Returning to the Park

Algonquin Provincial Park

The following is an excerpt from the Ontario Parks website about Algonquin Provincial Park.  While it has been about a year since I have been in the park via car and almost 4 via my canoe, the description still resonates with me.

Late summer and early fall has always been my favourite time in the park and I think 2017 will mark my return to this magical place.

See you soon Algonquin!

The essence of Algonquin is in its vast interior of maple hills, rocky ridges, and thousands of lakes. The only way to explore the interior of this park is by canoe or on foot. There is also a second Algonquin - along the 56 kilometre stretch of Highway 60. Here you can enjoy camping at one of eight campgrounds, hike one of 14 trails, take part in extensive Natural Heritage Education programs, and visit Algonquin’s exceptional Visitor Centre, Logging Museum and Art Centre. For over 50 years, each Thursday in August, park staff have offered the “Public Wolf Howl”, a highly engaging program on wolf ecology that includes howling for wolves. Weather and wildlife dependent. 

Over this past March Break my mother and two sons (each with a friend) spent five days at the cottage enjoying a very early Spring.

While our trip was originally planned to last three days, the weather was just too good to return to the city, and so my oldest son, his friend and I extended our stay by two additional days, while my youngest son and his friend returned home to have some special time with my mother.

During the last two nights of our stay we were joined by an Algonquin Adventurer's friend of mine; Mark Rubino, of Mark's Algonquin Sampler.

In all we spent two full days in Algonquin, and visited the Spruce Bog Trail, the Visitor's Centre and the Track and Tower Trail. The snow and ice was quickly melting, and I imagine that many lakes will be open by mid. April this year. The following are some photos from our stay.