Review: Barron Canyon, Algonquin Interior

Location: 1 hr drive west from Pembroke
Date: July 2006
Website: Friends of Algonquin Ontario Parks
Map: Google Maps or Canoe Routes of Algonquin Park
Camping Facilities: Car Camping at Achray or Backcountry in the vicinity
Grade: B
Stargazing: Who knows, you're in a canyon.
Summary: Spectacular scenery, so-so sites, not a great base camping trip.

View from top of Barron Canyon

Thoughts:  The Barron Canyon is mos def one of the nicest areas of Algonquin, one which any camper in Southern Ontario and Southwestern Quebec should make the effort to visit.  With many trails and the deep canyon itself, there is much nature to be appreciated here.  While a great view is found at the top of the canyon on the Barron Canyon trail, it gets even better when you paddle the Barron river itself.  The camping, like most river camping, can be unfulfilling.   Personally, I like having a sense of endlessness in the natural environment, stretching beyond the horizon  past the shores at the opposite end of the lake.  You don't get that sense when camping in a valley of any sort, given the claustrophobic feel inherent in these landscapes (especially on a narrow river such as the Barron).  Throw the bugginess that you can encounter (due to the absence of breezes), plus the lack of a good view of the night sky, there really isn't much to draw you out of your tent at night.   Hence, don't take this as an indictment of the Barron Canyon, more a presentation of the general problems of camping along a river.

View from top of Barron Canyon

The campsites on the Barron (below the falls) are nothing to marvel at.  Ours was a pretty rocky one, with some decent tent pads, but not really much else.  The paddle in is a fun one (if you like river paddles) with plenty of variation in the scenery; you pass through marshes, rockslides, and wind through canyon with the path the river has made.  It's a decent paddle all the way up to the falls.  The single portage you'll have to do if camping in the valley (coming in from just above Squirrel Rapids) is a short 340 meters trek.  It can be a bit rocky in places, but nothing too difficult. I remember when we did this portage going upstream, there was a couple that was new to camping, who had likely just purchased their camping gear (including one of those ridiculously heavy Wind River canoes you get at Canadian Tire).  They were trying to carry the canoe (with all their gear sitting inside it) by using the deck plates as handles.  Ouch.   I tried to explain that its much easier to just put the yoke on your shoulders and carry the rest of the gear by hand, but I think the strain was getting to them and I don't know if they even finished the 340 m portage.  Hopefully they weren't turned off of camping forever, it would have been a shame.

The boredom that struck our group was likely attributable to our poor trip plan; this isn't a great base camping excursion.  Perhaps you can manage a linear trip starting from Achray (leave one car there and one at the picnic area at Squirrel Rapids), and just keep on moving each day (perhaps move up NW of Grand Lake and come back down).  That would probably be the only fun way to see the Barron Canyon from the river.  Otherwise, there's nothing more than a one-nighter here.

Inside Barron Canyon

Review: Ragged Lake / Parkside Bay, Algonquin Interior

The bay into the portage from Smoke
to Ragged Lake

Location: 55km East of Huntsville (~ 1 hr)
Website: Friends of Algonquin Park or Ontario Parks
Map: Google Maps Canoe Routes
Camping Facilities: Backcountry
Grade: B- (Ragged), B+ (Parkside Bay)
Summary: Congested, but less so than Canoe Lake. Ragged has few high quality campsites, but better options are available on Parkside Bay.
Thoughts:  The less desirable cousin south of Canoe Lake, Smoke Lake is a nice introduction to Algonquin, with smaller crowds at the portages due to fewer canoe route opportunities south of Highway 60.  As far as the challenge of the paddle, crossing Canoe Lake is likely easier than crossing Smoke, due to the winds and waves that can whip up on Smoke.  These can be especially strong in the southern 1/3 of the lake after passing the narrower northern portion, where the lake gets suddenly wider in the east-west direction.  Once you throw in the wakes of the many motorboats whizzing by, it can be a pretty choppy ride (but not altogether unpleasant).

View from site NW of island on Ragged

Remnants of a
mussel dinner

Things get better once you get to the portage into Ragged Lake.  Though there's a sharp incline right at the beginning, its a very short portage.  Its one of those instances when you wonder if the length was accurately recorded on the map, as it seems even shorter than its 250m.  The put-in on Ragged has some historical significance as it was once the site of a log chute between Smoke and Ragged, though not much remains.  There is a trail that is perhaps 15-20 m north from this put-in, along the east side of the portage, where you can hike down to the rapids and have a look at the old chute site.  Its a nice, peaceful set of rapids, but don't expect to see any remnants of the chute.

View from south "point" site
on Parkside Bay

The sites on Ragged are hit and miss. While many will suit most needs (decent site sizes), they are extremely tightly packed, especially around the island.  We stayed on a site on a NW point, just across from the island and 6 other campfires were clearly visible (and audible).  A few exceptions are the northern most site, just after the portage (though you're bound to see plenty of paddlers come by your site on their way further south or to other lakes) and the two southern most sites (the southeastern sites have very nice private beaches, making great docking points, in addition to swimming/sunbathing opportunities).

Parkside is even tolerable in the rain

Parkside bay is slightly better, though I haven't been here on a long weekend (in fact, only on weekdays).  Its much wider, with greater space between the sites.  There are two sites on long points on the east side of this bay that are winners, get them if you can. There is also good fishing on this bay, where we've tangled with some feisty bass.

Family of ducks on Parkside

While the variety of routes is often much greater north of Highway 60, the availability of sites is probably better to the south.  We booked our stay about one month in advance on Ragged Lake, and that was booking for the August long weekend.  While it's best to stay away from Ragged if you can, you'll still have a decent camping experience, with loons, large sites, and clear views of the night sky still possible.  Be warned however; you may have to share this with experience with a few dozen others.  

Review: Rain Lake to Bandit Lake, Algonquin Interior

Location: Rain Lake Access, 60 km from Huntsville (1 hr drive)
Website: Friends of Algonquin Park or Ontario Parks
Map: Google Maps or Canoe Routes

Camping Facilities: Jump-off Camping, Cabin and Backcountry

Grade: A-
Stargazing: Excellent
Summary: A pretty long trek, which gets you reasonably deep into Algonquin Park.  If you book both sites, you have the lake to yourself.  The sites are nice, the lake has some good swimming and you can easily access other lakes.  

Campsite on Bandit Lake

Thoughts:  Another base camping gem, which I think should be reserved for a group with moderate paddling experience.  Not because its particularly challenging, but it can be a slog.  This trip took 6 hrs, from put in to arrival on site. We did it as a base camping trip as means to introduce some friends to the backcountry.  The great thing about this trip is that you can reserve both sites and have the lake to yourselves (which is nice, because things can get as loud or as quiet as you like).  As well, the paddling is pretty easy (well maintained, no huge lakes to cross, pretty easy portages).

Island site on Bandit Lake

You need to cross 5 lakes in order to get to the Bandit Lake destination. This sounds all well and good in theory, since the longest portage is around 550m, but you quickly learn how tricky this can get in large parties (we had 14 people); the continuous loading and unloading of canoes at docking sites can take time and causes a bottle neck.  If the docking sites are small, you will have to load/unload one at a time.  Along the way, we noted that Jubilee and Sawyer were also pretty nice looking lakes that have some well-spaced sites. 

"Mainland" site on Bandit Lake, plenty of room for tents

The sites on Bandit are pretty spacious.  In fact, were even tossed around the frisbee a bit on the island site (probably the superior site).  The thunderbox on the other site is somewhat close to the best spots to set up tents.  However, this can be overlooked, especially when camping in smaller groups.  The lake provides the opportunity to do some day tripping to neighbouring lakes, but those that are relatively close are small (north branch of Moccasin, Cranebill, Wenona, Muslim), and the more interesting day trips would be challenging to keep within a day (Petawawa River to Misty loop, Brule Lake, Misty).

You can see the thunderbox at the bottom of the hill,
in plain view of the tent spots

I think all those who ventured out on this trip appreciated the backcountry experience.  The 6-hr paddle into Bandit is probably more strenuous than you'd want to do as a novice, but its a rewarding trip.  This part of Algonquin is also not terribly scenic (no vistas or sheer rock faces), but you benefit from equally flat portages as a result.

Review: Rain / McCraney Lakes, Algonquin Interior

Location: Rain Lake Access, 1 hr north of Huntsville
Website: Friends of Algonquin or Ontario Parks
Map: Google Maps
Camping Facilities: Jump-off Camping, Cabin and Backcountry
Grade: B+
Summary: 1800 m portage aside, this is a nice part of the park that can feel pretty remote.  However, there's not much more to see, unless you're ready to really trek.

View from island site on McCraney Lake

Thoughts: I don't think there has ever been an instance where I've tried to book McCraney Lake and it wasn't available.  What it is about this access point or this lake that repels people, I'm not exactly sure.  It could be the 20 km drive along the dirt road after you leave Kearney (it feels like 50 km).  It could be that it is difficult to get to the park office in Kearney on a Friday night before it closes.  It could be the 1800m portage between Rain and McCraney.  These are just a few guesses.  But all of these issues in tandem could make backcountry campers opt to go elsewhere.


The Rain Lake access is pretty busy, there always seems to be a shortage of parking spots.  As a result people are parked along side the roads, causing it to become a bit narrow.  The access point also provides "jump-off" camping, allowing you to stay at the access point on your first night (in case you arrive late).  These sites aren't formal, you just set up on the grass in a spot that pleases you.  Its handy but should be avoided if possible. There's also a cabin at the Rain Lake access, which can't be much fun, given that its pretty close to where people are loading up canoes and parking their cars (in addition to being next to the jump-off location).

Dinner prep on McCraney

The paddle to the McCraney portage is nothing spectacular.  Its very narrow and calm in the narrow sections,  then it opens up briefly before you arrive at the portage into McCraney.  You can spot the hikers on the Upland Backpacking Trail as you paddle along, which seems to follow a rail trail.  The portage sounds arduous, at 1800 m.  But in actuality, its probably one of the easiest 1800 m portages around.  It's very flat and reasonably wide.  I seem to recall a bench halfway through, but I may be getting my portages mixed up.  I imagine in the later summer, its even better, if its cooler and dryer.  You get to McCraney, before you know it.   I recall my wife and I once heard a wolf howl just as we paddled into McCraney, which made for a pretty exciting entrance.  This lake can really give you a wilderness feel.

Cooling heels in the crisp waters of McCraney Lake

The paddle into McCraney from Little McCraney takes some time, longer than you'll probably be interested in.  Once you get to McCraney, you'll have to make your decision of where to stay.  Though we have only stayed on the northern island on our two visits here, I don't recommend this location; while you'll probably find enough wood there, its limited and takes some work.  As well, the two sites there are pretty close together and are connected by a footpath.  It might be fun if you're with two groups who want to be able to access each other's sites relatively easily.  From paddling around the lake, I imagine most of these sites will meet your needs (though I'm skeptical of the southern island).  Activities on this lake are somewhat limited, its reported to have decent fishing (haven't cast a line in myself), there are a few portages to other lakes if you want to make a loop out of it, or if you want to make day trips from a base camp on McCraney.   But just sitting back and communing with nature is always an option.

A note about the drive into Rain; I've seen cars that have gone off the road on the gravel section (not that far after Kearney).  Drive slowly, especially at night.  As well, parking at the Rain Lake access can be brutal.  The lot fills up fast and things get pretty messy after that.

All said, I don't fully understand why its so easy to reserve a site on this lake, but it is.  It's a nice lake, relatively easy to access and it provides seclusion.  If you're making a last minute reservation to get away, this is a suitable destination.

(The photo quality on this post is quite poor, attributable to the use of a disposable waterpoof camera.  Let this be a lesson - this is par for the course from what I've seen from these cameras). 

Review: Algonquin Park - Canisbay Campground

Location: 50 km east of Huntsville
Website: Ontario Parks or Friends of Algonquin Park
Map: Google Maps or Canoe Routes
Camping Facilities: Car camping and Canoe-in sites
Grade: B
Summary: Decent car camping, especially walk-in sites, canoe-in sites provide a decent pseudo backcountry experience without much additional effort
Thoughts: The sites here are pretty nice for car camping.  There has been some effort to increase spacing and improve understory growth.  However, it's car camping, with all the usual failings - lack of privacy, noise as loud as your neighbors desire (which can be low or high, but usually is higher than I like), and limited scenery.  One important feature of Canisbay is its fantastic beach; the lake bottom is sandy, the water is shallow for a good few dozen meters off the shore (read "kid friendly") and it's clean and weed-free.  We thought we'd make a return trip back to the beach at night for some star gazing, but we weren't the only ones; there must have been a few dozen others, with varying degrees of consideration of the enjoyment of fellow sky-watchers (some folks speaking softly, others loudly displaying their ignorance of the night sky...a classic chestnut of wisdom "If you draw a line from Orion's belt and one from the handle of the big dipper, they will intersect at the North star"...actually, that's total hooey).  And this was at midnight and park wardens didn't seem to mind, so who knows how late into the night the loud, nonsensical babble can go.

This campground would be yet another car-camping lost opportunity if it weren't for the provision of two key alternatives: walk-in and canoe-in campsites.  The beauty of the walk in sites is that you're aren't sleeping right next to your car, the sites are reasonably well spaced out, in the radio-free and dog-free zones, and many are close to the water (20-23, 72,73,75).  A point to note - just because a site is radio free doesn't mean that it's "drunken yahoo" free; I've been woken up by rowdies wandering the campground in an intoxicated haze at 3am here.  I recommend snatching up a walk-in site as quickly as possible, they're pretty popular.  What disturbs me is the price of these sites; $40 per night in 2011.  We're approaching Motel 6 rates here guys.

View from waterfront at Canisbay Campground 1 

If you have a smaller party, a cheaper alternative (if you already own a canoe...) is to make use of one of the 16 canoe-in sites on Canisbay lake.  These are ~$12 per person, per night (2011).  If its just two people and you don't have to pay for a canoe rental, you'll save a few bucks and these sites have much of the solitary vibe that one seeks in a backcountry site.  On top of that, you can probably lug some luxury items (camping chairs, car camping tents, firewood) along with you since you can dump them straight into your canoe from your car (no portages!)

Review: Algonquin Interior - Hilliard Lake

Location: Off of Highway 60, Access Point #8 (Cache Lake)
Website:  Friends of Algonquin Park or Ontario Parks
Map: Google Maps or Canoe Routes
Camping Facilities: Backcountry Exclusively

Stargazing: Excellent
Summary: Nice, small lake.  If you can book it, you'll have it all to yourself, but there's not much to do here and canoe traffic during the day.
Grade: B+
Thoughts: There isn't a whole lot that that needs to be said about Hilliard (and I've lost all my photos, sorry folks).  This lake showed up on my radar after I noticed that there was just one reservable campsite on it, yet it was relatively easy to access (just a single portage in, which was less than a kilometre); a perfect spot for a base camping trip.  The portage in was pretty flat and reasonably clean, which is a relief after the boring paddle across Cache.  The single site was not bad, fairly large (enough space to toss around a frisbee), and there wasn't that much traffic passing through, even during peak season.  However, the lake isn't all that well connected, so potential day trips likely won't be too attractive unless making a lot of portages to a chain of really small lakes interests you.   The bottom line is that at night time, you'll have it all to yourself, so you can be as loud or appreciate the quiet to whatever degree you desire.  This is a good option for solitude without much work.