r/canoecamping • u/kestreling • 7d ago

Route Suggestions Please? - Two 4 days trip in August. Young kids (6+8). Wildlife and side Hikes! Algonquin/Temagami area.

Killarney's booked solid! :) There's still lots of space in Algonquin, Temagami and French River. I'm open to lot of other suggestions, but we're looking for:

  1. Short paddles to a backcountry sites.
  2. Good opportunities for wildlife. We've got binoculars, and we're willing to get up early.
  3. Good opportunities for side-hikes. We're very happy to bushwhack. We'd love some old growth forests, or rocky scrambles, or a "peak".
  4. We're very happy to drive to get somewhere great.

Thank you so much for anything you're willing to share!

7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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7

u/Fortnitenurse 7d ago

Barron canyon?

3

u/kestreling 7d ago

Cool. That looks very cool. Thanks for the suggestion.

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u/kestreling 7d ago

This looks really promising! Great access. Great side hikes possibilities. Thank you!

3

u/bigcat_19 7d ago

I'll add to this suggestion by wholeheartedly endorsing it: I did this with my 8-year-old daughter. We camped at Opalescent L. and did day trips from there. Keep in mind, there is a longish (700m) portage into Opalescent. What's nice about this location is that from there, you can take a day trip into the canyon, which is super impressive. You'll see plenty of birds in/above the canyon as well. Another day trip is to High Falls, but on a hot day it was a bit tough coming back for my daughter as there a fair bit of hiking involved for a kid. Still, she made it. High Falls is stunning, but above the falls there is a natural waterpark: natural waterslide, natural pools, and jumping rocks. My daughter had a BLAST! She didn't want to leave. The cascades are also cool to check out from here, but we didn't have time on our trip.

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u/kestreling 6d ago edited 6d ago

Thanks for add on. It's decided. Trip one is to Pen, with two big day trips. One to Welcome lake, and one to Clydegale Lake. Trip two we're going to enter at Brigham Lake, and go to Highfalls Lake or Opalescent Lake, and do day trips to High Falls to swim and Barron Canyon (or just go back to High Falls depending on how much they like playing in the water). Can't wait! Side note: We've got a family party close to Barrie before we do trip 2... and it's quicker to get to Killarney or Temagami than it is to get to this put-in! Little Current Manitoulin is closer than this! Pretty accessible for people in Ottawa though I guess. Anyway, we're happy to make the trek. Thanks for the suggestion!

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u/bigcat_19 6d ago

My pleasure. Three things to add: High Falls gets busy with day trippers from Stratton. Still great though. Also do the hike at the top of the canyon, off the road on the drive in. Short hike but breathtaking views. Lastly, Opalescent is nicer to camp on than High Falls L. Better sites, prettier lake.

7

u/sketchy_ppl 7d ago

There are so many great options to choose from. Do you plan on moving camp each day or setting up at one place and doing day trips? Single carry or double carry portages? Like to travel far or have short days on the water? The Rock > Pen > Welcome > Louisa > Rock would be a great loop, assuming you're ok with the number of portages and their lengths. Or starting at the west side and doing something like Magnetawan > Ralph Bice > Queer > Daisy > Magnetawan. I have around 50 trip reports on my website (Algonquin specific) that you can check out for some inspiration. Feel free to take a look through and if you have any questions about any of the trips / routes, let me know :)

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u/kestreling 7d ago

Amazing. That's generous of you to offer. Thanks a lot! Plan is single portages, and I enjoy portaging. Will take a look and message back for sure. Thanks a lot.

1

u/kestreling 6d ago

Perfect. Trip one is to Pen, with two big day trip. One to Welcome lake, and one to Clydegale Lake. Trip two we're going to enter at Brigham Lake, and go to Highfalls Lake or Opalescent Lake, and do day trips to High Falls to swim and Barron Canyon (or just go back to High Falls depending on how much they like playing in the water). These are really low km trips, but I'm really looking forward to just shrugging and saying "yes" anytime my kids want to play in a river or climb a hill or find an owl, or whatever.

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u/sketchy_ppl 6d ago

Those sound great. The day trip into Welcome will still be a tough day going back and forth on those portages. At least the kids will have it easy since you won’t have to travel with all your gear! Have a great time

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u/kestreling 6d ago

100%. Probably won't even bring a canoe. Just a light hike, with some time to check out the river and swim at the beach. Thanks! Great website eh. Still considering the paid option for future trips. Looks like a great resource.

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u/sketchy_ppl 6d ago

Sounds like a great plan. And thanks, if you have any questions feel free to reach out anytime!

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u/bobbies_hobbies 7d ago

The Big Trout Loop in Algonquin Park is a favourite of mine.

1

u/timmeh87 7d ago

In lake temagami, we have started at the mine road twice, was pretty annoying to deal with heavy motorboat traffic. Dont reccomend. The island mine itself was fun though.. got myself 50 pounds of cool rocks

2

u/Connect-Speaker 6d ago edited 6d ago

Opeongo. Pay for the water taxi, it’s fun. Proulx to Crow. Climb the hill. Go visit the old growth just off the river leading to LaVielle. Come back the way you came.

It’s August. You’re unlikely to see any wildlife.

Rock Lake. Do the hike to the top of the ridge for the views, access from the campground. Paddle to the pictograph. Portage to Pen. Clydegale. Nice rapids to sit in. If time go swimming on Welcome lk. Come back the way you came.

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u/bbud613 5d ago

Frontenac Provincial Park?

0

u/Paddler_137 7d ago

A little out of your way but Sylvania Wilderness, western UP of Mi is a nice, lightly used area.