As we sit tight through the winter, we are dreaming about where we’ll be hiking, biking, paddling and exploring this spring and summer when the weather warms, the restrictions loosen and we can get out again and enjoy our beautiful province.
Over the next four weeks we’ll be publishing a series of top five lists to help you discover great local adventures!
This week, our top five Ontario hiking adventures for 2021!
La Cloche Silhouette Trail - Named for Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichael’s famous painting “La Cloche, Silhouette,” this rugged 78km hiking trail traverses the ancient La Cloche mountains of Killarney Provincial Park. While hiking the full trail requires a multi-day backpacking expedition, the trail’s beautiful views of quartzite mountains and topaz lakes can be accessed through a variety of day hike trailheads. Check out our Killarney Adventure to explore Killarney’s immense beauty and hike some of the most spectacular portions of the La Cloche Silhouette trail.
Bruce Trail - The Bruce Trail is Canada’s longest marked hiking trail, tracing the Niagara Escarpment 900 km from Queenston, Ontario (near Niagara Falls) all the way to Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. Take a day trip to explore sections of the trail right near Toronto or join us to check out some of the trail’s most spectacular portions on a private trip to the Bruce Peninsula or Beaver Valley.
Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands - With over 80,000 acres of wilderness, this little known provincial park is Ontario’s largest wilderness area South of Algonquin. Located east of Gravenhurst and west of Kawartha Lakes, this pristine park hosts the wildest portion of Ontario’s 500km Ganaraska Trail. The park is filled with rugged beauty but very little signage so make sure you have proper equipment and navigational skills before entering the QE2 Wildlands (or check out the Wildlands with a private guide as part of a private Get Out Kawartha Adventure).
Algonquin’s Highway 60 - Highway 60 is the most popular access road to Algonquin Provincial Park, dissecting the Park’s Southern Portion from East to West. There are a number of beautiful and easily accessible hikes off of Highway 60, just beware of potential crowds on busy summer weekends. The Centennial Ridges Trail, a 10.5km hike with beautiful views of the park, can be accessed by turning South off of Highway 60 at kilometer 37.6 onto Centennial Ridges Road and following the road ~2km to the trailhead. For a shorter, and steep, hike to a beautiful lookout point, checkout the aptly named Lookout Trail at kilometer 39.7 of Highway 60. Click here for a full map of Algonquin’s Highway 60 corridor and the many day hikes available right off the highway!
Superior Coast - This is definitely the furthest hiking destination on our list, but it can’t be left off of any respectable discussion of Ontario hiking. From Sault Ste. Marie in the East to Thunder Bay in the West lies over 700km of beautiful, rugged and pristine Lake Superior coastline, including a series of spectacular provincial and national parks. From multi-day treks along the coasts in Pukaskwa National Park and Lake Superior Provincial Park, to adventurous day hikes exploring massive canyons and Ojibwa pictographs, Ontario’s Lake Superior coast is an epic hiking destination.
Contact us to discover more local hiking adventures and stay tuned for next week’s post, Ontario’s top five Ontario cycling destinations!