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At peace in Algonquin (Mike Goldstein) |
A canoe noiselessly glides across the mirrored lake water, plunging into ghostlike shimmers of mist. The deep silence is broken by the plaintive cry of a loon, the crashing retreat of a moose, the yip of a distant wolf.
There are few easily accessible places in eastern Canada where the wilderness of Native Canada and the French voyageurs remains untouched. Algonquin, one of the largest provincial parks in Canada, preserves almost 3,000 square miles of pristine forest and lakes just a couple hours' drive from Toronto and Ottawa. The wilderness heart of the park is accessible only by foot or by canoe, and with more than a thousand miles of designated canoe routes that ply more than a thousand named lakes, this is a haven for the modern-day voyageur.
Algonquin Park is scarcely a secret, and summer weekend crowds can be formidable. To avoid them, stick to the lakes in the north. Kioshkokwi is a good put-in point, leading into a vast interlocking river, lake, and portage system, with some of the best fishing and wildlife-viewing opportunities in the park.
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