June 2025
The weather forecast showed a window with two days of 15 mph winds from the northwest followed by five days of light winds from the east and one evening with rain, lows in the mid 50s. I have never been so disappointed by a weather forecast.
Gilly’s at Snug Harbour opened at nine. Mine was the only car in the parking lot, daily fee.
Day 1, Tuesday: My first destination was a short exposed crossing to Franklin Island. Franklin is crown land and is extremely popular with paddlers. Campsites are marked by fire rings; the ones I visited were stripped of firewood. I followed the lee east coast and saw a few sand beaches, a rarity in Georgian Bay. Explored the north coast of the island and camped in a secluded bay on the northwest. The bay’s entrance is so restricted that fishing boats would have a very tough time entering, and there were no houses in view. The site featured a thunder box with a sticker saying that it was courtesy of whitesquall.com, a paddling outfitter in Parry Sound. It being prime mosquito season there were plenty despite the wind, and the night’s low was in the 40s. I saw maybe five power boats all day and most of the cottages were not yet opened for the season.
Day 2, Wednesday: I woke to a stiff breeze and paddled north in the lee of out islands, crossing Shawanaga Inlet via Twin Sisters Island in one foot waves. I paddled past Osawa, Disney, Hoover and Britton islands to Hertzberg. There was a loud line of breakers on reefs to the west. Hertzberg is mostly crown land and the bays on the south side have many campsites. Boiler Bay turns out to be named after a large steam boiler from the area’s logging days.
I headed up the east side of Hertzberg and Shawanaga island, exploring the bays along the way and looking for a good campsite. One bay had a houseboat moored in what would otherwise have been a great camping area. It became apparent that many of the passages on the map and in satellite views were blocked, even though lake levels are only slightly below average. Continuing along Shawanaga Island I spotted a couple of beaches and headed toward one. I was surprised to see an orange provincial park campsite sign, a brand new picnic table, and possibly an outhouse. The sign had a label saying “Shawanaga Island Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area”. I looked up how to reserve and pay for the site but the website said “Coming Soon”.
Not wanting to disrespect the first nation I headed back to a site I spotted earlier on McCormick Island. This turned out to be one of my favorite campsites ever. The island features a thunder box, a picnic table of questionable structural integrity, sunrise and sunset views, a very low mosquito population, and you can walk all around the island without bushwhacking. That afternoon was the only time the wind died and simultaneously there was no rain.
Day 3, Thursday: I woke to a marine forecast with a red “Strong wind warning in effect” – 20 knots out of the northwest. Instead of camping on the McCoys I spent the day circumnavigating Shawanaga Island, part of which I had seen on a previous trip out of Bayfield Inlet. The passage past Carolyn and Friend islands was somewhat exposed and I was broadside to one foot waves following the navigation buoys through the channels. Most of the outer coast here features areas of bedrock a few inches below the water. Channels are difficult to see from a kayak and navigation without a satellite view is slow. Hemlock Channel into Oberlin Bay on the north side of the island was particularly scenic.
This area is heavily developed with many cottages and mansions. There are sandy beaches with no houses near Hole in the Wall where I stowed my dry suit in the heat. Down the east coast there are very few houses on Shawanaga Island itself but the small islands around it all have houses. I passed several more first nation campsites; one had a sturdy and expensive floating dock for motor boaters already deployed for the season.
I returned to the camp on McCormick and spent the afternoon enjoying my last cold beer in the bright sunshine. A single sailboat cruised by, maybe the tenth boat I saw moving all day.
Day 4, Friday: I woke to a dark gloomy overcast with light winds in the forecast. A steady rain started shortly after leaving camp for the McCoys. I got disheartened as I approached Big McCoy in the rain, looking at the bright sunny satellite view and thinking “this is not fun”. I ended up turning around and heading back to Franklin. I paddled through the islands south of Osawa and crossed Shawanaga Inlet via Twin Sisters again. The rain started to let up around Adanac Island, which featured beautifully designed mansions.
The west coast of Franklin was the most scenic part of the trip; the bays and inlets are drop dead gorgeous. There are many campsites and even a few beaches near Mirror Lake. The mosquitoes there were absolutely fierce. Many of the sites featured accouterments constructed by bored campers in addition to the usual grills. There are no houses in sight. The coast is somewhat protected by the Minks but it would be easy to get stranded there by the wind. As it happens the island’s lakes provide a portaging route from the bays near Windsor Island (island in name only) to the protected east shore. There I saw my first paddlers, camping on a point high above the water in a beautiful bay.
I encountered a pair of kayakers in a bay on the south shore of Franklin who pointed me to my next campsite with a small hidden beach and a camper-constructed table between two trees. This is only two miles from Snug Harbour is and is probably the harbor’s closest camp. Walking the coast involved a bit of bushwhacking. I found a thunderbox marked for campers in the bay next door while exploring the peninsula. During the day from noon onward I saw a few canoers and kayakers making their way west around the island, north up the coast, and even one couple that was portaging across the island in a canoe. Power boat traffic also started to pick up.
Day 5, Saturday: I headed south to explore the area around Bateau Island in a strong wind from the southeast and bright sunshine. The waves were high and the ride was wet crossing from The Pancakes to Bateau. There is a large and beautiful lagoon on the far side of Bateau, well protected by islets and reefs and with only a few scattered houses. I only saw two campsites. I am surprised this is not a popular destination. There are fairly well-protected routes from Snug Harbor and Killbear Provincial Park, but Killbear does not permit overnight parking. Seems like adding that amenity would take some of the pressure off of Franklin Island.
The wind died as I headed back. I passed a bare islet with several thousand gulls and mergansers; the rotting fish stench was awful. I pitted for lunch on Lyon Rocks in a well-protected cove. On the way back I paddled through Canoe Passage just on general principle. The channel has been blasted and could rightfully be called Cabin Cruiser Passage now. I took off my dry suit, a.k.a. my personal sauna, at a small beach next to the passage. The area is heavily developed. Many people were out installing docks and opening their cottages and there were plenty of power boats.
Many canoers and kayakers passed by camp that afternoon.
Day 6, Sunday: There was a great sunrise as I broke camp and headed back to Snug Harbour. The air was still and when I stopped a few hundred yards from the Snug Harbour lighthouse for pictures I found a swarm of mosquitoes had followed my permethrin-treated, deet-soaked body a mile across the bay. I explored nearby bays on the way to the marina. Although mine was the only car there on Tuesday the parking lot and the township lot across the street were absolutely full of cars, most with roof racks and many double-parked.
At this point I’m pretty much done exploring Georgian Bay and the North Channel. While Franklin is a great place, it is also close to Toronto and probably a zoo in summer. Other favorite spots were the Bustards and the area around Croker and the Benjamins. Baie Fine is also a “completely different” bucket list destination.
Resources
There are other marinas and outfitters in the area that may have space if Gilly’s is full.
Previous trip reports:
Recommended by other paddlers: Franklin, Minks and McCoys Sea Kayaking Guide (Map)
Canada topo maps are available gratis at GeoGratis spatial product index I used raster 1:50,000 tifs 41-H8 Parry Sound and 41-h9 Pt Au Baril, cropped, printed double sided on heavy paper and sealed with a Scotch laminator.
You can identify private vs crown land at this website, albeit not very easily. You have to zoom in before property lines will appear and it can be difficult to differentiate between property line and shoreline: Ontario Map Viewer It is not entirely accurate but better than finding houses on satellite views. Local lore has it that campers are welcome on private Big McCoy but the site shows it as crown.
I rely on a free phone app called Geo Tracker to help navigate and to track my route. https://geo-tracker.org/en It works with or without cell coverage. Cell coverage was five bars pretty much everywhere on this trip.