Ontario Outdoor Adventures: Haliburton Highlands & Algonquin Park

2016 has been an interesting year of travel for me. With the birth of my first child, Florence, at the tail end of 2015 we had to make several changes to our typical travel style to accommodate having our new bundle of joy in tow. In early June we had a fantastic week in a beautiful townhouse in Virginia Beach, along with my wife’s extended family. For our 2^nd vacation with my family we chose a peaceful cottage setting deep in central Ontario cottage country, just on the cusp of the famed Algonquin Provincial Park.

I had been to this cottage (40 minutes north-west of Bancroft), as well as Algonquin Park many times in the past, but never for anywhere near as long as the full-week vacation we planned this time around. The extra time allowed me to spread out many activities over the course of the week throughout the beautiful backcountry.

Hiking:

The cottage is located only a 5 min drive from the start of the Algonquin Park ‘High Falls’ hiking trail. The trail snakes through the forest on relatively flat terrain for about 1km before becoming quite steep and rocky over the next 500m or so. It eventually approaches some picturesque river rapids and ends with a great view of High Falls. The falls are photo-worthy for sure, but would never be confused with world famous Niagara Falls. We tried to bring Florence along in her quite rugged stroller (Bob Revolution SE), but once we got to the rocky portion there was no hope and she had to be carried the rest of the way, something I can’t really recommend for obvious reasons. After you get to the falls opening, there are options to rock-hop along the riverbank and also some side trails back into the forest to keep you occupied.

Carrying Florence along the home stretch of the High Falls trail

The rapids at the bottom of the falls

Finally, the majestic High Falls 

Running:

I set off one morning on a run that I had planned out ahead of time via Google Maps. From the cottage road I headed due north about 2km to Kingscote Road. This is a 7km long dirt road that eventually leads into Algonquin Park and an interior canoe access point on Kingscote Lake. The 7k run across this road provided some great views of marshlands and was easily the most “backwoods” I have ever been, but runners beware: this is a logging route and massive logging trucks can rip around the corner at any time. I ran in the oncoming lane to avoid getting clipped from behind, unless there is poor visibility ahead where I moved to the right to avoid not being seen in time. The run was hilly and fairly grueling, but ended with a beautiful view of the pristine lake. In addition, I also ran some of the snowmobiling routes near the High Falls trail entrance, these were much less challenging and generally safer than the Kingscote segment.

Kingscote Lake, an official Algonquin Park interior launch point

Elephant Lake Road

Kayaking:

Our cottage was right on the shores of Benior Lake, so clearly some water sports were in good order. The provided kayak was great for exploring the lake. In addition to the cottage our family was staying at, we had two other family members that own cottages on the same lake, so the kayak became a great method of zipping around to pop in for lunch or just say hi. On our final full day I took up the challenge to paddle to the north end of Benior and exit the lake via a river leading into Algonquin Park and eventually the High Falls rapids. It was about a 5km one-way paddle of what can only be described as one of the most tranquil settings I’ve ever experienced. The gentle winding river traversed untouched wilderness before ending where the rapids began. I settled into a small bay where High Falls hikers approach the rapids and as timing worked out, met up with my parents who were doing the hike at the time. The paddle back to the cottage was a challenge, however. When I re-entered the lake it was much choppier due to increased winds and the afternoon motorboat traffic. My recreational kayak held up quite well in the added chop though, and my tired arms were able to eventually power me back.

Entering the serenity of Algonquin Park

Clutch photo from my dad, hiking the trail at the same time

The end of my watery road

General Cottage Thoughts:

Our cottage, while a tad rustic was perfect for our group. We had as many as 9 people staying in it and it never felt crowded. Being on a septic system for a full week was a new experience, but hey, it’s a cottage not the Four Seasons. As mentioned Benior Lake is great for water sports like kayaking, canoeing, jet skiing, tubing etc. It is large enough to leave a lot to explore and to connect to other bodies, but small enough to easily get to friends and family staying at other parts of the lake. We had a shallow sandy beach which is perfect for small children, but the sand turns to mud and seaweed pretty quickly once you walk in. We did a bit of fishing but without much success. In the autumn my aunt and uncle have caught massive musky, but apparently the summer is a quiet time for the fish. Florence was a bit too young to really partake in activities, but she had a great time hanging out with everyone and checking out the forest and lake scenery for the first time. As a cottage staple we had amazing bonfires each night and thanks to mostly clear skies the stars were just spectacular.

Surreal calmness of Benior Lake in the morning

Just can't beat that dock life 

Bancroft: 

After several days of cooking our own (abundantly carnivorous) meals, we decided to treat ourselves to a dinner out in Bancroft. About 40min from the cottage, Bancroft is the biggest town of substance in the area. It has all of the amenities a town should, a large grocery store, beer and liquor stores and a hardware store. It also has a quaint main drag with lots of little artsy shops. Unfortunately for us, the evening we arrived many of them were already closed for the day. For dinner we chose the Bancroft Eatery & Brew Pub which had some great eats and delicious local Ontario craft beef. After dinner we took a short drive up a steep road to the locally famous Bird's Nest lookout for a fantastic view of the town and surrounding forest.

Florence The Explorer enjoying the view at Bird's Nest Lookout in Bancroft

If you are considering a trip to Algonquin Park, check out my previous post.

Want to know more about the cottage we booked? Check out their website here. 

Mike @ Palms & Pints 

@palmsandpints

Snow Shoeing - Winter's Cardio

About 5 years ago I discovered the joy of running. At first it was all about fitness as I was terribly out of shape and looking to lose some weight. By the second or third year however it became more about my passion for the sport, the love of the outdoors and the desire to be in the sunshine on anything from a crisp April morning to a sweltering July afternoon.

Proud of my first medal at one of my first running events

While my running evolved over the first four years, one thing stayed the same. I did not run in the winter. Something about the temperatures dipping below 5C just turned me right off the sport and had me indoors until the following spring. This winter, however, I was able to put that behind me and run right into the depths of January and February. This new found love of cold weather activity sparked a new interest which made use of the snowy, slippery terrain; snow shoeing. 

It started by chance. Early in the winter a buddy had bugged me to try cross-country skiing with him. I did... and I hated it. I had trouble staying on my feet and even when I could I must have looked like a drunk flamingo. He saw my struggles and recommended we try something with a lesser learning curve for the rest of the afternoon, so we strapped on some snow shoes and headed for the trail.

First snow shoe adventure near Barrie, Ontario

Fast forward two months and I now own my own pair of snow shoes (Atlas 9-series), and have been out on many adventures both back-trail and urban. My first big run was High Falls trail in the southern tip of Algonquin Park's panhandle. Great views of a mostly frozen river/waterfall and beautiful forest scenery. Algonquin is one of my favourite places to visit, and the snowy winter setting puts a fresh spin on it.

Beautiful frozen scenery

High Falls Trail - Algonquin Park 

Moose sighting after leaving the High Falls trail

Not being able to 'get away' every weekend however has forced me to track down some great urban snow shoeing. I explored the parklands of my own neighbourhood here in Mississauga and while there were no wild life sightings, I had myself a great view of a passing GO Train. I feel as though you don't really know even your own neighbourhood unless it is explored outside of a car. In the summer this can be done on a bike or even on foot, but in the winter time snow shoeing is a fantastic option.

Loving my Atlas snow shoes

Many chilly Sunday mornings have been spent with my father-in-law in Brampton trekking across several city parks. We cruise through thick powdery snow that boots alone wouldn't dream of, passing by small half-frozen duck-filled ponds. These trips even include a bit of urban exploration checking out an abandoned highway overpass which had been decommissioned since the closing of a quarry many years earlier.

Urban exploration - a decommissioned highway overpass

Out exploring, even on the coldest of winter days

While snow shoeing doesn't offer the adrenaline of snowboarding or downhill skiing, it is a great (affordable!) winter sport for those looking to explore nature, see their own local park from a new perspective or even just keep up with that outdoor cardio in the harsh Canadian winter. Just remember to layer up!

Ducks!

Note - For those who like to track progress I highly recommend the Strava app/site. It is great for running, cycling and even has an option to track other types of movement like snow shoeing. 

Mike @ Palms & Pints
@palmsandpints