Algonquin Provincial Park Overview

By Sue Lebrecht

Water ripplesin a lake from a canoe paddle, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Water ripples on a lake in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada (Yamada Taro/Digital Vision/Getty)

Algonquin Provincial Park Outdoor Travel Tips

The vast interior of maple hills, rocky ridges, spruce bogs, and thousands of lakes, ponds, and streams is best experienced via canoe or on foot.
August, with warm weather and few insects, is the most crowded month. June has fewer people but bugs galore. Fall is spectacular, particularly if you catch the maples at their peak—usually the last week of September or first week of October.
Don't overlook winter. Highway 60 is plowed and sanded all winter and gives easy access to trailheads for groomed cross-country ski trails, backcountry trails, snowshoeing, and dogsledding. There are even plowed campsites, heated comfort stations, and rental yurts.
Achray Campground, on Grand Lake in the east end, is one of three intimate and lesser-known campgrounds that are nowhere near the bustling Highway 60 corridor. What it lacks in convenience it makes up for in ambiance. Trails lead to the wilderness that inspired landscape artist Tom Thomson to paint The Jack Pine, and to the 328-foot-deep Barron Canyon.
With 500,000 visitors each summer, it's best to reserve a campsite five months in advance. Visit www.ontarioparks.com to do so.
Wheelchair-accessible campsites are available in the Mew Lake, Two Rivers, Pog Lake, Kearney, and Rock Lake campgrounds.

Call it user-friendly wilderness. Algonquin Park welcomes adventure enthusiasts of all levels, from backcountry masters to weekend warriors of all ages and abilities. Established in 1893, it is Ontario's first provincial park. It is also one of the country's largest and most popular, with 500,000 visitors each summer.

A three-hour drive north of Toronto, with a smoothly paved highway arcing through its south end, this 3,500-square-mile haven makes it easy to get in and out. Most amenities lie right along the Highway 60 corridor—trailheads, outfitters, picnic grounds, canoe launch points, an art gallery, a visitor center, a logging museum, some half a dozen drive-in campgrounds, and a variety of lodging options.

The park sits at the foot of the Canadian Shield and is a mosaic of habitats with wildlife galore. More than 20 kinds of reptiles and amphibians (none venomous), 40 varieties of mammal, and 130 species of bird will have even the most jaded nature-watcher reaching for her binoculars. Moose sightings are practically guaranteed on mornings in May and June. Park naturalists lead popular "public wolf howls," when they attempt to elicit a cry from the wilderness. They're successful about 80 percent of the time.

A natural canoeing destination with more than 2,400 lakes and 750 miles of rivers and streams, Algonquin offers up 1,000 miles of mapped canoe routes. Outfitting services provide rentals and suggestions, and tour operators serve a buffet of paddling possibilities.

For hikers there are 18 day-hiking trails—14 along Highway 60—each with an accompanying interpretive booklet, plus three backpacking loops with campsites spaced a day's hike apart. Mountain bikers will find a challenging stacked loop system through hilly hardwood forests.

But one needn't be a hardy adventurer to appreciate Algonquin. Hour-and-a-half guided walks run daily through summer. There's a 6.2-mile rail trail that's ideal for families on bikes. Films and talks are presented at the Outdoor Theatre most evenings.

The Visitor Centre is a state-of-the-art facility exhibiting the park's natural and cultural history. Its deck overlooks a magnificent panorama. The Algonquin Art Centre is home to Canada's premier wilderness and wildlife art exhibition, and the open-air Logging Museum traces Algonquin's logging history from the 1830s along a short trail of displays and reconstructions.

Last Updated: 11 May 2011
Published: 2 Mar 2010
The details, dates, and prices mentioned in this article were accurate at the time of publication.

Algonquin Provincial Park Highlights

The vast interior of maple hills, rocky ridges, spruce bogs, and thousands of lakes, ponds, and streams is best experienced via canoe or on foot.
August, with warm weather and few insects, is the most crowded month. June has fewer people but bugs galore. Fall is spectacular, particularly if you catch the maples at their peak—usually the last week of September or first week of October.
Don't overlook winter. Highway 60 is plowed and sanded all winter and gives easy access to trailheads for groomed cross-country ski trails, backcountry trails, snowshoeing, and dogsledding. There are even plowed campsites, heated comfort stations, and rental yurts.
Achray Campground, on Grand Lake in the east end, is one of three intimate and lesser-known campgrounds that are nowhere near the bustling Highway 60 corridor. What it lacks in convenience it makes up for in ambiance. Trails lead to the wilderness that inspired landscape artist Tom Thomson to paint The Jack Pine, and to the 328-foot-deep Barron Canyon.
With 500,000 visitors each summer, it's best to reserve a campsite five months in advance. Visit www.ontarioparks.com to do so.
Wheelchair-accessible campsites are available in the Mew Lake, Two Rivers, Pog Lake, Kearney, and Rock Lake campgrounds.

By Travel Expert: Sue Lebrecht