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Backcountry Canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park

Four day Backcountry Canoeing Adventure in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

The backcountry in Algonquin park is accessible primarily by canoe or on foot. Its backcountry canoeing and backpacking opportunities are the primary reason for Algonquin’s popularity.

Algonquin backcountry offers

14 ranger’s cabins for rent
over 2000 km of canoe routes
almost 2000 interior campsites
29 designated access points
3 backpacking trails covering 140 km’s of varying lengths and difficulty with 3 campsites located at; Highland Western Uplands, and Easter Pain Trails

The official park website has a nice virtual map off all of the canoe routes in the park or, you can purchase the official Algonquin canoe routes map for only $4.95, with 100% of proceeds supporting Algonquin Park.

If you are going backpacking grab the Backpacking Trails Map sold by the park for only $1.95.

So many of my outdoor friends have mentioned how great canoeing was in Algonquin. Finally it was time to find out first hand.

Alicja and I flew down to Ottawa from Calgary arriving shorty after 5pm.

The next morning at 6 am we were on the road driving towards the park on ON-417 W/Trans-Canada Hwy turing off on Highway 60 (known as Parkway Corridor). The Park’s only major highway (open all year), runs through the south end of Algonquin Park as is easily accessible by car. Total driving distance was around 240km’s.

Slightly outside the park gates we stopped over at Paddle Shack to pick up Rob’s 15 foot solo canoe.

Another 10 minutes of driving put us at the East Gate of the park located just west of the town of Whitney, Ontario. The East Gate is located 5 kilometres west of the town of Whitney ,or 8 kilometres west of the junction of Highway 60 and Highway 127.

Here I purchased my outdoor card and a fishing license both of which set me back around $40 (not bad for out of province permit). After the short stop over we continued along highway 60 to Canoe Lake where we stopped at the park’s office to pay for our backcountry camping permits. We then headed next door to (name of rental place) to pick up another boat. Alicja and I decided to splurge for an ultra light Kevlar canoe. The additional $6 / night was well worth the price given the numerous portages we would encounter during our canoe circuit. Rob and Alicja drove across the highway to the echoe? Lake put in point while I portaged the canoe across (since we could not fit another boat on Rob’s Toyota Echo. Immediately I was impressed with how light the boat felt. I could easily lift it over my head and carry it with ease.

Arriving at the put in point we met up with the other two people in our party. All set to go and as we packed our boat they were circling around the docking area. We set off at about 1 pm and ended up paddling through lakes and 5 portages ending up on (lake) in about 5 hours or so. As we paddled and hiked deeper into the circuit we left behind the cottages and power boats found on the (lake) and transitioned peaceful wilderness. It was June 15^th and I expected bigger crowds than the few paddlers we met along the way.