We decided to tackle the Eastern side of Algonquin Park, entering at the Grand Lake - Achray Access Point.
Day 1 - Achray Jump off to Stratton Lake
One thing I love about Algonquin is the campsites are first come first serve, you just reserve a spot on the lake, then pick one when you're out on the water. At Frontenac you had to pre-book the exact spot. We started off day 1 with an easy portage alongside the dam, then a leisurely paddle until we found a site we loved on Stratton Lake.
We did, of course, have a hiccup on our first day. I had a bit of a space cadet moment and had folded part of our map over, so we ended up paddling an extra 45 minutes looking for the portage to Stratton Lake. Whoops! Now we know, KEEP THE MAP FULLY OPEN!
Night 1 campsite
We were so excited to have a relaxed first day! Our food for this trip was all freeze dried and dehydrated meals, so nothing exciting to mention foodwise.
Day 2 - Stratton Lake to Opalescent Lake
We had originally planned to follow this loop, coming out just past Marie Lake, but after reading some reviews about "heart attack hill" we opted to detour around to Opalescent then double back.
This route took us Stratton to St. Andrews, St. Andrews to High Falls, High Falls to the Cascades, the Cascades to Barron then to Opalescent Lake. It took us about 6 hours to complete the trek, but as we spent most of the time on the water, the portages were way less stressful. The whole day was full of breathtaking scenery.
One of the day's beautiful spots
Level 1 rapids going into the Barron
We had wanted to try the level 1 rapids going into the Barron but sadly the water levels were pretty low and we had to hop out and pull the canoes through as they were sitting too low when we were in them. It still beat having to unload and reload 200 metres later!
Campsite day 2
Campsite day 2, beautiful view of the lake
Our site on Opalescent lake was perfect for swimming, so once we arrived we hopped in for a quick refresh after another long day. There was only one other group of campers on this lake so it was extremely quiet.
Day 3 - Opalescent Lake to Johnston Lake
To avoid completely backtracking our route, we went through Ooze Lake to High Falls, then High Falls to St. Andrews, St. Andrews to Stratton then to Johnston. Since it was a long weekend, Stratton Lake and High Falls were pretty busy. After sitting in our canoes for about 15 minutes waiting to get through one of the portages (I forget exactly which one now), we decided to check out a waterfall that was just to the left of us. We tied up our canoes and hiked up to the top to set up for lunch and explore.
This was another fairly long day, but with all the paddling it didn't feel that long, though our arms were pretty exhausted once we hit Stratton Lake, it felt like it went on forever! This trip took us about 5 hours to complete.
The waterfall at the top, not the part you can see from the lake.
As we got onto Johnston Lake it started to rain, so we hightailed it to the closest site from the launch. We were the only canoe campers on the lake, but we could see a fire from a group of backpack campers across the lake. It was so quiet and secluded, we heard moose calling across the lake! It rained most of the night (I'm starting to see a trend in our trips...) so we quickly packed up and headed for home in the morning.
Sunset on Johnston Lake
Day 4 - Johnston Lake to Home
We opted to go back through Stratton Lake rather than portage over to Achray Lake, just to get some last minute paddling in before we called it a day. It was a good call too, because we ended up seeing a ton of ducks and their babies.
Not the greatest picture, but a family of ducks crossing ahead of our canoes
I really enjoyed Algonquin, and absolutely want to tackle different segments of it over the next couple years.
What are your thoughts on Algonquin Park? Have you done this route?
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