ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK – AUGUST 2009
Our second week of holidays in 2009 was spent at Lake of Two Rivers. I had already booked a site here, but upon arrival we noticed a putrid smell like someone had dumped sewage on the site. The park promptly found us another site for the week. I didn’t take any pictures of the site, but it was not private at all and very close to all other campsites. The Lake of Two Rivers campground is very different from Canisbay. It is situated just off Hwy 60 with a campground store\fast food restaurant\souvenir shop all in one building. This campground seemed to always be very busy. If I stayed at Algonquin again, I would camp at Canisbay, not here. Having said that, the showers, laundry and washrooms were always very clean. The beach was clean and a beautiful place to swim. Lake of Two Rivers did have very close access to a bike trail and the Two Rivers hiking trail. All were within walking or bike riding distance. While at Two Rivers, we hiked seven more trails and went on three larger day trips kayaking.
The first trail we hiked was at the Logging Museum. Before starting the trail, a nice presentation is given in an indoor theatre outlining logging history in the park. The one really cool thing about Algonquin is the history. There is so much history at Algonquin. Here are some photos of the Logging Trail:
he next trail we hiked was the Beaver Pond Trail. This was a short trail where the odds were supposed to be good to see beaver. We didn’t see any, but we had a great time hiking the trail. A highlight was the beautiful rainbow over a beaver meadow.
Another short trail we hiked while at Two Rivers was the Lookout Trail.
One of the first places we kayaked once we arrived here was Lake of Two Rivers. It was a decent size lake and fun to kayak. We kayaked the entire perimeter.
We spent a lot of time relaxing at Two Rivers. The girls entertained us with their musical talent, the chipmunks begged for peanuts and even Milton the kitten spent lots of time relaxing.
One of my most favorite kayak day trips happened while camped at Lake of Two Rivers. Our trip on Rock Lake. We paddled from the launch into the lake on a misty cool morning. I found the pictographs on the rock face, enjoyed coffee while drifting listening to the loons and found the remains of the dock on the Booth property. The day warmed up and by the time we headed in, it was getting very hot.
At Rock Lake there is a really cool hiking trail the takes you to a stunning lookout over Rock Lake then on to the ruins on the former Booth property. You can actually see where the tennis court was and the old docks. On the last part of the walk you follow the old railway bed where trains used to rumble through. Very cool hike but a little work to get to the the best parts.
Another favorite kayaking trip while camped at Algonquin, was our trip out on Canoe Lake. The day started out with a cool mist on the water and turned into a hot, sunny day. We kayaked across the lake to the memorial cairn for Tom Thomson, a dedication to a wonderful, brilliant artist. From there we kayaked to the remains of a logging bridge. Here are some pictures of that trip:
After we paddled to the end of Canoe Lake, we headed back the other direction down Oxtongue River into Bonita Lake. Dave had caught fish there on an earlier trip and wanted to go back. We spent a couple more hours on the water exploring this area. I found a nice little place to bring my kayak up on shore and enjoy my thermos of coffee. Here are some pictures of the next part of our trip:
The last hike we did while at Two Rivers was the Two Rivers Trail, which was very close to the campground. It was later in the day and I took pictures of the trail and a beautiful sunset over Hwy 60 at the end of the hike. Check out the photos:
Our stay at Algonquin was amazing. It was interesting though that all the wildlife we seen was along Hwy 60. During all our kayaking trips and hiking trips we did not see any wildlife. Lake of Two Rivers Campground was not our favorite on this trip. It was close to the highway and very busy with campers coming and going. The trees were tall pines and did not offer much privacy. The only good thing, which impressed the kids, was the proximity to the camp store and ice cream. If we were to camp at Algonquin again we’d stay at Canisbay Lake campground. Other than that, Algonquin was marvelous! Here is a link to my Picasa site and the park:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bDHk4swwWY6KnCfh1
Sue and Daves RV Adventures 