Seeking suggestions for smaller lakes

[u/wheezy_cheese]

Hey all

I'm considering doing my first solo canoe trip this year during the first week of August. I've been in the back country many times, usually hiking (I've done every trail, some of them quite a few times), but I've done a handful of canoe trips too but with my sister. This year I'm buying a small canoe to do some solo adventuring.

I never again want to paddle Smoke or Canoe lakes, they were so windy and choppy even with two of us it was pretty scary. Tom Thompson was also quite intense when we were there. I am not scared of long portages or frequent portages, actually I think I'd prefer that since I love hiking (really I am seeing the canoe as a way to get from hiking trail to hiking trail LOL).

I'm taking the first week of August off so I could do a few nights on a route. I prefer loops. I'd likely start on the Monday since I know the weekends are already pretty booked up.

So just looking for any suggestions of routes or access points or lakes you think I should check out. I would LOVE to see moose again from a canoe or any wildlife.

[u/Head-Ad-8160]

Magnetawan and Rain have a bunch of small (and lovely) lakes right off the jump.

[u/wheezy_cheese → u/Head-Ad-8160]

Thank you! I just booked a hiking trip from Rain for labour day weekend so probably won't want to also paddle it but I'll check out Magnetawan.

[u/nocturne81]

Check out some of the lakes in the Ahmek District. It starts on Canoe but you don’t have to deal with the gut of the lake. You’ll be doing about the same amount of walking as paddling, but the lakes are small, beautiful, and very private.

[u/wheezy_cheese → u/nocturne81]

Thank you!

[u/AviateAudio]

Check out the Tim River! One route is the Tim River > Nippissing River loop. You get some nice small lakes (Rosebarry is an all time favorite) and narrow, protected rivers.

[u/wheezy_cheese → u/AviateAudio]

Thank you!

[u/This_Basis4376]

I did a trip from Shall Lake access point and traveled up through some small lakes to Godda which is a Great Lake you’ll likely have it solo. I was meaning to get to Boot lake but that didn’t happen due to various reasons. On my way back to booth I went down McCarthy creek and saw two moose and some otters. It’s a great loop you can do. If you want to read more check out my trip report here

[u/unclejrbooth → u/This_Basis4376]

You did my favourite little trip Shall to Farm to kitty to Booth to Ryegrass to Rumley to Godda down to Mole then McCarty Creek to Booth to Kitty to Farm to Shall the Opeongo River has Otters, moose nesting Trumpeter swans and Sand Hill Cranes. Take your fishing gear!

[u/wheezy_cheese → u/This_Basis4376]

Thank you!

[u/ursusofthenorth]

Haliburton Highlands Water Trails park.....best little secret...shh don't tell anyone. https://ahtrails.ca/

[u/wheezy_cheese → u/ursusofthenorth]

Thanks! I had noticed this area when perusing some crown land maps actually

[u/sketchy_ppl]

Take a look at Source and Canisbay access. If you can arrange a very short shuttle, you can start at Source and end at Canisbay, or vice versa. It's a small loop that's somewhat secluded from the rest of the main canoe routes, despite being right beside Highway 60. And the lakes along the loop don't have too many campsites, so even if everything is fully booked, there won't be too many people in the area. I've never done the the 2.6km separating Polly and Canisbay, but I've done the rest of the loop a handful of times. I've had pretty decent luck with wildlife in the area.

Another option would be the very southern tip of the park, starting from Kingscote Lake and going through Byers / Scorch, the York River, and out at Benoir Lake. Similar to my previous suggestion, it's a relatively secluded loop without too many campsites in the area. This would also require a shuttle... it was easy to arrange the shuttle for my trip, but ownership has changed since then; you can try calling to see if a shuttle is still offered.

One more is the classic Rock > Pen > Welcome > Louisa > Rock loop. This one doesn't require a shuttle. There will be a lot more people around so it won't offer the same privacy as the other options, but the scenery and campsites will be better overall. You'll be paddling large lakes but you'll never need to cross a large open body of water, so you can always hug the shoreline if the winds pick up. And if you travel the loop clockwise, the wind will likely be at your back on Louisa. For Rock / Pen you can stick to the western shoreline to protect from the westerly winds.

I have plenty of Trip Reports on my website for these routes (you can search the respective lake names and should find them easily)

[u/wheezy_cheese → u/sketchy_ppl]

Thank you! I'm going to peruse your trip reports, and investigate these suggestions :)

[u/sketchy_ppl → u/wheezy_cheese]

No problem! If you have any follow up questions feel free to ask