Killarney

I spent my first night in the van in Killarney Provincial Park, a spot very similar to Algonquin Park except quite a bit smaller.

The park itself has one main campground at George Lake which is where I stayed for the night. It has a small beach with a trailhead directly opposite and all the amenities you would need. I had a secluded site down in the A section with very few neighbours and a long walk to the washroom.

My first afternoon there I went into the town of Killarney itself which reminded me of a fishing town you might see in Nova Scotia. There is a fish n chips restaurant on the docks and the marina is full of small tinnys and larger boats for Georgian Bay. Everything moves slowly; I only passed two cars my whole time in town and the youngest person I saw was maybe mid forties. The nearest grocery store or gas station is about an hour’s drive and the OPP station there is run out of an old townhouse. Needless to say it is a retirement town, and honestly, I could live there happily. 

I did a small trail outside of town called the “Lighthouse Trail”. It runs along the shores of Georgian Bay for about three kilometres until you reach a small lighthouse on a point, kind of obvious in the name. The rocks are pink just like the ones near our family cottage in Honey Harbour which made it feel like home. It was bright and sunny when I got there and the sun was shining off the water while I was hiking. It was a good first stop for me, even though to get there I had to back track a little ways from Sudbury. 

I hiked another short trail called Granite Ridge which was a four or five kilometre loop that took me to some nice lookouts over Killarney and out to the La Cloche mountains before I went to my campsite.

The first night was nothing special but I really enjoyed the campground and sitting outside the van to make dinner and play guitar. It felt very familiar because all the trees were the same as Algonquin and the fall colours were still in full bloom.

The next morning I woke up earlier than I have in a long time, although I’m sure my dad would say, “Early? I was awake at 5 this morning!” Even still, I was up and out of the campground by 8:45 and started the trail called “The Crack” by 9:30. The Crack is Killarney’s most popular trail and I was thankful to have gotten there when I did because on my way out I think I passed at least 20 people headed in. The trail is similar to any other trail you might do until you reach the halfway point when you start climbing up the granite rocks. The trail runs through what they call the La Cloche mountains which is a range of what I guess is the Ontario equivalent to mountains. Once you start going uphill you are hiking over smooth, pure pure white granite rocks. Contrasted against the rocks, the fall colours seem to pop out at you. 

In order to reach the top of the trail you have to climb over a rockslide that runs through a natural crevasse. I would imagine that the cliff face was once all connected until the midsection broke through to create what they now call “The Crack” at the top. The rock slide was made up of huge boulders and smaller rocks that were slick from the rain and a little sketchy to climb over. When you look up all you see are the two cliff walls looming over you and the rocks leading up to the peak. The view from the top made the climb worth it. 

The top of the trail overlooks all of Killarney and beyond. Since it was overcast I didn’t get the full beauty of the hike, however it was still a gorgeous view. While I stood at the top I saw a hawk glide past me and over to a tree on the next rock outcrop which made the whole moment too much like something from a movie. 

I stayed at the top for 5 or 10 minutes until a few more people came up and so I moved to let them enjoy the view. The hike down seemed to fly by as it always seems to do on the return trip from anywhere. I finished the trail in 3 hours and had my lunch in the parking lot where I met a gentleman from Sault Ste Marie. We chatted about my plans for the year and when I told him that I was headed to Lake Superior, he recommended the Orphan Lake trail. He said, “that’s a nice little loop to start off with and see the sights”, and so that’s what I did. 

I stayed the night in Sault Ste Marie and made it up to Lake Superior for the next night. My first full day there I hiked the Orphan Lake trail and I must agree, it was a great way to start exploring the park.