THE BASICS
ACTIVITY: Canoe camping
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.
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