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!

frontenac provincial park, 04-2012

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: Canoe camping
WHERE: Frontenac Provincial Park (north of Kingston, Ontario; 2 hours-ish from Ottawa)
WHEN: April 2012
HOW LONG: 3 days, 2 nights
GROUP: 1 mama, 3 kids (ages 3, 5, and 7)

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: I chose to go to Frontenac because I was the only adult on the trip. I knew schlepping gear and the boat and keeping an eye on the boys would be tough on unmarked, unfamiliar, or gated roads or trails, so I went with the only provincial park in our area (we were based in Ottawa) that was open in early April.

We left right after school on Friday and arrived in time to sign in, put in, park, and paddle in to our site with plenty of daylight left for setting up and making a fire. (I brought dinner for us to eat on the drive so that hunger would not be an issue when paddling in and setting up. It worked well- I'll do it next time, too.) Frontenac has only wilderness campsites (so no car camping) and is open all year long, so as long as the ice is off the lakes we can paddle in to camp. The weather was perfect for us- below zero at night but warm enough for light clothing during the heat of the day. This trip was a beautiful way to welcome springtime.

We camped at Cluster 3 on Big Salmon Lake (check the Friends of Frontenac site for more campsite info). It was a 20 minute paddle past typical Shield and mixed forest. We had our cluster, probably the whole lake, to ourselves. The park has a network of hiking trails that run along the edges of many of the lakes, as well as some doubling as portage trails.
We chose the absolute easiest possible trip, and it was marvelous. Big motors are not allowed on Big Salmon so even during the summer the lake is free of noisy boats.
I can't remember if we bought wood or just scrounged for it. We had plenty, whichever it was.

We were there on the clean-up weekend so happened upon a few hikers and paddlers on Saturday. It was fun to encounter them and chat. My kids like to do that. Works for me.
We wandered, paddled, and sunk ourselves into the just-beginning-to-wake-up forest. Once we started to notice the wildflowers, they were everywhere. It was lovely. I asked the warden at sign-in how busy Frontenac gets in the summer. He told me that most weekend require reservations, but there are lots of openings even during the week. I would still check ahead, but I was happy to hear that there is a wilderness park so close to cities that is not completely booked up all summer long.

RECOMMENDATIONS

If I had another adult with me I would choose to try one of the shorter portages into an even more isolated lake. Big Salmon was easy to get to but we were fortunate and thrilled to be the only ones there. Visiting Frontenac in the early spring may become a tradition for us. I strongly recommend checking into it.