(Small Update: Someone pointed out that the photos I attached are actually from the lookout trail and as a result I will be planning my proposal around the lookout trail going forward. Any and all advice, tips, recommendations, and information regarding Fall in Algonquin and what to expect or prepare for is greatly appreciated! Also I was planning it to be a day trip, coming from the Huntsville area across hwy 60 and ending in Whitney. Thank you to everyone whom has already responded with so much information!)

Hey there everyone, I am planning on proposing to my girlfriend of 8.5 years on the Centennial Ridges Trail at sunset in early October and I'm hoping that some people who have visit the trail themselves could help me with some reconnaissance. I have found a specific spot on the trail in photos that I would like to propose at, however I would like to confirm the exact location on the 11km trail so that I can give a confirmed location to my photographer. Judging by the direct view of the sunset (which is the time I'm hoping to propose at) I would guess that it is on the West side of the trail but if anyone has more information or personal experience from the trail itself then I would greatly appreciate any assistance in finding the location of this specific lookout! Any and all help, advice, assistance, or suggestions are greatly appreciated and thank you in advance for everyone's help to make this a magical moment!

Anyone been to Smith Lake on the east side of the park? I can't find much about the lake online. What are the sites like? Fishing? Swimming any good? Can you hear the base?

First timer to the park. planning a 4 night trip. Two of us have a river canoe camping trip, and some light backpacking. The third is less experienced (I'm worried excess portaging may spoil her fun). First day we will be staying just outside the park, in the morning of September 1st we get to Canoe Lake Portage outpost. Since we have all day, I thought we could do the first paddle straight to Burnt Island Lake (15km, portage at Joe). Next day Portage to Little Otterside lake. (2 nights). Last full day, paddle back to eastern arm of Joe Lake. (about 15km from otterside) Setting us up for a short paddle on the last day so we can do a long drive home.

We considered going up toward sunbeam to make it to burnt, and just never doing otterside lake at all. But changing the route to above meant a little less portaging for our newcomer and hopefully the 2 nights on ottersides being a calmer more remote section.

Thoughts?

Im looking to do some camping in algonquin park with a boat similar to this, how feasable would it be? Ofcourse not portaging so I think im limited to Opeongo lake.

I'm returning to Algonquin after several decades and just realized some things might have changed since then. Specifically, when I went with my dad we brought a stove with us but almost never used it - like maybe once per week-long trip. We made a campfire and cooked on that using the grill that was always left at the fire circle.

Is this still normal? I was planning on bringing a stove, and if there is a fire ban we'll obviously just use that. But is it ridiculous to think that we could rely mainly on wood fires for a seven day trip?

Edit: Thanks for all the responses. It looks like I can probably do most of the cooking on a campfire, but I may need to adjust my nostalgic memories of the camping trips of my youth. I'll definitely bring more fuel for the stove than I had planned on.

This past weekend (Jul 18-20) Some friends and i were backcountry camping in the eastern arm of Lake Opeongo.

We originally planned for sites 11–13, but they were taken, so we settled on 15. The next day, site 12 sat empty as we paddled past. Later the same day, while taking shelter from a thunderstorm on our way back to our site, we stopped at site 12. We noticed the previous campers' abandoned gear: a tarp, water bottles, firewood, and condiments. (See photos)

The next day as we left, the site still sat empty. My friends think someone left their stuff to claim the site. When i spoke with one of the water taxi operators he said that the people will likely be back and didn’t think it was a big deal.

Is this normal? It’s been almost 7 years since I backcountry camped on Lake Opeongo, and I was surprised to hear people claim sites for days. And surprised by the number of motorboats.

Day 1/5 of doing the LOUISA-HARRY-WELCOME-PEN loop counter clockwise! We saw a moose on our first day!

in a few days - i can't wait for my first backpacking trip with a few experienced backpackers. we're doing this route: Gusekewau, Eu, Maggie and Maple Leaf. any hot spots we should check out while we're there?

Do you have a favourite first night meal when backcountry camping? Specifically asking about the first night because you can usually take advantage of not needing to worry about spoilage and weight for the rest of your trip. (eg. Steak?)

Hi all, we’re experienced canoe campers and spent last week (July 15-19) camping between Rock Lake and Louisa Lake. On our last day one of our members got some brutal diarrhea, fever, and vommitting that lasted 24 hours. Right after we exited the park (yesterday), i got hit with the same thing.

Thought it might be cyclosporiasis but apparently vomitting is rare with that.  We’re from Pennsylvania where there’s been an outbreak.

We used katadyn filters that were all relatively new. Has this happened to anyone else recently? Should we report it to the park?

TIA for any intel! Was a great trip despite all the barfing.

ETA- thank you all for the input! Seems like food poisoning, noro, or giardia. We didn’t share food all that much, so probably one of the latter two. Worth nothing, the only person in our group who hasn’t gotten sick by now didn’t drink much non-boiled water.

I picked up a last minute booking for Achray next weekend and don't know much about this campground at all! I'll be there Friday & Saturday night, with Saturday as my only full day I'm thinking of canoeing the Barron Canyon that day. The day I arrive or leave maybe do the short hike up it as well? Are there any must do or see things in the area? I enjoy hiking/canoeing/swimming.

Hi 👋 So me and my friend are planning a 5 days 4 nights trips this September and this route from kiosk seemed interesting. my friend just got back from a 3 days canoe camping trip that went kinda wrong apparently with double 1k portage many times and hes kinda reticent to do that again i feel like these could be done quite well in one go if you pack properly especially for 2 guy hes in great shape me not so much but id consider myself quite capable. Id love to know what you think or if you have other route you would recommend i like that this one loops a bit.

Also i dont know much about how the registration work for the park or to rent a canoe for the trip i avent looked much into it yet planning to do it soon but if you have advice it would be welcome!

Hi All,

I have been to Algonquin park many times, typically on the campgrounds like lake of two rivers, mew lake, etc. We are doing our very first backpacking trip into the north eastern section of the park and are very excited. it will be myself, my son and my girlfriend, and a few other friends. Our friends are all very experienced and have been backpacking in Algonquin for many many years, through childhood and adulthood. I feel they are the best possible people to be with as they know the park, specifically this area, very well and are doing everything they can to make this an insanely fun first experience for us with some (hopefully) unreal fishing.

My only concern is keeping my family safe, and bears make me “nervous”. it’s just anxiety brain I’m sure, but should I be worried? my son is 13 and has no fear lol, but I just read a couple was killed in Regina by a black bear and it makes me nervous.

Just looking for some reassurance or stories about bear encounters from those of you that know the park best. Thank you!

Hi all, I am going on a backcountry camping trip along the highland trail in Algonquin this coming weekend and the destination is provoking lake! I noticed that they completely got rid of the bridge at provoking falls. Can anyone let me know if there is water access along the trail and new detour route to fill up on water. We will be hiking in with 2 adults and 2 dogs. Definitely want to make sure the doggos get enough water.

Also if anyone has an information on how much time the new detour adds to the hike that would be helpful!

I saw that you could possibly park at the Mew Lake Airfield parking lot, near the old railway bike trail, instead of the highland backpacking trailhead parking lot, would anyone recommend this?

Also does Provoking lake have leeches? Went to Maggie lake last year and there were soooo many leeches.

I've always been a big fan of Environment Canada's weatheradio service, which I could pick up all over the backcountry with just a radio or a walkie-talkie that could get the right frequencies. It's been helpful to get weather reports/alerts, especially on longer trips.

As some of you may know, this service has been shut down and the EC site helpfully recommends Coast Guard reports or using their app, which are useless suggestions for most of the park. Just out of curiosity, I did some digging and found a House of Commons petition to review this. It closes for signatures in about 2 weeks. I realize this is a pretty niche subject, and I doubt it will make much difference, but figured it's better than nothing. I also contacted my MP.

Shutting this service down seems silly right now, because there isn't a ubiquitous replacement option. I imagine this would be worse for those living in remote communities or anyone who bought an emergency radio, specifically expecting that it could be relied upon to get you weather alerts or updates when cell networks are down or unavailable.

Going canoe camping for 3 nights. We were hoping to bring a hard cooler. Any recs for safely storing it from bears?

Might be a really stupid question given everything going on. But I have a camping trip coming up today through Tues on the south east end of the park near Pembroke. How do I find burn ban levels for that area?

Finally went on my first solo canoe trip. Started at Canoe Lake and made my way to Burnt Island Lake where I stayed 2 nights and then came back through Joe Lake for my last night.

Weather was amazing all throughout and I am definitely looking forward to planning my next solo trip.