Hi everyone, I’m planning a trip in July to algonquin park and some lakes have caught my eye as possible camping sites. Anyone ever camp on Misty Lake, Ralph Bice Lake or Timberwolf Lake? Any advice would be great.
Algonquin
Beagle:
I stayed on all three back in July 2001. We seem to stay on islands when give a choice, and that was true on this trip. We started at Magnetawan and spent the first night on Daisy then Misty, White Trout, Timberwolf, then Ralph Bice. The island site on the western end of Bice was quite nice, we stayed on the eastern point. The trip from Timberwolf to Bice was our longest day and required 5 carries the longest being 2435m… The Petawawa can be a bit low that time of year but for the most part it has a good sand/gravel bottom and is not a bad walk. Good chance for moose in this area as well. There is recent trip log posted here http://www.algonquinadventures.com/ Also check out Canadian Canoe routes. http://www.myccr.com/ for good information about Algonquin.
i just got back
i just got back from 5 weeks in Algonquin and paddled most of the park. i assume you’re going in at entry #3? Bice is too close to the entry point and will be crowded. Misty is nice as is Timberwolf but again, in July don’t expect to be alone. some of the best lakes are farther in if you’ve got the time … Burntroot, La Muir, Hogan and Catfish are wonderful. plenty of solitude and tranquility. i heard wolves howling at night on La Muir and saw some moose on both Hogan and Catfish. the fishing is poor but it’s always worth a shot.
thanks
thanks for the replies, they give lots to think about. this will be our first trip into algonquin and we want to make the most of it. I’ve heard that put in #3 has had some problems with people breaking into cars that are left there. Is that common enough that i should worry about it?
thanks
I’ll do some more looking on the maps and check out the lakes you are talking about. thanks.
Misty
We did a “counter-clockwise” loop that included Misty this past summer & had a great time. We entered at Magnetawan, paddled through Hambone, Daisy, Petawawa R, Little Misty and on to Misty. We then looped back thru Little Misty and took the long portage (about 1 ½ miles) over to Queer Lake, then Little Trout and then Ralph Bice Lake. We reached the east end of Bice Lake at about noon on our second to last day and found the it whipped up into whitecaps from the strong prevailing west winds. Bice Lake is known to have these strong winds coming from the west, but of course we didn’t realize that ahead of time. We were windblown for much of that afternoon, unable to move. If I had it to do over again I’d reverse the direction of our loop and do Bice Lake from west to east – I’d do the loop clockwise next time. I was concerned that going upstream on the Petawawa River would be difficult. Now I realize that it’s a slow mowing stream at the upper end, so heading up that section would not have been hard. Live and learn.
With the exception of the one long portage from Little Misty to Queer Lake all our carries were 900 meters or less. The portage trails were nicely maintained and none were what I would call difficult. The l-o-n-g portage to Queer Lake was a bit of a challenge and took quite some time to do, but it was actually a very nice trail, one of the nicest on the entire trip.
Traveling as a family of three we really took our time with this trip and spent a total of eight days in the Park. This same trip could easily be done in 2 or 3 days, but we were on vacation – no time schedules to meet.
You asked about security for your vehicle. Sad to say… …but the modern world has caught up to our neighbors in the North Country. Unfortunately the parking lot at Entry Point # 3 has become known for car break-ins. According to a ranger I talked to this past summer dozens of cars were broken into during a single holiday weekend in 2005. That was during a Civic Day weekend when there were LOTS of people/cars there (many more than an average weekend). Apparently the thieves that were responsible for those particular break-ins were apprehended (local teens), but that was not an isolated occurrence. These break-ins happen with regularity in that area. There have been many break-ins and acts of vandalism to vehicles at remote parking areas all over Ontario. We had our truck broken into at another parking area in 2004 over near Haliburton. We’ve been vacationing and canoe tripping up north for many, many years, but we no longer leave our vehicle unattended for long periods of time at remote put-ins.
I recommend leaving your car at one of the outfitters near the Entry Point you choose and pay them for a shuttle into and out of the park. This past year we used the services of Canoe Algonquin and were very satisfied. They were ready to go at the prearranged time and when we came out they even sent someone to get us a couple of hours early “just in case” we happened to come out early. The folks at Canoe Algonquin were very friendly people and talkative. We learned quite a bit about the area by chatting with them during the journeys in and out. At $75 CA for the shuttle for three people BOTH WAYS I felt their charges were extremely reasonable. Knowing that our car was safe and secure at the outfitter while we were out tripping helped us relax and enjoy our vacation. I highly recommend it. Note: though we own our own canoes for this trip we opted to rent some ultra-light Kevlar canoes from this outfitter. The shuttle charge included the transportation of their boats as well. Rental charges were on top of the shuttle charge of course, but were again very reasonable – about $20 per day per boat as I recall. http://www.canoealgonquin.com/
The other outfitter that services that area is called something like: Forest Tower Outfitters, I heard people say good things about them as well.
I hope some of the above helped. Happy trails! - Randall
break-ins
interesting. i’ve been canoeing Algonquin for maybe 30 years and have never had or even heard of a break-in at Magnetewan. oh, i’ve been broken into, don’t get me wrong, but at really remote intry points into Quetico, Wabikimi and Woodland Carribou. i figure it’s a risk worth taking. i like having my own schedule rather than having to be back at the put-in for a pick-up by an outfitter.
i always go in september, if that has anythng to do with it i don’t know.