Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

Let the camping begin!

I made plans to take Shay to the Algonquin Couple's Resort for his birthday, but seeing as Algonquin is 4 hours away, we decided to make a weekend out of it and go up early to camp for the night. We kept a close eye on the weather, because it can make or break your camping experience in Algonquin. The last time we came here was with a group of ten or so people. It rained the entire time. By the end of the weekend, there were only four of us left, and to top it all off we saw no moose!

Shay and I were hoping for better, and the ride into the park did not disappoint! I saw my first moose! There are about 3000 moose in the park, and around this time of year they are easy to see around HWY 60 as they sip up the salty ditch water to ease their sodium deficiency. This guy let me follow him around a little, much to Shay's dismay.

Doe de doe doe doe

He was a little guy, a teenager maybe. Made some great slurping noises as he soaked up some ditch water for a growing highway audience.

I'm handsome

Me and My Moose!

We were stoked!

I wanted to find a campground that wasn't too hard to get to, as we were only staying the night and needed to get out to the East Gate for Sunday. Many of the sites are either closed because they are too wet, or they are first come first serve, which is risky to wait for on a long weekend in Ontario. I ended up booking a site at Rock Lake, Campground B. I had the choice of campground A, B or Coon Lake. I didn't realize it at the time but Rock Lake had flush toilets, and was very popular (few sites left to book online). I naively thought that popular meant a good campground. I booked site 86. Well when we arrived, site 86, which on the map appears to have a lot of space on each side, was tiny, lodged in between two other sites, with a road on either side of it. It was terrible. There were some other sites right on the water here, but the privacy was terrible, and there were lots of families. We headed back to the Gate with some other potential sites. The ranger was really understanding and showed me which sites were available of the ones we chose. She said that those campgrounds are very busy, and maybe we should check out Coon Lake as it is usually a little quieter. 

We drove over to check it out, and noticed it was mostly empty. The difference, outhouses instead of flushies. Not a problem for us! We chose a quiet site adjacent to the lake and set up camp. There were some bugs that interfered just a little.

We got the tent set up, and then had to sit in the car, the bugs were so bad! BLACK FLIES! I have never experienced black flies before, they are intense! They are little, and they swarm, and they do not fly away when you swat or shake. They bite! They take a little chunk out of your skin and you bleed. Ouch!

Waiting out the bugs!

Our neighbours showed up as we took a breather at the lake. I hadn't noticed at the time, but they had brought a baby with them. They set up a tent and had put out a playpen, then had to sit in the car as they became overwhelmed with bugs. They left the tent and playpen and took off. We were hoping they would pack it in, as I wasn't up for crying black fly bitten baby all night, but they eventually returned with mosquito netting jackets. Oh well.

A brief still moment in front of the tent we bought on the way up from Walmart. I don't know why we go into Walmart, it always makes me angry. We bought this tent because our old car camping tent is on it's last legs, and we could use a replacement. This one, a Ventura, was only $50!! Well you certainly get what you pay for. The zippers were weak, the velcro was sewn on with a single stitch, and the poles were so skinny, a light breeze could have blown it over. We would not be keeping it!

Shay got a fire going, and the smoke did help alleviate some of the bugs. We walked over to the lake and ran in. It was cold! But there was no way we were camping without swimming in the lake. Coon Lake is a nice shallow lake. I imagine in August it is quite warm. In May it is refreshing to say the least.

We cooked our dinner over the fire, and headed over to the lake to take some pictures of the sun setting over the lake.

We relaxed a little after chatting with our neighbours. She a teacher, and he doing something at Hydro One. This would be baby's first night in a tent. Oh joy. Despite some early crying, she did manage to get to sleep, and slept through the night which was impressive. We on the other hand, had a little more trouble. Shay didn't want to wear the hat I packed for him and woke up freezing. Our mattress had a leak as we slowly sunk closer to the ground, and our cheap tent was difficult to get in and out of for any mid-night washroom breaks. Car camping is fine, it's easy, you can pack a lot, sleep on a mattress, and eat and drink to your heart's content, but some of the people it attracts, makes it less enjoyable for the avid camper. We pretty much decided that we won't be planning anymore solo car camping trips for awhile. It's just not relaxing.

The rain began in the morning. The forecast had said no rain until Monday. It was wrong. It also said no bugs. But the bugs were buzzing. Apparently the ranger said they had just started that day. Sunday morning was wet, but it wasn't going to dampen our spirits. We made a delicious birthday breakfast for Shay, gluten free BLT's, egg/bacon/cheese English muffins, and Udi blueberry muffins, complete with candle! (picture coming soon). We had to eat in the car as we waited out the rain, but it was still fun.

Morning Birthday breakfast

The rain let up, and we packed up. We had big plans for the day. We cleaned up in record time, and headed out to do some hiking. The rain wasn't heavy, little droplets here and there, so we made our way to Lookout trail.

Map of the park and trails.

In the guide, it says that Lookout Trail is 2.1km, a 3* of difficulty, and should take about an hour to complete. It is very hilly, and a little steep at times, but we still did it in about 28 minutes. We stopped to take pictures too.

The Lookout

The second trail we did was right across from the Rock Lake turnout. Big Pines is about 2.9km, and is rated as 2* of difficulty. There are warnings at this trail stating that it could take as long as 2 hours to complete. It's features are an 1800's abandoned logging camp and old tall pines. We finished it in about 45 minutes. We actually found this trail to be a little more challenging than The Lookout as it has a lot of roots, and rocks littering the foot path. You can't walk without looking down to check your footing. A good little hike!

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We stopped at Spruce Bog so that Shay could get some footage for an accessibility video he's working on. This trail is on a boardwalk, and is somewhat accessible for those with strollers or wheelchairs. There are toilets at this hike.

No trip to Algonquin is complete without a visit to the Visitor's Centre. Ahh dioramas! I am interested to come back in August for the Wolf Howls.

Many Meese, Moosen

Despite the bugs and rain we had a great time. We were very excited to have seen a moose, and the rough night and rain were only going to make the couple's resort all the more enjoyable!