Part 4 of 4: Killarney Provincial Park

I first saw Killarney while on a family trip when I was quite young. Even then I was able to appreciate the vast wilderness and relative remoteness of this part of Northern Ontario. More recently, Elise and I did a back country canoe trip across the lakes at the south-east end of the park. Our trip fell on the Canada Day long weekend (July 1) yet we still managed to avoid contact with other humans for at least 48 consecutive hours! Of course, the deeper you travel into the backcountry, the more secluded you’ll be. Nevertheless, in this case we never left the main thoroughfare for canoe traffic. Generally, the additional effort that it takes to get deep into the backcountry is usually offset by the fact that you get complete and utter seclusion – if that’s what you crave (we sure do!).
For our backcountry canoe trip, we launched from Bell Lake and paddled south through Johnnie Lake, on through Carlyle Lake to Terry Lake and back again, moving from campsite to campsite each night. Backcountry camping takes a great deal of organization and planning as it is, but throw in torrential downpours like the ones we had during our trip and things get even more complicated. Setting up camp, gathering firewood and cooking while trying to keep dry becomes quite challenging. And, all this needs to be done well before dusk in order to find a suitable tree on which to hang your food pack so the bears don’t eat your rations. Backcountry camping can indeed be an arduous undertaking... but it’s all worth it!

Killarney has spectacular car camping, too. Staying at George Lake Campground will allow you to explore some of the great hiking trails that weave through the La Cloche Mountains. This modest range, with black volcanic rock jutting up through brilliant white quartzite dominates the park’s landscape. Whittled down over millions of years by ice ages, they were once taller than the Rockies. The La Cloche Silhouette Trail is a gruelling 78 km loop that takes you up and down through a variety of ecosystems. We are told by friends that the hike to Silver Peak is supposed to have the best view in the whole park, although we never had a chance to do it because of bad weather.

In addition to the epic views from atop the La Cloche Mountains and the seclusion of the backcountry, Killarney also exhibits some fascinating intermixing of landscapes. The inland lakes with their deep blue waters nestle between the hills and are surrounded by dense pine and spruce forests that are typical of Northern Ontario. Mixed in with these are lush hardwoods that are more typical of Ontario’s south. As is to be expected, there is no shortage of wildlife here including beavers, bears and moose. There’s a strong chance you’ll run in to at least one of these animals.

As with most of the Northern Ontario parks, Killarney has an enormous amount to offer the naturalist and that is why we include it in our list of favourites. Since it’s only about a 4 hour drive from Toronto, the Killarney backcountry has become our number one place to truly get away from it all.

Part 3 of 4: Bruce Peninsula National Park

From the rocky limestone cliffs and frigid, turquoise waters of Georgian Bay to the sandy beaches and warm, shallow waters of Lake Huron, the Bruce Peninsula offers intense ecological diversity in a narrow, 15 km wide piece of land. I (Gully) fell in love with this section of the Niagara Escarpment as a child when my family would spend weeks on end camping at the Cyprus Lake Campground. Now, to us, the lure of the area is in the sheer number of things there are to do. I get seriously stoked for this place every time we go.

Setting up camp on Cyprus Lake makes for a good base to get to the area attractions, although spending a few days just in and around the campground alone would make for an epic trip! The small lake has a sandy beach with great swimming and there are short hikes to neighbouring lakes. (Side note: as far as any campground we’ve ever been to goes, Cyprus Lake is easily in the top three!).

The crown jewel of the peninsula has got to be the Georgian Bay shoreline which is accessible via several hiking trails that meet up with the famous Bruce Trail (an 800 km long hiking trail that follows the Niagara Escarpment, starting near Niagara falls in the south and ending at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the north). The shoreline here is truly unique: the beaches are bouldered, the high cliffs are gnarly and water-carved, and the crystal clear turquoise water looks almost tropical. But beware – it’s butt-freezing cold! Jumping off the cliffs at Indian Cove (aka the best picnic locale on Earth) reminds me of that every time. Around the corner from Indian Cove is another favourite place of ours – the aptly named Grotto. It’s a semi-submerged cave that actually has underwater tunnels connecting it with the open water. I’ve never been brave enough to access the Grotto through these so I settle for a scramble down the cliff face. Various other hikes that we get giddy over include Cave Point and Halfway Log Dump which follow the shoreline along other sections of the Bruce Trail. There you can crawl through caverns in the cliff face and see 800 year old cedar trees growing out of the limestone.

On the opposite side of the peninsula the landscape is startlingly different. Sandy beaches and warm water are characteristic of this part of Lake Huron, and the forest is different, too. It honestly seems like a different world compared to the Georgian Bay side. Just a short hike from Dorcas Bay and you can find yourself your own secluded sandy beach. We love to wade out for hundreds of meters in the warm, shallow water or just lie in the sun soaked dunes and have our lunch.

At the tip of the peninsula is the quaint, cozy town of Tobermory and the harbour, Little Tub. This is the perfect place to spend a rainy day when camping. Crow’s Nest Pub is our refuge with its ice cream and beer. Other rituals include a stroll around the harbour to see the Chi Cheemaun ferry whose horn you can actually hear from the campground over 10 km away! This is also where we leave for famous Flowerpot Island where we like to hike around and, of course, pack a lunch and have a picnic.

We scuba dived once in Tobermory, too. Fathom Five, a national marine park, is basically the Mecca of fresh water diving in Canada. We saw 120 year old ship wrecks just outside the harbour (which we’ve also seen by way of glass bottom boat) and the water is so clear that it makes for quite an eerie feeling when you look below your dangling feet into the dark, cold abyss.

With so many incredible sights and activities that are unique to this part of the country, it’s no wonder we keep going back year after year.

Part 2 of 4: Finlayson Point Provincial Park

Most Ontarians think that Temagami is located deep in the great north, but I can tell you honestly that it is only the ‘gateway’ to the north. Although true Northern Ontario contains many great places that I would recommend to anyone, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that most people will never make it further than a half-day’s drive from our province’s capital, Toronto. Therefore, our northernmost recommendation is Temagami.

The first thing to look for when approaching Temagami is the feature that the area is famous for – the incredible white pine trees. If your eyes are open, you can’t miss them, as they are often the tallest trees in the forest and have a sort of asymmetrical appearance due to the fact that they tend to grow in the direction of the prevailing winds. This 100 km stretch of highway is one of my favourites anywhere. Of course, I am referring to the stretch of Highway 11 between North Bay and Temagami, as the 100 km to the north of Temagami is much more…unexciting.

Finlayson Point Provincial Park can be found right on the edge of town. While this park is a great park, with good sites and a nice beach, the real draw is the area around the park and the town itself. This place is a paradise of lakes and trees, and everything related. If you hunt or fish, you are probably already familiar with Temagami. There is also a lot for the nature enthusiast – canoeing, hiking and whatever else you might find yourself doing in such a vast wilderness. The provincial park is a great base for all activities.

I definitely fall into the ‘nature enthusiast’ category, having never really taken to the hunting/fishing culture of my youth growing up in Northern Ontario. My favourite thing to do in Temagami is to climb the Temagami Tower, which is an old fire watch tower that has been opened to the public as a lookout point. The view from the top is amazing, if you can stomach the 100 foot staircase, watching the ground drop farther away with every step upwards.

Municipality of Temagami website

P.S. Temagami is also a great destination in winter, if you’re tough enough to handle the frigid temperatures. Here, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing are at their finest.

Part 1 of 4: Algonquin Provincial Park

Probably the most well-known of provincial parks in Ontario, Gully and I consider Algonquin Provincial Park a great ‘primer’ for people new to exploring Northern Ontario’s wilderness. There is a lot of nature, but also … a lot of people.

A secondary highway runs through the park, and there are several campgrounds right off of the highway. The campgrounds vary from fairly private to extremely crowded, so do your research and choose wisely. Of the parks we have visited so far, we recommend Kearney Lake. Without ever having to leave the highway corridor, there are tons of things to do. The first stop should be the slick Algonquin Visitor center, where you can find information on whatever activity you wish to do.

There are many easy hiking trails that can be accessed right from the highway. Many of these trails are ‘interpretive trails’, which means that there are brochures available that give you information about the geography, biology or history of the area around the trail. We are nuts about these trails, and you will find us devotedly stopping at each of the designated points along the trail to read aloud to each other. Yep, we’re a couple of geeks. Our favourite trails are the Big Pines trail and the Beaver Pond trail. Big Pines takes you through a stand of old white pine trees and also past a really old loggers camp. One of the most interesting things about Algonquin Park is the history of the area, such as the logging companies that used to operate in the park, and the loggers who would spend the entire winter in the logging camps, felling the giant white pine trees and sending them down the frozen rivers to the mills to be turned into ship masts. On the Beaver Pond trail, you can learn all about mighty beaver, and probably get to see one or two swimming around the ponds. Believe me, in the thirty minutes or so that it takes to hike the trail, your whole viewpoint on beavers will be altered forever.

Along the highway there are also access points to Algonquin’s backcountry canoe system. These access points are also great places to launch your canoe for a day trip. Try to quickly paddle away from the access points since it is like being stuck in rush hour traffic, only with canoes & kayaks instead of cars. We have never done a backcountry trip in Algonquin, but we have done day trips from the Canoe Lake access point. If you’re interested in canoeing, check out the Portage Store, which is where we rented our canoe. They have tons of information for people looking to explore the park by water. This outfitter, as well as others in the park, can make your life easy if you are planning on doing a backcountry trip. Not only are they supremely knowledgeable, but they can help you by dropping off your canoe at your entry point and picking it up again when you exit. They also rent other supplies besides canoes, such as tents and sleeping bags. Camping supplies are expensive (not to mention a b^#% to store in the off-season) so if you are a novice camper, renting is a great way to go before committing to investing in the necessary supplies. Although, if you make it back alive from your first trip, I can guarantee that you will be hooked for life.

If you’re into art, there is also an art gallery in the park that I love to visit and dream about how I would decorate my (imagined) mansion after I win the lottery. And, as you can probably guess, there is a lot of Group of Seven stuff.

Northern Ontario Parks: Four Part Series

We were surfing the net one day, researching ideas for our next vacation, and were overwhelmed by the number of personal blogs relating the experiences of like-minded travellers. We learned a great deal, since the personal experiences of others are a great way to find out about new and exotic places. But, much to our chagrin, we noticed that while exotic places were well covered in the blogsphere, there was little or nothing about those places in our own backyard. Near and dear to our hearts are the places in and around where we grew up here in Ontario, Canada. Elise is from Northern Ontario and Gully is from Southern Ontario. We have spent a lot of time exploring this province and there are some AMAZING places. So, our first section of this blog is devoted to our favourite places in Ontario. It is a four part series about our favourite parks in Northern Ontario.