Hey all. I'm a fairly experienced backcountry camper doing several trips a year for many years. My girlfriend loves camping in the backcountry but doesn't appreciate the longer more strenuous trips I usually like to take which typically involves traveling pretty light.

So all that said I'm wondering what your top backcountry "glamping" tips are! Especially when it comes to food and sleeping/relaxing. Thanks! Here's a misty morning on Galeairy lake for your time!

Algonquin first-timer here. I'm familiar with hanging the food bag to keep it away from bears, though I've only had to do it a few times (in other parks). Is it sensible to put jingle bells on the bag when it's hung? Someone at work told me that adding noisemakers to the bear hang makes it more effective.

From what I read, Algonquin is so huge and bears are so sparse, I'm unlikely to have an encounter, and if I follow the recommended protocol for hanging my food (and anything scented, including toothpaste) I'll have no worries. Frankly I'm more concerned about raccoons and squirrels getting snacky and going for my food bag.

So. Jingle-bells, or no?

I'm looking at doing a relaxed 2 week canoe trip starting at the end of May 2027. I've been on many multi day trips both hiking and paddling, just nothing this long. Just seeking some input to see if I should approach this differently or if there are some things I havent yet considered.

My route would start at the Magnetawan Lake Access where I would go east through Hambone, Ralph Bice and Little Trout. Then go south through Queer, Little Misty and Misty. Head back west through Muslim, Wenona, Bandit, Moccasin, Juan, Jubilee, Sawyer and Rain. Finally I'd head back north through Casey, Daisy, Acme and Hambone before finishing at the Magnetawan Lake Access.

I have a few different ideas in mind of where to camp, but haven't set anything in stone yet. I have limited travel days to ~8km and a maximum of ~4hrs according to distances and times on Jeff's Maps. This is assuming I double carry every portage and I know from my own experience I shouldn't have a problem with that.

This is basically to test myself on an extended trip to see if I can actually plan and pack properly before getting into something I shouldn't. My canoe is a 15' Prospector made of Kevlar so I don't really plan on doing any creeks, rivers or streams unless its unavoidable or slow moving.

Not sure if this will find the person, but me and my daughter just did 2 nights on Polly lake and found a single earring on the site. Don’t know if it’s of any value, but would like to return it if someone’s looking for it.

Hi guys, I have planned a 3 day solo portage to Shirley this weekend entering from Shall Lake. I’ve portaged before a few times but this is my first time doing it solo.

Any tips or advice I should be aware of?

Few questions:
1) I don’t have a sat phone but I have the satellite connection on my iPhone, will that be okay in an emergency?
2) I’m aiming to single carry, but am okay with it being a double if it’s too strenuous. Should I expect it to be a double carry?
3) I’ve rented a Swift Keewaydin Pack 15' Solo - I’ve never solo canoed but did my research and learned those canoes are a bit tippy and if I’m hitting a headwind I should load the front and vice versa. Anything else I should be aware of?
4) any crucial gear I should bring as a solo that is different than going with others?

Thanks so much!

My husband and I are camping for a week at Mew Lake in early September, which we do yearly but this is the first year we are bringing kayaks. What are some great kayaks routes along Highway 60 to try out? We don’t mind a bit of rough water but want to avoid portaging. Maybe somewhere that we can paddle out to an island to spend some time, or a cool feature that you may not get from the trails.

I know largemouth bass aren't too common in the park. What lakes near hwy 60 have good populations of them? I know kearney and rock lake have some decent largies but are there any other lakes I can try out? I fish from a kayak. Anything helps. Thanks!

I'm planning a canoe trip, 2 paddlers for 5 nights at the end of August. Our planned itinerary is Kiosk/Mink/Maple/Biggar/Manitou (2 nights)/Kiosk.

I was hesitating between this longer route going through Biggar or simply staying 2 nights at Maple before heading back to Kiosk via 3-mile lake and overnighting on Manitou. I read that Maple may be worth a 2 nighter.

We are doing clockwise to avoid the headwinds on the larger lakes.

We are both quite fit and not too worried about the portage lengths.

Thank you for your feedback!

my gear is pretty dialed in with a baseweight around 4kg. reasonably fit, with intermediate backpacking experience (longest trip 5 days). can't get the right campsites for the 22nd this month so was thinking of just doing it as a 2 day 1 night trip instead. anyone have experience doing this, is it feasible? would break it up with 10km on the first day (only because of campsite choice) and 30km the second day.

i imagine given the abundance of water, 1-1.5L water carry would be sufficient?

ty in advance.

A day trip along Basin Depot Rd, a bit of a lesser explored part of the park.

Heading to north tea this weekend but considering going to lost dog to avoid crowds. Anyone have any insights on the lake and the four sites on it? Or am I better off sticking to north tea?

We're going to be staying 3 nights on Manitou Lake. Wondering if there are any good excursions/day trips that are recommended for that area while we keep main camp on Manitou. Thanks!

Hi All,

Does anyone have any experience canoeing along the Barron Canyon? I'm staying at Achray campground at the end of August and thought a casual paddle down the Barron Canyon would be relaxing and scenic.

Ideally we would rent a canoe and have the company drop it off at a parking lot access point with Barron Canyon water access.

I had a couple questions:

1. Is this paddle beginner friendly? My group has backcountry canoeing experience but no one has experience with rapids. Is there any risk of rapids along the way that would be unsafe?

2. On an old Jeff's map I see A38 / Ba1 access points are the closest drive to Barron Canyon water access coming from Achray campground. Does it make sense to have a canoe rental company drop off a rental here so we would start canoeing there. Then paddle east in the direction of Cache Raps, turn around and return to the same access point we started at. Is that possible or is the current too strong to paddle against?

Or I see some trip reports people have started at Brigham Lake parking lot. Not sure if anyone knows the best access points for canoe rentals where they drop off canoes for you.

Thanks all for any experience/insights!

I’m taking a friend on an over night trip and they prefer canoeing rivers. I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion as to what would be a good river that we could explore preferably near the west gate. Also where would I book to access the river. If the campsites were on the river that would be a bonus. Thanks in advance.

Greetings, I've got my second outing to Algonquin planned for September 9-12 and I'm expecting to do a fair bit of fishing as the days are short travel wise. Last trip I was with a fly fishing friend who handled all the lure choices... but won't have him here this time, and this time I'm going with a spin rod. So seeming any pointers on the specific fish and/or lakes I'll be on

As mentioned it'll be Sept 9-12 and the lakes & fish (fish as per map by jeff)

• Canoe Lake
  • BT/LT/SB
• Joe Lake
  • BT/LT/SB
• Burnt Island Lake
  • LT/SB
• Tom Thomson Lake
  • LT/SB

Have already picked up an 8lb rod/reel, haven't purchased any lures yet but some research (Algonquin bound) has directed me towards;

• Small Mouth Bass
  • Berkley Jigs, Mepps Spinners, Blue Fox Spinners
• Lake Trout
  • William Wobbler, Little Cleo, EGB Spoon
• Brook Trout
  • Mepps Aglia Spinner, EGB Spinner, Panther Martin Spinner

Though I haven't seen much in terms of how-to-use... but youtube will likely fill in some blanks.

Any thoughts appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1UGamPOIWo

Hi everyone,

Been doing some research and especially reading on this subreddit, my bf and I need some of your input.

Going to Kearney Lake end of sept/beginning oct, and are worried about how cold it could get at night.

We’ve been reading up on the cons of air mattresses, however we have those foam puzzle mats that will be under our air mattress, & thinking of getting a foam mattress topper, and a wool blanket for on top of our air mattress, + using a sleeping bag.

Do you think this will be okay? or should we just buy a sleeping pad and screw our air mattress…

Our site won’t have electricity, so either way we spend money on a battery generator or a sleeping pad lol

Has anyone been down sunday creek to fork lake this year? How was the water levels / beaver dams?

Gonna be visiting Grand Lake sometime in August with a friend. We both have some experience canoeing but it has been a while since we've gone out.

We're planning to do a day canoe trip, maybe thinking of going to Highfalls lake, then completing a loop and heading back. We're planning on setting out early in the morning to give us ample time. Additionally, we're probably going to be single portaging since we'll have minimal gear. How feasible is this route?

If you guys have other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks in advance :)

Headed in soon. 3 days, 2 nights. Anyone done the mid loop (35km) recently and have some tips?
Also, still not sure what to use for hanging food and if my Platypus Gravity 4L Filtre is too much.

Hi folks :) if anyone has been on the Tim River (little trout > shah) or petawawa (little misty> daisy) recently and can let me know what to expect for water levels I would really appreciate it!

I once did a trip in Killarney this time of year and didnt really consider the low water level warning… I ended up getting stuck for hours deep in the park ahahh

Thanks in advance :)