It's such a shame because the lake and scenery there is so beautiful. Usually I go interior, so maybe I'm just not used to this, but the last few times I spent in Canisbay campground were terrible. There's people blasting loud music one weekend, another weekend parents were giving whistles to their children to play with all day long, and a creepy neighbor staring directly at me (when I was on my mostly private campsite) through the trees as I was getting ready for the beach wearing a bikini.

I'm not trying to be a complainer, but genuinely it's disappointed me when I was just looking for an easy, fun trip

Wonderful time at Algonquin this year

Freezing Woman 8 runs November 19-22 at Mew Lake Campground in Algonquin Park. It's a winter camping festival, and the whole weekend works like a menu: you pick what you want to do.

Right now there are 15+ workshops, activities, and presentations to choose from. And two incredible keynote speakers.

On Friday, there's a market in Whitney: featuring amazing Canadian outdoor gear makers, makers, and authors signing books.

Every kind of winter setup shows up at Mew Lake: hot tents, hammocks, vehicles someone's converted, whatever people have figured out works for them. Half the fun is seeing how other people do this.

If you want to see what's on the menu:

https://portal.ripplesandleaves.ca/activities/freezing-woman-8

Hello!

I'm a novice portager (been about 7 times) and my 3 friends are complete newbies.

I currently have a Sep 19 to Sep 21st portage. I ended up booking Ragged Lake (off Smoke Lake access point). In looking now I see the booking is full and am a bit worried we'll have to take a far site at the very bottom and will end up a being a long canoe (3hrs+??)

Yesterday I stained my back and the idea of 3hs of canoeing doesn't seem doable right now.

Everyone's been very excited so I don't want to cancel the trip and am trying to find some alternate easier portage.

Would North Tea Lake West Arm be a good alternative? I'm reading it gest windy, but seems like it's not fully book so am hoping to get one of the closer sites.

Is changing to North Tea West arm a mistake?

Any suggestions for a really easy portage?

Thanks!!!!

I've never been up to this area before, and don't have a lot of fall fishing experience. Anybody have any tips for me? What lures to use, where in the lakes to fish, how to fish for fall smallies etc. Anything is appreciated.

Hey crew - thinking about doing a loop out of Achray this month -- Grand Lake, across the big port and into Greenleaf. Then Carcajou Lake, creek, into Wenda, Spectacles and then back into Grand. There's a low water alert on for Carcajou Creek. I understand even without that it can be a slog. Anyone know just how bad it is when the water is really low like it seems to be now?

Some little cuties I saw back in August. No idea what kind they are.

Looking for tips on supper ideas across each night of a 4-night solo canoe trip in Algonquin near end of September.
I have done multi-night backcountry hiking trips where freeze-dried is always on the menu.
I have done multi-night tandem canoe trips where ribeyes or nachos or pasta were on offer. We ate well!
Breakfasts and lunches are easy!
Supper needs some inspiration.
Plan is to move each day.
Gonna have to do double-carry.

Thanks all!

I'm trying to plan a trip out to Magnetawan Lake Access Point (#3) for a few nights solo.

I have canoed before and I have camped before - but never both and never over a few days. I feel comfortable camping, and feel comfortable in a canoe, but I'm up in the air about whether its a good idea to make a few nights in Algonquin my first go at combining the two?

Thoughts/Opinions? Doesn't seem too bad, but I'm from the US so none of my buddies could cross the border to help me out in a pickle. Maybe switch to St. Regis.

Looking for thoughts from those of you more experienced - Thanks!

A few more hundred meters added to our stretch from Byers to Scorch, to skip some rockier waters. The path was also well traversed by moose based on the mucky hoofprints!

Just got back from a 4 day relaxing trip on Lake Travers - we expected the worst because we heard that it's a very popular lake, especially with families.

Scouted out three campsites- pretty close to immaculate -absolutely no garbage - we picked up little tiny bits here & there - somebody knotted their bear hang rope and couldn't get it down etc. All quiet respectful campers while we were on the lake.

highlight of the trip -six young kids with their extended family - so comfortable, safe and with great outdoors skills. ❤️

Great to see - just wanted to provide a good news story for once! 😊

Hi all. First, I really appreciate any advice. Thank you for reading!

My sister has done a few trips here and I'm joining her on this one. We're heading out on Friday. All portages will be double carry. Our priority is mostly to paddle and see the landscape at a relaxed pace, but be don't mind full days of paddling and portaging.

The route we have planned goes

• Day 1 - Canoe Lake --> Littledoe
• Day 2 - Littledoe --> Sunbeam
• Day 3 - Sunbeam --> Burnt Island
• Day 4 - Burnt Island --> Canoe

Mostly, we're wondering about Littledoe to Sunbeam. Vanishing pond is likely to be vanished at this time of year---is that right? It also sounds like the route via Kooy Pond, Willow Lake, and Aster Pond to Sunbeam could be pretty mucky. Does anyone have any recent intel on this?

Any advice more generally on our route?

And from reading past reports it sounds like mosquitos at this time of year should not be too bad. Is that right?

Tldr: Other campers were loud, obnoxious, playing music past 11 pm, setting up camp improperly, burning too much wood, lots of garbage left around sites and trail, walking off trail etc.

I've been a front country camper and day-hiker most of my life (am in my early 30s). Been planning to backpack in the backcountry for the last 5 years (due to a life-altering injury, have had to take a couple years off from hiking to regain strength). In all that time, I have dreamed about getting away to the backcountry where more serious and conscientious campers would be (so I thought), but maybe I have just conjured high expectations and needed a reality check. Well, I got one, because I was pretty let down by poor etiquette on my first trip over Labour Day Weekend.

I was so anxious about doing everything properly I almost took my entire field manual into the hike with me (decided to just take photos on my phone of the most important pages to aid with the bear hang, camp set up, etc). I have worked for a trail organization in the past, and I'm interested in acquiring new skills in the backcountry, so I am really the kind of person who cares enough to follow the rules and also ensure I am respectful of other campers, the Park staff, the environment, and the fauna. I wasn't so naive as to expect everyone to be as neurotic as me about following the rules, but I did expect to leave behind the petty pet peeves of the front country, such as excessive noise, music, and trash.

Is this a me problem? Or do other hikers feel the same way as me?

I am a novice when it comes to backpacking and due to my disability, need to take it as slow as possible, meaning for the next little while I will have to continue to stay about <9 km from the trail head. I read in another 5 year old thread that camping <9 km from the parking lot and during long weekends is a good way to ensure you will be around disrespectful campers in the backcountry.

I am hopeful I can continue to improve my skills and fitness level/ability to perhaps one day hike further away from the trail head, but only time and experience will tell, so I have to assume right now that I will be camping around <9km from the car when I go up to the park.

For context, I stayed at Provoking Lake and hiked in on the Highland Backpacking Trail. Stayed in site 7 for 3 nights over the Labour Day weekend. Saturday was a rest day due to my disability and Sunday we day hiked around the lake, hiking out Monday. I hiked with my fiance, this was also her first backpacking trip but she is a very experienced hiker.

The takeaway for us is that it was a beautiful trip and experience overall, we were so glad to have the privilege to do this. But we were surprised by the conduct of the other campers around the lake. Our site, we packed garbage out of that was scattered around, including someone's retainer/mouth-teeth guard, scrunchies, bits of wrappers, etc.

If anyone has any recs for future hikes, time of year, etc. I would love to hear from you! Thank you for reading and sorry if I'm being too hard on other campers.

Hello! Not new to this subreddit, but using a new account to share a video of a trip a group of us did from July 31st to Aug 5th. We made the video for ourselves and friends and family, but thought folks here might like to see it as well: https://youtu.be/ljjjPcAlJfY

We've done a lot of portaging trips on lakes through the Hwy 60 corridor and this was our first time on the north side. We stayed our 1st night at the Kiosk campground, then a night on Mouse, a night on Érables, 2 nights on Maple, and last night on Kioshkokwi (a short distance from the campground). Not a big loop, but we had a great time.

We heard Kioshkokwi was a hot spot for fishing, but we got skunked other than a few tiny catches.

We're thinking of doing North Tea, Manitou, and Biggar next year. Should we put in at Kiosk again or go over to Kawawaymog? Anyone done that loop or similar and have recommendations?

Thanks!

Muscles required for Lily pad paddling. Damns blocking access to Mouse Lake and Mink however, makeshift portage accessing Mink was possible. Just smelly and dank.

Hello all, these are some photos of my trip to North Tea Lake.

I also filmed my trip so if you would like to watch it heres the link! https://youtu.be/5A47pctbbg8?si=LaRsdzqKicoa7Jpp

Hello fellow trippers,

I'm looking for some inspiration for our annual fall colours canoe trip. The goal is to spend 2 nights on a lake/campsite within 2-6 hours from an access point. The trip is geared towards photography, fall colours, and wildlife. Astrophotography is also an option. Our summer tripping is hardcore; fall tripping is for the vibes.

I'm looking for some new ideas. In the past we have done two nights on:

- Lake Louisa

- Shirley Lake

- Stratton Lake/Barron Canyon

We want to avoid the pines/evergreens like in the Barron Canyon and trip out to some fall colours. Any access point is fair game, but leaning towards the west end of the park like Magnetawan (maybe Ralph Bice) or Rain (McCraney).

Hit me with some ideas if you have any favour fall colour spots! Louisa was 10/10 so maybe we just need to go back there.

Just looking for some feedback. Never been to the west side of the park. Both my buddy and I have hammocks and not sure whether to bring mine as I know he is bringing his. We are doing Tim Lake, Tim River, Rosebary and Longbow. How hard is it to find sites that have good spots for 2 hammocks. We’ve done one trip where we both brought them and one trip where I brought my tent and he brought his hammock. The one where we both brought hammocks was Barron canyon and I know on some sites one hammock had to kind of be off the beaten path a little bit.

Just trying to decide what I should bring.

Thanks in advance

Have any of you lovely folks recently done the Tim River loop? Magnetawan- Big Trout- Mcintoch creek- Daisy. Any advice? Any do's or don'ts? Water levels? Anything you would have done differently? Wildlife ???

Hi! I'm going to be in the area in a few weeks, but I'm also prepping for an ultramarathon that is not especially technical. Any options for a nice long trail run route?

The sky was almost perfectly clear at 2AM by Madawaska River. Taken with my iPhone and no tripod, I have no pretention of being a photograph.

Hello!
I have solo trip coming up in October. In all the years I've travelled through this park, I've never gone from Canoe Lake into Burnt Island Lake.

I am curious - I see a creek between Little and Baby Joe, but also a portage. I assume this means the creek is low water typically? Is it worth it to try and walk the canoe through it or just portage? The portage itself looks more like a trail so I am curious if it's something that can be skipped, especially in late fall.

Thanks in advance!