on the first day permits are issued and with good daytime temperatures and nighttime temperatures staying above freezing what ice may be left can't last much longer.
This may be all true but the person in charge still wants a flyover today. Hope they let us know soon so I can head up there.
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Granted, a local outfitter's Facebook post isn't enough to open the backcountry campsites. But you'd think it would be enough for park staff to throw a boat in Opeongo and check for themselves. That, plus satellite imagery that shows all visible lakes to be ice-free (I say all visible lakes because parts of Algonquin were clouded over today).
In past years flyovers have been used to monitor thaw conditions leading up to ice-out, images from the flyovers were posted live on the website and on social media, and when the last ice did go out on Opeongo you'd hear it on the park website first. So I find it strange and frankly disappointing that 24 hours after reliable local reports that Opeongo is ice-free, the park website is still talking about a predicted ice-out May 4 or 6, still referring to last weekend in the future tense in spite of saying "Updated: Monday, May 2, 2016" at the top of the page, still talking only about ice disappearing from small and medium-sized lakes, and not a word about these recent developments. Algonquin Outfitters can brag about beating the park to the news by a whole day, but I bet what they'd like even better than bragging rights is clientele actually allowed to use their services. I kind of wish the park looked as excited for ice-out as they are.
Last edited by DanPM (5/02/2016 5:52 pm)
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Dan, ccouldn't have said it better myself! I'm deeply disappointed in the lack of action taken by ON Parks. Some of us who would have headed into the park today or tomorrow if the green light had gone on. Not to update their website - instead, the department uses stale, dated, almost week-long data- at such an interesting and crucial part of the year seems unconscionable. What gives? There are many and varied reasons why many of us want to get into Algonquin as early as possible (not just fish, but frogs, sapsuckers, white-throats, yellow-rumps). It seems as if the gate-keepers are tone-deaf.
