Top tips for visiting Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada

The Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada is 7725 square kilometers in size and is about 200 kilometers from Toronto.

Ontario’s oldest natural park is a paradise of forests, swamps, more than 2000 lakes and solitude – and an attraction for tourists who want to see moose, bears and wolves there.

Algonquin Provincial Park is wild, and just driving through the park on Highway 60 will only give you a glimpse of the scenery. The best way to get to know the nature park is to go camping, hiking or on a canoe tour. You only have to do without comfort if you want it. Many campsites have showers, washing machines and electricity.

The campsites are located in the middle of the forest, between trees or on small meadows. Very little was built for them to leave nature as natural as possible. And so you can watch chipmunks from your tent or caravan, crack the pine cones and listen to the loon (loons) singing in the evening.

Interested in visiting Algonquin Provincial Park? Then here are a few tips!

Hiking in Algonquin Provincial Park

From the campgrounds or the road, there are countless hiking trails in Algonquin Provincial Park. They can be very short, like the less than a kilometer Hardwood Lookout trail with a beautiful view of Smoke Lake, or longer, like the seven-mile Mizzy Lake trail, which features boardwalks crossing swamps. There are also long-distance hiking trails of up to 88 kilometers in length.

Boat tours

If you prefer to let the landscape of Algonquin Park glide past you, you should definitely rent a boat and travel over one or more lakes. Between the waters there are portages where the boat can be transported. Most of the rental stations offer kayaks (narrow boats with double paddles) and canoes. Canadians are open boats that are moved with paddles and look exactly like you know them from wilderness films. The umbrella term for both types of boats is canoe.

Anyone who ventures into a kayak should be prepared for a little adventure. Because the boat feels very shaky, at least at the beginning. But you usually get used to the speedster quickly. The Canadian is less wobbly but harder to push because you have to agree on a rhythm with your fellow rider to avoid going in circles. A life jacket is definitely recommended.

The reward for the effort is enormous: seeing the grandiose landscape from the boat is sometimes even more impressive than from the hiking trail. Those who are quiet can see waterfowl or beavers, and perhaps even hear a wolf howling in the distance – and that sound is almost more poignant than the loon’s call.

Visitor center provides information about the park and its nature

Information about the park, which was settled by humans 9,000 years ago and later heavily exploited and given protected status in 1893, is available at the Visitor Centre. Here you can also get information about the white pine, which was once very common in the Algonquin area but was then almost eradicated by the timber industry. It was not until 1974 that conservationists and the timber industry agreed on certain areas in which timber may be felled. The visitor center also has an exhibition on the history of the park.

Algonquin Provincial Park info

Directions: From Toronto via Barrie and Huntsville, then take Highway 60 into the park

Prices: A park permit is required to enter the park, which is valid from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Price per vehicle and day: between 18 and 21 Canadian dollars (approx. 13 to 15 euros)

Algonquin Provincial Park on the web: www.algonquinpark.on.ca