Algonquin Park - Brent Access Camping on Cedar Lake

A Step Back in Time

Above: The Brent Store.  Located in the park and looks as though it hasn't changed since it opened years and years ago.

So you've finally made all the way to the Brent Access point in Algonquin Park!  That's great.  Now check-in at the Permit Office and enjoy the next hour of your drive down winding roads through the Algonquin forest.  Prepare for almost no phone connection as you get closer to Cedar Lake (That's a good thing!).

Gravel roads all the way to Cedar Lake.

Marshland and Lakes on the way to Cedar Lake.

Gravel roads that are winding through the forest will keep you alert and probably give you a few wake up calls as you hit some sharp turns.  You will see tons of forest and small lakes along the way.  There are also several logging roads that are still in use today.  Main point of mentioning this... these roads are safe at a safe speed.  Along the way I saw an overturned car in a ditch.  The car was upside down and crushing the canoe that was strapped to the roof.  The driver and passenger were startled but just fine.  I believe that they spent the rest of the day waiting for a tow and trying to figure out how to get home.  You've come this far, no rush to get there now!

Finally!  There's the sign that you've been waiting for!  An hour later and you've reached Algonquin Brent access... stop, step out, take a picture.

MORE COMING SOON!

Algonquin Park Rain Lake Ranger Cabin

A 45 minute drive through winding dirt roads until reaching the parking lot at Rain Lake.  At night, it's only you on the lake. Everyone else who's parked here has hiked or canoed into the wilderness. 

We booked the Ranger Cabin at Rain Lake in Algonquin Park 5 months in advance knowing that it's rarely available.  Finally that weekend in mid June arrived and we were on our way to Algonquin Park.



The trip started at the Town of Kearney where we had to pick up a permit at the local recreation centre.  It was quick and simple.  Ten minutes later we were on Rain Lake Road heading into Algonquin Park.  The road is mostly dirt and gravel with some sharp turns passing lakes, rivers and tons of turtles!  The female turtles are nesting in June and can be spotted almost everywhere along the roadsides.

Reaching our destination at Rain Lake, the first thing that you'll notice is the sandy beach surrounded by tall green forest.  The beach is mostly used for launching canoes and small engine boats.  Didn't see anyone swimming but certainly looks good for it.



May and June, turtles are everywhere!


We finally reached the cabin at Rain Lake.  It was surprisingly big and private.  You can drive right up to the cabin and park next to it.  No need to carry all of your gear too far. 

Looking towards the swanky kitchen inside the Ranger Cabin.  There is a sink, but no running water.  All appliances and lights are powered by a big propane tank behind the cabin.

The Dining Room

Ranger Cabin 'backyard' view.  The water is only about 2 feet deep for 10 metres.  Too many branches and stones to walk through it though.  The beach up the road, a 1 minute walk, is much better.

This would be glamorous camping also known as 'Glamping'.  Not something that a group of guys would willingly call it, but that seems to be the new lingo these days.  There are two bed rooms, one with two separate single beds and the other with a bunk bed.  There is a full kitchen and dining area as well.  The kitchen has a working fridge and stove while the sink has no running water.  The cabin also has indoor lighting and a heater powered by propane.  But that's not all... besides the indoors, there is a 10 x 12 ft screened-in porch outside.  We spent a lot of time in the porch.  It saved us from the brutal mosquitoes at this time of year.  We even brought our portable BBQ into the screened porch for meals.

Screened Porch.

Early morning view of Cedar Lake from the Ranger Cabin.

The cabin has a fire pit and it's own dock looking out towards Rain Lake.  It's a private site at the end of a road and perfect if you want your own space.  The only thing missing was a private washroom.  The cabin doesn't have it's own.  It's a short 1 minute walk just behind the cabin near a parking lot.  That parking lot had quite a few cars parked in it while we were there.  None of those people stuck around Rain Lake though.  Most of those campers were backpackers or using the site as a launch for their canoe.  

Hey, get lost!

Nobody was in the area after the evening hours except for us.  We had the entire area to ourselves which was great but you couldn't stand outside for more than a few minutes without being attacked by mosquitos. 

Six Mile Lake Provincial Park - Site 81

Six Mile Lake is located near Georgian Bay Ontario.   The location is perfect for a quick and easy camping trip.  Just off of the 400 highway, you can barely hear the humming of cars while you're exploring all the backwoods trails.



Our campsite was site 81 in the Poplar Campground area.  We had booked our site for late September and would not be disappointed.  The weather was still warm and the leaves had already started to change colour.  The best part of reserving a campsite in September... barely any other campers!  We were the only campers in the entire Poplar Campgrounds area.  Far from the main road to reach these grounds and all the way at the back where we had the whole park to ourselves. 



This site was perfect for a group of 4 campers.  We had 3 cars on site with plenty of room for 2 tents and a big space for 2 picnic tables and overhanging tarps above the fire pit.  The back of the site was quite large and left us some extra room to explore.  The site itself is almost like a peninsula surrounded by water.  This added extra privacy to the site and didn't allow for any hikers to gain access to our site at all.  We were able to walk to the back of the site for about 75 feet and kick back on our lawn chairs to watch the local wildlife.



Having a great site was an achievement itself.  But the backwoods of the park had excellent trails for exploring.  These trails were easily accessed by walking over to the site next to us at Site 80.  You can walk through that site to gain access to the marked trails.  Keep that in mind if you ever think of reserving Site 80.  You won't want people walking through your site so don't reserve.  Grab something nearby.



The trails were easy to hike and provided a lot of photo opportunities.  Fall colours were changing all around the park.  It seemed that we came at the right time of year.  Warm air, no crowds and picturesque views everywhere.



While we hiked along the back country trails, we reached a small secluded lake.  You could hear the faint hum of cars zipping by on the highway.  Forging ahead towards the highway, we had reached the back of the lake and could now see the cars driving by.  Finally!  We were at one of those completely impossible places to reach when you're driving by on a highway. 

Overall Six Mile Lake was a 9 out of 10.  Keep in mind that we booked a site far from the main road and it was late September.  Most of the park seemed empty except for a few large camper sites near the entrance of the park. 



Bon Echo Provincial Park Back Country Camping - Joeperry Lake: Site 514

Located on the opposite side of the boat launch at Joeperry Lake, site 514 is a bit of a trek through rough waters on a windy day.  We arrived at the boat launch near 10:00 AM and sat patiently watching the waves bash against the shore.  Hoping that each passing hour would bring a lull in the weather and allow us to launch the canoes, we sat ashore drinking water, eating sandwiches and checking weather reports on our smartphones whenever we could get even the tiniest signal.

The photo above doesn't do justice to the water conditions that present on this day.  Most people would hop right into their canoes head to their site without simple knowing that it would be tougher to paddle on the water.  We on the other hand, brought so much gear and knew that it was a risk.  After waiting a couple of hours for the wind to calm, we decided that it was best to load the canoes and head to our site. 

We had to paddle around an island that sits in the middle of the lake.  The biggest problem was paddling north on the lake into the wind.  Our canoes resembled tiny freightliners because of all of the gear that each of us brought.  Turns out that the weight of the canoes may have helped us keeping steady on the waves.  Regardless of sitting level through the waves, we still had a lot of work to do.  The wind was so relentless and kept pushing us back and at times into the rocky shoreline of the island.  It took us over an hour to make it around the island and finally to site 514. 

After finally reaching site 514, we unpacked the gear and sat exhausted.  The site itself sit's on a small peninsula between Joeperry Lake and Pearson Lake.  The wind didn't stop at all.  Putting up the tents was even more exhausting on this site.  Having so much of the site exposed to the lake, we didn't have any cover from the wind.  At one point we even tried to hang a tarp between trees as a wall hoping to get some relief.  That didn't work at all.  In fact the tarp ended up tearing and almost flew away.   It wouldn't be until late that evening when the sun was setting that we would get some relief.  The site was quite private however we could see another site directly across the water from us.  The backwoods behind our site were quite dense with the a few bogs, we didn't explore much.  Our tents were on a slight incline and didn't have much flat surface here.  A decent site but I doubt that we will book this spot again. 

Camping Meals... Granola? Not Me!

Granola?  No thank you!

As someone who loves the outdoors and camping, I believe that having a great meal should go hand-in-hand with the experience.  I entirely admire those hardcore campers who can go into the woods for days at a time and only bring dehydrated food, nuts and granola along with a water filter.  But that's just not for me and my group of friends.  In fact we usually go overboard and bring far too much food for just a few days. 

When we reach a park, one of our main challenges is unloading and carrying all of the gear and packed food coolers that each of us usually bring.  It's heavy, hard work but it's worth it when we settle in at a campsite and prepare a meal.  Steak and potatoes are usually reserved for an evening meal while burgers and sausages become the norm throughout all of the other meals.  Breakfast is always the best meal of the trip since it kick starts the day with a ton of greasy fuel. 

One of the best camping meals that I've had was for breakfast.  We were all cranky and incredibly hungry since the night before there was some drinking.  This breakfast meal hit the spot like no other. 

Camping Breakfast Recipe

Ingredients

1 pack of bacon
1 Vidalia Onion
12 eggs
Salt & Pepper
1 Loaf of Texas style toast
1 tomato

Instructions

Using an entire pack of bacon, cut all of the strips into small squared pieces.   Place into the pan for frying.  When the bacon is semi browned, about midway through, add an entire onion that's already been finely chopped.  Mix into the grease of the bacon.  

The bacon should brown while the onions become translucent at the same time.  At this point, drain as much of the grease from the pan as possible.  Then add all 12 eggs to the pan.  Mix the entire contents together while making sure break to through each of egg yolks.  All of the ingredients should now be cooking together while the eggs become firm and resemble scrambled eggs with bacon and onion pieces mixed throughout.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Place a heaping amount onto one side of toast bread then place a couple of tomato slices on top.  Voila!  A not so healthy but awesome way to start the day out in the woods!   

You don't eat like this all of the time (I hope).  But when you're out all day and doing all sorts of activities like canoeing and hiking, this is perfect!

Bon Echo Provincial Park Back Country - Joeperry Lake Camping: Site 524

Although it's not considered traditional backcountry since there are marked campsites, it's still a good experience and far enough away from the car campers in the main grounds.  The site that we reserved for our camping trip to Bon Echo was site 524.  This time we decided to reserve the only other nearby site 525 as well. 





The two sites are next to each other but not close enough to see one another.  They are also the only sites within this specific area of the backcountry on Joeperry Lake.  Another big plus is that they are the closest and easiest to get to from the main dock where you pick up your canoe.  This is a big deal if you pack a lot of gear!  The main parking lot is a 500 meter (one way) walk through the woods to the Joeperry Lake dock.  If you have to do multiple trips, you will be exhausted!  


The View From Site 524 just after 9 pm.

No granola, only steak & potatoes tonight!

Sitting on the picnic table behind the fire pit looking towards the lake.

Site 524 on Joeperry Lake is an excellent spot.  It's entirely private and has tons of space for tents.  The site has a picnic table and fire pit as well as a forest toilet otherwise known as a 'boombox'.  The toilet, which by the way is just a box with a hole on top of it, is approx 50 feet away from the campsite through a narrow trail in the forest.  Bring toilet paper, a flashlight at night and pray that you don't have to sit there for very long because the mosquitoes will find you very quickly!  

Canoes can be easily dragged ashore, no worries overnight.

Looking up towards site 524 from the waters edge.

Canoeing through the dense reeds.

Throwing dried pine needles on the fire to smoke away the bugs.

Early mornings can be appreciated from this site.  Just waking up and seeing the lake right before you without a single person in site is fantastic.  Nothing but lake and forest all around you.  At times you will even see deer along the far edge of the lake across from the site.  

Oh deer

View from the picnic table at site 524

The first tent is complete!  Plenty of room for two more.

Joeperry Lake, not Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

Exploring other parts of Joeperry Lake