Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park – the complete guide

Canoeing

Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park has become a favored destination among canoeing enthusiasts and it is one of the most popular activities at the park. There are several canoe routes within the park ranging in difficulty from easy to moderate and most have some backcountry campsites along the way as they cannot be completed in one day.

Access to these routes are scattered throughout the park and many require some sort of portage prior to entry. The most utilized and convenient access points include:

• Long Lake Lodge
• Gold Lake Narrows
• Mississauga Dam Lake
• Cathcoma Narrows
• Wolf Lake
• Anstruther Marina
• Anstruther Public Launch

Some of the more popular routes include:

• • Bottle Lake Canoe Route:

    One of the shorter and easier routes it is readily recommended for novice paddlers. Entry is at the Beaver Lake Road Bridge on Cathcoma Lake and the route passes through Bottle Creek, Bottle Lake, Sucker Lake and back. The entire journey should take about 4-5 hours to complete and is very scenic.

• • Long Lake Canoe Loop

    This is a much longer journey and will take 2-3 days to complete. Access is at the end of Long Lake Road just off Highway # 28 near the Village of Woodview. The circle route passes through many small lakes including: Long Lake, Loucks Lake, Compass Lake, Stoplog Lake, Sherry Lake, Triangle Lake and Cox Lake. This route is for the more experienced paddler as it involves 9 portages, some whitewater and overnight backcountry camping.

• Serpentine Lake Canoe Route

  This route will also take 2-3 days to complete. Access is at the Anstruther Public Launch at the end of Anstruther Lake Road just off Highway #28 near the Village of Apsley. The journey traverses a number of small lakes including: Anstruther Lake, Rathburn lake, North Rathburn Lake, Serpentine Lake and Copper Lake. For the more experience paddler as it involves 7 portages and some backcountry camping.

Please note that this is just a small sampling of the canoe routes available in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park as they are too numerous to fully list. Many include some whitewater with varying degrees of difficulty so caution and safety should always be of primary importance.

Canoes and kayaks are not available for renting within the park but rentals are available in many of the small neighboring communities.

Kayaking

Kayaking is also very popular within the park as there are many whitewater areas of varying degrees of difficulty. See the above canoe routes for more information.

Camping

Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park has no permanent campground facilities except for backcountry camping sites. At present there are 108 backcountry campsites located along the 6 major canoe routes. Most of these sites have pads for setting up a tent, picnic tables, fire pits and outdoor washroom facilities. Most campsites are only reachable by canoe (kayak).

Please note that you must register with the park office prior to occupying a park campsite. Permits are required, safety is a major concern and park officials monitor all overnight guests, as this is a backcountry wilderness experience.

Fishing

As with most lakes and rivers of the Canadian Shield fishing is an extremely popular activity, some of the lakes have been re-stocked. Some of the more sought after sport fish located in the many lakes and rivers include:

• Largemouth Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Lake Trout
• Brook Trout
• Northern Pike
• Walleye
• Muskie

Please note that a valid fishing license issued by the Province of Ontario is required.

Hunting

Hunting is a long time activity in the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park area and continues to be a favored destination amongst many participants. A valid hunting license is required and only occurs with hunting season which runs from September 1 to the Thursday before Victoria Day (One of Canada’s major holiday weekends as it traditionally signifies the start of summer)

Both Deer and Moose are the major targeted animals but there also is a limited black bear hunt. Smaller game such as rabbit is also very plentiful and actively hunted. Limited hunting camps are scattered throughout the park and winter camping is also permitted in some designated areas.

Boating

Motorboats are allowed on some of the larger lakes within the park that do have private cottages along the shores but it should be noted that this is for day use only as overnight mooring of motorboats is not permitted. Boat launches are available in some spots with Anstruther Boat Launch being the most utilized.

Wildlife Viewing

The varied landscapes and topography within the borders of the park allows for a large diversity of wildlife. Many different species can be found including mammals such as:

• Black Bear
• Moose
• Deer
• Eastern Wolves
• Coyote
• Beaver
• Marten
• Mink
• River Otter

176 species of bird have been sighted at or near the park including:

• Great Blue Heron
• Osprey
• Common Loon
• Common Nighthawk
• Warblers
• Sparrows
• Ring Necked Ducks

Hiking

This is a wilderness area and there are no designated hiking trails but there are a number of unofficial and well traversed walking and hiking trails.

Winter Activities

A number of winter activities occur within the park and are becoming increasingly popular.

Winter Camping

Winter camping is permitted with a permit however you are not allowed to set up camp at designated summer campsites or within 30 metres of a lakeshore, trail or portage.

Snowmobiling

This is probably the most popular winter activity in the park as many local clubs and residents utilize it for this activity. Additionally, snowmobiles are the only means of accessing seasonal properties for any of their owners. Some of the trails in or near the park include:

• Gerry McQuigge Memorial Trail just north of the park
• Turtle Lake Trail running for 24 kilometres (14.5 miles) from Buckhorn Lake to Cold Lake
• Apsley Trail running for 23 kilometres (14.4 miles) from Buckhorn Lake to the Village of Apsley
• Frank Hemming Trail running for 21 kilometres (12.5 miles) from north of the Village of Buckhorn to Highway #507 whre id continues as the Picard Trail
• The Rathburn Trail runnin g for 9 kilometres (5.4 miles) from Highway #507 just north of Cathcoma Lake just past Pencil Lake

Please note that there are no snowmobile rental facilities in the park and very limited rental businesses in the general area. Make sure to have prior arrangements for equipment prior to traveling to the park in the hope of participating in this activity.

Nordic Ski Trails

There are presently no maintained cross-country ski trails within the park but many people participate in the sport by breaking trail or following many of the snowmobile trails that criss-cross the area.

Snowshoeing

Another popular activity although as previously mentioned there are no maintained trails.

Ice fishing

Many winter fishing opportunities exist but there are no organized ice fishing hut setups as in other areas of the province. Most people that participate in this activity combine it with one of the other winter activities listed above.

Dog Sledding

There really is no dog sledding activity to speak of at the park and definitely nothing is organized. Some local participants have utilized the snowmobile trails to participate in this activity but for provincial visitors this really isn’t an option. Additionally, dogsledding is a readily available and hugely popular activity in the nearby Algonquin Provincial Park region and for those that wish to try this thrilling sport the opportunity exists there.