Killarney Provincial Park
I spent a week in Killarney Provincial Park, on the northern shore of Georgian Bay. It’s now my favourite place in Ontario.
There are various activities you can do there, but all I did was hiking (other things you can do include boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, swimming, and camping). There are a variety of trails — I hiked on most of the ones that you could do as a day hike (there’s a long one you can do as a 7-10 day camping trip).
I stayed at Killarney Mountain Lodge, which I recommend. Other options for non-campers include hotels and bed and breakfasts. The town of Killarney is very close to the park.
This is where the Group of Seven did some of their painting. Artists were instrumental in getting some of the land set aside as a protected area. One of the lakes in the park is OSA Lake, named after the Ontario Society of Artists, and another is AY Jackson Lake (Jackson was one of the Group of Seven).
I saw lots of chipmunks, two snakes, and a beaver — a couple I met on the trail saw two bears.
Here are my photos — you can click on a photo to get a bigger version.
-
- day 1 — a few photos from the town of Killarney
-
- view from the lodge at sunset
-
- a slightly different view, showing Georgian Bay
-
- day 2 — La Cloche Silhouette Trail
-
- George Lake
-
- Lumsden Lake — look at that white rock
-
- together with the next few photos, a panoramic view
-
- an unnamed lake
-
- a dam, possibly made by beavers
-
- Acid Lake
-
- a tiny waterfall, but the biggest one I saw all week
-
- day 3 — Granite Ridge Trail
-
- a very old car
-
- roots of a tree, a spot to sit in
-
- Chikanishing Trail
-
- look at that pink rock
-
- Collins Inlet
-
- day 4 — The Crack Trail
-
- Kakakise Lake
-
- the Crack is the break in the ridge in the distance
-
- looking around from the top of the Crack
-
- Killarney Lake (foreground) and OSA Lake
-
- day 5 — Cranberry Bog Trail
-
- moss grows on all sides of trees and on rocks
-
- my favourite photo
-
- Little Sheguiandah Lake
-
- AY Jackson Lake
-
- a chipmunk who stopped gathering nuts long enough to have its photo taken
-
- waves hitting the shore near the lighthouse
-
- the lighthouse (one of two)
-
- day 6 — Lake of the Woods Trail
-
- Lake of the Woods
-
- in the middle on the left is the island
-
- Silver Peak in the distance
-
- view from the tip of the island
-
- whatever it is, it grows on trees
-
- lake by the side of the road
-
- day 7 — Wanapitei River
