After leaving Montreal, Gordy and I headed for Algonquin and Killarney Provincial Parks in Ontario.

ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK

Algonquin is Ontario’s oldest provincial park. It is loaded with forests, bogs, lakes and rivers. There are really two Algonquin parks, the developed part and the backcountry. Given our short visit, Gordy and I spent time in the developed part along the Highway 60 Corridor.

It would be great to see the park via the backcountry sometime. The backcountry has over 1,200 miles of canoe routes, ranger cabins for rent, and 2,000 campsites. You can do portage and / or non-portage experiences.

We camped at Lake of Two Rivers Campground. We arrived late afternoon and spent the first night setting up and hanging around camp. The next day (rainy) we checked out the Logging Museum and Visitor Center. The third day we spent canoeing on the lake. Given the time of year (mid-September), the park was not crowded.

Logging Museum – The museum reception building has a theater which plays an excellent video regarding the significance of logging in Algonquin. Outside is a walking tour with life size exhibits. This include a reconstructed logging camp and also an understanding of the complete process of cutting and squaring the logs, hauling the timber down frozen lakes and driving them down flooded spring rivers to the Ottawa river. One stop on the tour is The William M which is a surviving example of a steam-powered warping tug that was used to winch giant log booms across lakes.

Campground and Lake:

We really liked the Lake of Two Rivers Campground. As it was later in the season, there were very few campers. The lake abuts the campground. You can call private outfitters and they will drop canoes for your use. We spent one day on the lake and had a great time.

There is a 10 mile bike trail the follows the bed of the historic Ottawa, Armprior, & Parry Sound Railway. The trail stretches from Rock Lake to near Cache Lake and is accessible from the Lake of Two Rivers. It would be fun to try this some time.

The last night at the campground we celebrated the eve of my birthday. The evening started like this:

And ended like this:

Killarney Provincial Park:

The next morning we were up early and off to Killarney Provincial Park. The park is located on Georgian Bay which is at the northeastern tip of Lake Huron. The park offers year round activities for everyone, hikers, bikers, water crafters, cross country skiers and so forth. Like Algonquin, the park offers canoe-in backcountry experiences. A person could spend weeks in this park.

The park straddles the La Colche range, large rounded white quartzite hills that dominate the landscape. The white peaks and cliffs contrast with the pine and hardwood forests and the boggy lowlands that surround the park’s many lakes.

We only stayed at the park for one night and used our time to check out the quartzite hills from Lake George. Our plan was to take turns using my inflatable watercraft. However, luck came our way and our camping neighbors offered their sea kayaks for our use.

The next morning, we headed into the Village of Killarney for breakfast before heading to Michigan via Sault Ste Marie.

And now headed back to the USA after close to 3 months in Canada. My journey through eastern / central Canada was outstanding. So much to see and such great people!!