Algonquin Adventures / So when does the ice-out prediction conversation start???

**Posted by Trillium16** 4/06/2017 6:45 am

Thanks for the update DanPM. I was wondering when they'd get that off the ground. Already they're telling us to brace for disappointment, nothing new there. But I find it more than a little off-putting that they're claiming ice is tight to shore on ALL Algonquin lakes. We've already seen postings on this thread that contradict that statement -- including one taken weeks back by ATVenture showing ice retreated several meters from shore on Kioshkokwi. But of course admitting that would go off-message; better to 'exaggerate' so there's no questioning this:
"Ontario Parks, the organization that manages Algonquin Park, may also announce a “delayed opening” of all or some Park facilities including the backcountry should conditions be unsafe and not navigable."

Uh huh. Looks like the boondoggling continues (thanks again for that word, Peek!). Glad I don't have anything booked yet.

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/06/2017 8:40 am

Kiosk Lake yesterday @ One Mile Bridge.
Twin Lakes on the side of highway 11 here in North Bay will be open by the end of the weekend, usually the park is 1 week later?

Last edited by ATVenture (4/06/2017 6:05 pm)

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/06/2017 8:52 am

Where the ice is tight to shore its for the most part so rotten you can't walk out on it..

Yes that's open water in the middle of the lake from where the water flows under One Mile Bridge... there is a stretch of over a KM of wide open water. I took this photo early yesterday mornung before the sun came out, shortly after the sun came out around noon all the white on the lake dissapeared into water, making it appear much darker.

Last edited by ATVenture (4/06/2017 8:54 am)

**Posted by Trillium16** 4/07/2017 5:46 am

Finally gave it up and made my first reservation. May 19-21. Guess I'm holding out hope this year won't be much worse than 1972!

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/07/2017 6:51 am

Trillium16 wrote:
Finally gave it up and made my first reservation. May 19-21. Guess I'm holding out hope this year won't be much worse than 1972!

I would worry more about the bugs than the ice.
Looking at the webcam this morning is very depressing! http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/virtual/webcam/index.php
It looks more like Winter than it did for most of January! Oh well I'm sure that will change this weekend (fingers crossed)! I noticed on the A.P.P. website it says they lost 2CM of snow yesterday? Lmao
It's been crazy windy here, yesterday I watched a tree fall in my backyard.

Last edited by ATVenture (4/07/2017 6:53 am)

http://www.youtube.com/user/kayakcamper · **Posted by Uppa** 4/07/2017 8:26 am

Trillium16 wrote:
Finally gave it up and made my first reservation. May 19-21. Guess I'm holding out hope this year won't be much worse than 1972!

Yeah... I wouldn't get too worried about those dates. Except as ATVenture says, you'll probably have the bugs out by then. I'm booked for May 4th and have no concerns.

**Posted by breed85** 4/07/2017 11:32 am

Uppa wrote:
Trillium16 wrote:
Finally gave it up and made my first reservation. May 19-21. Guess I'm holding out hope this year won't be much worse than 1972!
Yeah... I wouldn't get too worried about those dates. Except as ATVenture says, you'll probably have the bugs out by then. I'm booked for May 4th and have no concerns.

I'm booked for May 5th and not too concerned. for the reasons posted above...

**Posted by Abe Froman** 4/07/2017 1:10 pm

Also heading in May 5th weekend, and feeling pretty good about it being ice free! It will be nice for a change over the last couple of years. I had plans last year but they got changed as many others did and I wasn't able to go into the park until the long weekend and the bugs where not too bad. I would think that it will be a different story for the long weekend this year!
I will be in the park next weekend, hopefully we will see some open water. I will post some pics.

**Posted by yellowcanoe** 4/07/2017 1:32 pm

I have an opportunity to do a solo canoe trip on April 29-30. If I can't get an interior permit I will camp at Mew Lake and day trip into the interior. It's weird that they may not be issuing interior permits because there is still ice somewhere deep in the interior but it's ok to day trip as far as you are able to. With more seasonal temperatures coming starting tomorrow I am pretty confident the park will be ice free in three weeks.

**Posted by Abe Froman** 4/07/2017 2:36 pm

Well I was feeling confident about the ice clearing out until I looked at the web cam at the visitor center and saw the guy clearing it off with the snow blower! LOL
Winter just doesn't want to give up with out a fight. Hopefully back to spring tomorrow!

**Posted by breed85** 4/07/2017 6:44 pm

Abe Froman wrote:
Well I was feeling confident about the ice clearing out until I looked at the web cam at the visitor center and saw the guy clearing it off with the snow blower! LOL
Winter just doesn't want to give up with out a fight. Hopefully back to spring tomorrow!

A small bump in the road.
Stay positive my friend.

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/weather/ontario/canoe-lake

Keep Calm and Paddle On hahaha

**Posted by Trillium16** 4/08/2017 6:56 am

Whether it's the beginning or middle of May makes no difference to me. It sure as hell isn't happening in April, which is what I'd been hoping for a change. The forecast is only barely making it into the double digits this coming week. It's going to take a sustained period of temps like that to weaken the ice enough that the wind can do the rest, and I don't see that anywhere in the forecast. And don't forget that the interior will only be opened up when it is deemed "safe" (whatever that means), or when the access roads are considered to be in decent shape. As others have lamented in previous years, gone are the days when we could be held responsible for our own safety and be in control of our own travel decisions. I'm not at all optimistic at this point that any of the interior will be open by the first weekend in May.

As for bugs, meh, they're part of life in the Park. At least I can have a four-day trip without having to take more than one day off work!

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/08/2017 10:35 am

You really don't think the ice will be out in April?
Lavase river here in North Bay has been open for a few days now, so I think I'm going to go for a paddle in the 20 degree weather on Monday, I gotta take the canoe out of storage for a good cleaning and waxing anyways

**Posted by Trillium16** 4/08/2017 1:51 pm

ATVenture wrote:
You really don't think the ice will be out in April?

Don't listen to me -- just feeling particularly pessimistic at the moment. I hope I'm wrong.

**Posted by yellowcanoe** 4/08/2017 6:55 pm

I'm surprised no one has already commented on today's exceptionally clear MODIS photo. While Algonquin is still frozen solid it looks like Lake Simcoe, some lakes west of Algonquin, the French River delta and the Ottawa River are open. With so much progress in areas around the park I expect we'll start seeing some real progress in Algonquin soon. We likely won't have another good MODIS photo until Wednesday at the earliest.

**Posted by Algonquin Outfitters** 4/09/2017 11:48 am

Last day to submit your vote in the Algonquin Outfitters #IceOut2017 contest for Algonquin Park's Lake Opeongo - http://algonquinparkiceout.pgtb.me/K7zTdp

Be sure to get your vote in before midnight tonight - April 9th 2017

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/09/2017 4:27 pm

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Last edited by ATVenture (3/04/2018 9:43 am)