Backcountry
Three-day canoe loop
Even a short paddle from Canoe Lake — Joe Lake, Tepee, Burnt Island and back — strings together quiet portages, loon calls, and the chance you'll never want to leave.
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Near North · Ontario
Algonquin
Ontario's first provincial park — a canoe country of moose and maple.
- Best time
- May – October; late September for autumn maples; January – March for winter trails.
- Getting there
- 3 hr drive north of Toronto via Highway 11 and 60.
- Suggested stay
- 2 – 5 nights
- Known for
- Canoe routes · Moose along Hwy 60 · Visitor Centre
A portrait of Algonquin
An essential stop.
Three hours north of Toronto, Algonquin Provincial Park is Ontario's iconic backcountry — 7,635 sq km of maple forest, beaver ponds, and 2,400 lakes laced together by canoe routes that haven't changed since Tom Thomson painted here.
Field notes
Three ways to feel the place.
On the map
The six places
to anchor your trip.
A tour through the icons and the under-the-radar corners — laid out the way a local would walk you through.
- 1
Highway 60 Corridor
56 km of paved road with day-use trails, lakes, and reliable moose sightings.
- 2
Algonquin Visitor Centre
Exhibits, viewing deck over the Sunday Creek bog, and excellent bookshop.
- 3
Canoe Lake
Tom Thomson's spiritual home and base for many backcountry trips.
- 4
Track and Tower Trail
7.7 km loop to a lookout over Cache Lake from an old fire tower site.
Highway 60 Corridor
Algonquin Visitor Centre
Canoe Lake
Track and Tower Trail
N
Year-round
Algonquin through the seasons.
Spring
Moose flock to roadside salt licks; ice still locks the lakes through April.
Summer
Canoes pack the access points; book backcountry permits months ahead.
Autumn
Last week of September into early October — sugar maples explode in colour.
Winter
Mew Lake yurts, cross-country trails, and dog-sledding from outfitters.
Insider tips
From people who live there.
- 01
Mew Lake yurts can be booked five months ahead at 7 a.m. Ontario Parks time.
- 02
The Public Wolf Howl on August Thursdays is a quietly mythic prairie-of-the-mind moment.
- 03
Algonquin Outfitters in Oxtongue Lake outfit canoes, packs, and food for backcountry trips.
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