sleeping giant provincial park 08-2010

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: camping (and exploring)

WHERE: Sleeping Giant Provincial Park (about 90 minutes east of Thunder Bay, Ontario)

WHEN: August, 2010

HOW LONG: 8 days and nights

GROUP: 1 mama and 3 boys (aged 2, 5, and 6) plus much support from extended family

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: Every year since her son was a wee babe (that's his 12-year old self up there, holding that hawk) my sister-in-law has rented a small camp (that's northern Ontario speak for a rustic cottage) at Silver Islet. My in-laws always visit at this time and we have made it a tradition to fly up for a visit at this time as well. Silver Islet is a tiny community that is surrounded by the grand splendour that is Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. The Islet is mostly without power and the camp is so tiny that we always sleep in our tent when we are there. It is a gift to have access to our own outhouse, a sauna, and a kitchen, but otherwise our trip is very much a camping one. Lake Marie Louise is the campground that is nearby and is where we would be staying if we did not have a family connection elsewhere. It would make a convenient basecamp from which to explore the rest of the park. Marie Louise itself is a fun place to swim, and while the water can be chilly it is much more inviting than the chilly waters of Lake Superior can be.

While we are on this trip we spend as much time exploring as possibile. Late August on Lake Superior feels like the beginning of autumn down south. The sound of the ever-crashing waves and the feel of the constant breeze just beckon for us to go a wandering, so a wandering we go.

There are a number of well-marked hiking trails throughout the park. The trail to Middlebrun leads to a secluded bay that rivals any southern paradise for its wildness and beauty (though the water temperature takes some getting used to). The beach is covered in smooth stones and driftwood which make for hours of entertainment for the kids (and me!). Sibley Creek and the Sea Lion trails are 2 other easy-for-the-kids walks that we have spent many an hour exploring.

One of the perks of camping with extended family whom we infrequently see is that they are willing to look after 3 busy young boys while I take off for a few hours on my own. Many of the trails in the park are shared hiking/mountain biking trails and I have logged many hours cycling up and down. Hoo-boy, there is a lot of up and down here. Sawyer Bay is a secluded beach that is tough to access and beautiful.  The trail hugs the shoreline for a while and the water is always sparkling. There are a number of branches along these trails and when the good cycling runs out at Tee Harbour it is possible to scramble over an incredibly rocky, treacherous when wet, trail all of the way to the head of the Giant. There is a bird research facility at Thunder Cape, where, if you arrive at the right time, you might be able to help out with some weighing and tagging and overall amazingness pertaining to wild birds.

There are campsites along the shoreline of the park that are accessible by hiking trails or by kayak. I have yet to take this on, either on my own or with my boys, but they are beckoning. To wake up to the sound of the power of Lake Superior is inviting and mesmerizing. I love this lake and it's surrounding wilderness. We have been here often enough that it is becoming a part of who my children are, too.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The parks along Lake Superior are popular with the long-distance road trip folks. Reserving campsites is a must. If you miss out on getting a site it can be a very long drive to the next available spot.

Visiting such a wild, rugged place requires as many days as possible. We have visited for as any as 8 and it still didn't feel like enough. Take as much time as you can! You'll be glad you did.

Black bears can be a nuisance in the park. All of the trash receptacles are so bear-proof that I sometimes have trouble getting them open. Many of the interior sites have bank vault-type food safes for campers. I do believe the bears were outsmarting the campers when it came to hanging food out of reach. These vaults take that 'is this good enough' guesswork out of the equation. I'm not sure if the vaults are everywhere or not. that would be worth checking out before taking on an extended hike.

If you get the chance to spend any time here, go. It is a truly beautiful, wild place.

murphy's point provincial park

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: Canoe camping

WHERE: Murphy's Point Provincial Park

WHEN: spring, summer and fall, 2010 until present

HOW LONG: overnights and 3 day, 2 night trips

GROUP: 3-5 members of my young family

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: I grew up around the corner from Murphy's Point, but I did not do any camping until I was able to get out there on my own as a teenager. As a result I only knew of Murphy's Point as a place to car camp amidst a radio-blasting, dog-barking capacity campground full of rowdy, beer-swilling fisher folk. I loved it.

We now frequent the park for beach days throughout the summer. We also enjoy car camping at the beginning of the season and at the end. We have a standing date with another family to camp on Thanksgiving weekend and we love having the trails and sites mostly to ourselves. There are usually enough people around to make it fun to stop and chat and throw balls for their dogs, but it is quiet enough that the kids can tear around alone on their bikes and be safe. Ahh, the crunch of the leaves underfoot. I can hear them and smell them as I write. Car camping in the colder seasons can help make a wet or frosty weekend so much more enjoyable.

The most beautiful aspect of Murphy's Point, for us, has been how easy it is to access their interior sites.  Because this park is only 15 minutes from where I grew up it was an easy choice for us as our transition-into-canoe camping spot. (We were living in Ottawa at the time and it was just an hour's drive west of there. I know a number of people from the Ottawa area who have also used it as an initial paddle in spot for their young families.) Twice I even left our youngest (when he was 2) with my parents so I could take his older brothers (4 and 6) paddling in with me. (My husband travels frequently for work so I am often tripping alone with my kids.)

The park has 4 or 5 clusters of campsites that are boat or hiking access. We've checked them all out and camped at 3 different spots. Because Murphy's Point is situated on the Big Rideau the water can get big. Two of the clusters of sites are within a 15 minute paddle of the put-in (that's 15 minutes of this mama paddling a loaded boat by herself into the wind). Not too far at all. We have had these islands to ourselves and loved it. We have also camped here when sharing an island with a high school outdoors club of 20+ people and we still had plenty of space and privacy. (The boys ended up getting up really early one morning to fish with one of the leaders of that trip, which was a bonus for all of us.)

There are 2 different locations from which to put-in to access the campsites. We've tried both and they both logistically pretty easy to manage with parking close by and secure (for us so far). The sites are well-maintained and easy to spot, there has always been plenty of room for our tent and tarp as well as good-enough shoreline for loading/unloading and for the kids to swim and play. A combination of waves and jagged lake bottom set me up to cut my foot pretty badly on a rock that has been forever christened Toe Rock. Now even I wear my shoes when swimming there.

The park is a sanctuary for black rat snakes and while we've only seen (and touched) one of those at the Visitor's Centre, we have seen a number of critters while camping there. We have fond memories of rescuing a garter snake who's head was stuck inside a snail shell. We've watched a loon swim under our boat. The biggest fish the boys have ever caught were here. Our youngest discovered freshly hatched remnants of turtle eggs last spring. We've always had the fortune to see a heron (or two) flying ahead of us as we've made our way around the lake. I think I've heard a great-horned owl hooting every night that we've camped there.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Murphy's Point has played a really important role for me and for my family in fostering our connection to the outdoors. Because it is close by we have been able to visit often, sometimes for a few days, often only for a few hours or just overnight. Due to it's proximity we have found it easy to just decide to go. When traveling further from home I require more planning and commitment and time to make it happen. I would not drive 4 hours with my kids to camp for only one night. But drive for an hour? We've done it many times.

We have always been able to get in to both the campgrounds and the interior sites without reservations, but I have also been able to avoid summer weekends. Calling ahead would be advisable.

There is poison ivy throughout the park, especially along the shoreline at some of the interior campsites. I react strongly so I need to watch out for it. My kids have escaped unscathed, so far.

The swimming at Murphy's Point, both at the beaches and the campsites, is lovely. It is a draw for us. If we camp in the summer swimming is just about all we do.

The Big Rideau is a busy lake. Through boats and local cottagers are out and about, just like us. I have been disappointed to be awoken in the night by the party boat cruising by after a storm. Watching the boat traffic is fun for the kids, and even I like to bounce around in the canoe on the wake a motor boat. There is not so much traffic that it is a zoo, but cottages are nearby so we have always encountered at least a few motorboats. I don't love that aspect of camping here (and that is why we are trying to shift some of our trips to Frontenac) but the boat traffic is a minor annoyance compared to the rest of the good that comes of these trips for us.

Murphy's Point is our backyard provincial park and we make good use of it. I strongly recommend checking it out if you are in the area. I also recommend finding your own nearest provincial park, getting a season's pass, and making it a go-to destination for you and your family. That's what we do, and it definitely enhances our summer.

grand lake (algonquin park) 08-2012

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: canoe trip

WHERE: Grand Lake (Sand Lake Gate access, Algonquin Park)

WHEN: August 2012

HOW LONG: 4 days, 3 nights

GROUP: 2 mamas and 6 (!) boys, aged 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and not quite 1

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: I visited Grand Lake several times about 10 (!) years ago. It was one of those places for me that I knew I would need to go to back to, that I looked forward to bringing my kids to. Last summer was the time to do it.

Grand Lake is an excellent get-the-feel-for-being-remote-without-going-too-far place to canoe camp. Grand Lake is accessed at Achray campground which is on the east of the park (via Sand Lake Gate). The campground at Achray is lovely in itself and that would work as a place to be based for a few days while making day trips out onto the water. There are also a number of campsites in clusters out on the lake and these are what I had in mind when we planned this trip.

Having camped a lot on my own with my kids I knew we could do this trip by ourselves but that it would be more fun with friends, so we sent out invitations and were tickled to have another mom and her 3 young boys join us. Heading out on a big, potentially windy lake in an area that does not have cell coverage, I felt better having another adult with me. Our boys kept us very busy so we didn't have much time to get into any deep conversations, but such is life with little ones. We were both so pleased to be in such a beautiful place with our kids.

Grand Lake is an access point to a few popular paddling routes so it can be busy. Since it is Algonquin Park I knew I would need to reserve anyway. We were unable to reserve specific sites. I knew that the sites are quite spread out around the lake and I did not want to have to paddle to the far end so we tried to arrive early-ish. We put-in around noon on a Thursday and while we definitely took our time, we had no problem getting a site in the nearest cluster. There were 5 or 6 sites there and only one was taken. By Friday evening they were all full. They are separated by a forest trail so there is privacy, and the children do love to encounter other people when we are out, but I have made a mental note to be out earlier in the week or earlier in the season next time. We encountered friends coming out when we were going in. They had also been in for 4 days, Monday to Thursday, and they had made the short portage in to Stratton Lake hoping for less congestion because of the portage. Their plan had not worked out and they left me with the impression that areas that are this easy to access in a park such as Algonquin will just always be busy. I've considered going very early in the season when the greenery is just filling out and the water is cold. (Perhaps I will this spring... I'll keep you posted.)

The drive to the Sand Lake Gate from Ottawa is about 3 hours, less than an hour to the lake from there. It is a smooth drive. The road in the park is in good shape though twisty and windy. We always keep a lookout for moose or bears as we make our way around the many corners.

This side of the park was closed for several days due to fire in July. Calling ahead to check that status, even with reservations, would be a good idea. Apparently the fire got very close to Grand Lake but we did not see any damage during our wanderings.

The sites where we stayed connect to a peninsula that is covered in pine needles that have been shed by the mature stand of white and red pine that cover it. This area used to be the camping zone but it has been rezoned for historical preservation, so while we were able to wander and play there, no one camped there. It is a lovely picnic spot and magical for hide and seek and searching for pine cones or making piles of needles. We were there for 4 days. We made a lot of piles.

The beach where we stayed was sandy and shallow. I remember it teeming with sluggish bullfrog tadpoles in June. We did not encounter the tadpoles but there were plenty of frogs to chase. The loons serenaded us all night, and I had my first encounter with a stinkpot turtle. The boys were thrilled.

By Sunday afternoon we had watched many paddling groups pass us by on their way out. We held off as long as we could, enjoying the feeling of getting the point all to ourselves, then finally packed up and headed for home. The weather and the water and wind were very cooperative for our paddling pleasure during this trip. The fact is, though, that we were such a short distance from the put in (about 20 minutes of 1 person paddling a full boat hard) that even in a blustery downpour we were sheltered enough and able to hug the shore the whole way back if we had needed to. We didn't need to.

RECOMMENDATIONS

This part of Algonquin is beautiful and I would encourage everybody to check it out. As I mentioned above, it can get busy so reservations are required. Getting onto the water early is helpful if you are hoping to camp at a particular site. Choosing less busy times (if such a thing exists in Algonquin) can be helpful too.

Grand Lake is magical to me. We will go back. Maybe we'll see you there!

presqu'ile provincial park 07-2012

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: car camping
WHERE: Presqu'ile Provincial Park
WHEN: July 2012
HOW LONG: 4 days, 3 nights
GROUP: 1 mama and 3 boys, aged 7, 6 and 4

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: Presqu'ile Provincial Park was brand new to us last summer, and it is a new favourite. On the shore of Lake Ontario, a 4 hour drive from Ottawa, Presqu'ile is a short distance east of Sandbanks. Check out the photos- Sandbanks is beautiful. It is also extremely busy. Presqu'ile is apparently usually booked up too, but perhaps not always 2 months in advance, and I had never heard of it before, so we were in.

Choosing to car camp offers a certain convenience but it also promises proximity to other campers and their generators, vehicles, radios, and dogs. I am happy to be out and for other folks to be out. We drive a van to get there ourselves so I mean no disrespect to folks who choose to camp differently than we do, but staying in one of 8 campgrounds on one of almost 400 sites promises a noisier, more bustling, less peaceful experience that choosing a more remote or less busy location. We accepted that there would be lots going on around us (which is especially easy for my oh-so-social kids to embrace) and spent our first afternoon exploring by foot and by bike.


All of the campsites at Presqu'ile are within a short distance of the lake. Many of them are right on the edge of the beach so, if you can reserve on of those (which we plan to do next time) you could hear the waves all night long and the kids (and I) could throw rocks and splash around all day.

There is a bike trail all along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. This park is long and spread out so we did a lot of riding while we there.

The Visitors Services programs were a hit with my gang. I have fond memories of when I first experienced these parks programs so I used this visit to introduce my kids to them. My 7-year old ate them up. He found a schedule and helped make sure that we took part in every possible show or presentation during our stay. I think there were 4. It was tons of fun.

A fire ban was on during our stay so we started off eating pretty simply and not even bothering with our stove. A storm rumbled in during our second night and the rain continued to pour down throughout our entire third day. It cleared late afternoon and, wonder of wonders, the fire ban was lifted so we forked over way too much cash at the park store for wood, hot dogs, ketchup and giant marshmallows and enjoyed our first fire in weeks on our soggy campsite.

Many of these sites do not offer much privacy. Others are treed by giant firs and are back a bit from the road, so when making a reservation (which would be essential all summer long to ensure getting any site at all, let alone a good one) I would check the park site photos and reviews and even call the park to ask for recommendations. As I mentioned above, I'll be booking a site adjacent to the beach next time.

The park has a Nature Centre. With nature based story books, colouring pages, many fish tanks, stuffed critters, bugs and other water creatures on display this was a favourite destination of my gang. They especially loved the touch tank. A collection of bug nets were available for whoever felt like trying to catch food for the frogs and fish. This was very popular. The staff at this place were amazing- patient and knowledgable and fun, just the kind of support I needed on this trip.

Monarchs use Presqu'ile as a migration stop and the park has a breeding and release program.The field beside the Nature Centre building always had a few monarchs fluttering around. We didn't feed them to the frogs :)

The park's southern boundary is Lake Ontario. Much of it is rocky and wavy- gorgeous. Some of it is marked off as too dangerous for swimming. Other parts are easy to access and safe to wade in but not very busy. These areas were our favourite. Traveling alone with three boys I find it easier to let them run and be, throw and splash, if we have some space to ourselves. I tend to let them 'run wild' if I can and that is not always well received by other families. I avoid these battles and judgements when possible, so these rocky wavy beaches were just right for us.

There are also 3 sandy beaches (that all connect together but have separate parking areas) that are typical Lake Ontario, so shallow you can wade out forever, perfect for kids, Sand Banks style beaches. We spent lots of time there too. There is no shade so we were mindful of the sun. Many other families brought their beach umbrellas and sand tents here. We know how to do it up but don't have that much car camping gear, so we did without the shade. We had one rainy day and one mixed sun and cloud day on this trip so the intense sun was not as big of a concern as it could have been. There were many shorebirds along the sandy beach. Apparently the park is residence for many bird species and is also a popular rest stop for many migrators. My boys are still at the 'Let's chase the flock of birds until they fly' stage, so timing out trip around the migration doesn't make any sense, but I can see myself doing so as they grow older. (I like birds.)

Sometimes I just open up the Ontario Parks map and search within a certain radius of my home. It helps  expand my view of possibilities, and that is certainly what happened with this trip. We had a lovely experience on a beautiful shoreline, and I expect we will return regularly. This was a great trip.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 As I mentioned above, I would only go to Presqu'ile with a reservation, and I would make it a number of weeks in advance to ensure getting a site on the water that has a bit more privacy than many of the others.

Choosing to go to this park is choosing to embrace the car camping experience. That works for us sometimes. If you need to feel isolated and be able to hear the owls at night, go somewhere else! If you can embrace the party that is a provincial park in the summertime, especially if you have kids, then this is a great destination.

Good luck!