Trip Rating: 4.75/5: Every may long weekend, it is our family's tradition to car camp in Algonquin Park. With our little one, it just makes things easy. She loves to sit in my lap and kayak on the beach, or we rent a canoe for the day and do small trips. When we pick our site, we are sure to pick a lake that is good for kayaking (there aren't as may as you may think in the park). This year we selected Rock Lake, it did not disappoint one bit.
Launch Sites: The launch sites at Rock Lake are the back end of the camp sites. We booked a spot on the lake side and could walk out of our tent, directly onto a small private beach. If you don't get lucky enough to get one of these sites, there is a small public beach that could be used, as well.
Trip Length: Rock Lake is the starting trip for the 3 day trips that are possible. If you are ok with a short portage, you can extend these trips, significantly. The days trips I took were:
1. Rock Lake through Whitefish Lake to the Lake of Two Rivers Dam. Approximately 16km round trip.
2. From the Campground to the the Rock Lake Falls. Approximately 14km round trip
3. Rock Lake to Penn Lake. We decided to rent a canoe for a family day tip so this one didn't happen. It looks to be about 15 to as many as 32km based on if there are rapids and the channels are passable. I will update this when I get back there :)
Difficulty: These lakes are fairly large and are very susceptible to wind. Make sure you are comfortable with open water paddling of more than 2km and you bring appropriate safety gear. Cell phone coverage is spotty at best and the park can be rugged wilderness, so please stay on the routes.
Credits:
@kayakontario