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Hello outdoor adventurers! I just got back from a canoe trip in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park in Ontario and I want to share some insights from the trip. If you’re new to multi-day canoe trips and are curious about doing a trip, I would highly recommend Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park for a first trip. It’s easy paddling, there are rentals for gear and canoes right at the launch, there is cell phone service in most of the park and you're never far from civilization (i.e. help isn’t far if needed).
Psssst: If you need help figuring out what to pack for a multi day canoe trip, check out my packing list here.
We ended up doing the canoe trip in 4 days, 3 nights. Our route was:
Day 1: Long Lake to Cox Lake
Day 2: Cox Lake to Turtle Lake
Day 3: Turtle Lake to Buzzard Lake*
Day 4: Buzzard Lake to Long Lake
*note: we originally wanted to do this loop which went to Turtle Lake --> Stoplog Lake --> Long Lake, but there were no campsites available on Stoplog Lake so we went to Buzzard Lake instead. I would recommend the other loop as this itinerary added a lot of portaging.
Important tips for before you go:
Backcountry camping permits are required and can be made through the Ontario Parks webpage.
Gear rental website: https://longlakelodge.ca/wordpress/index.php/canoe-rentals/
Purchase a map: Jeff's Kawartha Highlands Paddling Map – Maps by Jeff
Parking: Each vehicle needs a daily vehicle permit with Ontario Parks. We couldn't find an option to buy parking permits online ahead of time and the instructions we found upon arrival at the access point (Long Lake access point) were useless. Tip: add additional vehicles to the backcountry camping permit before arrival or you will need to call Ontario Parks to arrange parking permits.
See below where I go into more detail about our route and the campsites we stayed at.
Day 1: Long Lake to Cox Lake
Paddling distance: ~9kms
Portaging distance: 130m & 110m (240m total)
Total time: 3 hrs
Campsite: 524 and 521 (Cox Lake)
Weather: Overcast and mild, calm water
We arrived at the put in and grabbed our gear rentals from the Long Lake Lodge. There was some confusion around parking permits, which you cannot book online ahead of time but Ontario Parks claims you can purchase them at the access point. This was not the case when we got there and so we spent some time on the phone with Ontario Parks sorting this out.
Day 1 was an easy day paddling and portaging. We had two small portages and great weather for paddling. We hit the water around 1:45pm and arrived at Cox Lake at 4:45pm.
Our group stayed at campsites 524 and 521 on Cox Lake, both of which were great sites. 524 was elevated on top of a small rocky cliff, which provided a nice view of the water, but the tent sites were a bit limited. 521 was relatively flat and sprawling, with some nice areas for exploring and sitting by the water. 522, however, looked like the best on the lake - this one was taken by a different group.
Day 2: Cox Lake to Turtle Lake
Paddling distance: 4kms
Portaging distance: 1,160m & 280 m (1.44km total)
Total time: 1.5 hrs
Campsite: 522 (Turtle Lake)
Weather: Perfect, calm and sunny
Day 2 was quite leisurely - we were on the lake for a short paddle before hitting our first long portage of ~1.2km. This one was relatively flat and easy to manage. The next portage of 280m felt like a breeze!
Our group shrank considerably on Day 2 as two couples with kids turned around due to the terrible bugs - yes, they were really bad - so our group only needed one site. We stayed at site 522, which was by far the best on the lake. The other sites we looked at (550 and 553) looked hilly and rocky and generally unpleasant to hang out at. Site 522 had a big open area to hang out, a gentle slope down to the water and a rock island off the shore that we could swim to (see pictures).
One downside of this site is that it was infested with ticks. We found them everywhere - on our bags, clothing and even inside our tent. Be careful when staying at this site!
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Day 3: Turtle Lake to Buzzard Lake
Paddling distance: 1.5km
Portaging distance: 590m & 680m & 684m (1,954km total)
Total time: 1.5 - 2hrs (my watch turned off and I didn't log the activity so this is approximate)
Campsite: 425 (Buzzard Lake)
Weather: Hot, sunny, calm
Day 3 was also pretty leisurely (you can see there's a pattern here - that's on purpose). Hilariously, we ended up portaging longer than we paddled on this day.
As I mentioned above, we originally wanted to do this loop which went to Turtle Lake --> Stoplog Lake --> Long Lake, but there were no campsites available on Stoplog Lake so we did Turtle Lake --> Buzzard Lake --> Long Lake instead. I would recommend the other route instead (Turtle Lake --> Stoplog Lake --> Long Lake) as going to Buzzard Lake added a lot of portaging. The portages from Turtle to Buzzard Lake were hard - steep and rocky. Essentially you are hiking with your canoe.
We stayed at site 425 which was great. It's perched a top a steep rocky area and has a large, open, flat shaded space for multiple tents and hanging out. We checked out site 427 (nice but beside a swampy area) and 428 (sloped and rocky) too but decided not to go with them.
Day 4: Buzzard Lake to Long Lake
Paddling distance: 5km
Portaging distance: 420m
Campsite: n/a
Total time: 1.5hrs
Weather: Hot and sunny
We had a fantastic day to paddle out - hot and sunny weather, the water was warm and the water was glass. The paddle was super easy and the calm water made for a quick trip back to the put in.
All in all, we had a fantastic time exploring this new park. Thanks for having us Kawartha Highlands!
If you have any questions or comments about this trip, or if you’ve done it before and have some tips of your own, feel free to comment below or shoot me an e-mail at em.outdoors@outlook.com.
Happy paddling!
great writeup! We love tripping and exploring that park. For your stay at Turtle lake did you mean site 552 not 522?
Amazing trip, and excellent post! I’m so glad you documented all of the details for next time :) Also, I totally used your packing list and it was super helpful.
Looks like a great trip! Bugs can be tough on kiddos, good choice to have an easy exit if people aren't sure. Sites look great - picnic tables!? Beautiful.