Algonquin Provincial Park (Pog Lake CG) - Wildlife, Canoeing, Cycling, Hiking, Museums & More!

Algonquin. Yay, we made it. Prepare to arrive at your destination. Two beers, mama and her cup. If you ask someone to name Ontario's most famous provincial park, they're probably going to say Algonquin. And for good reason, it's the oldest provincial park. And there's a lot going on. And it's huge. It's 7,635 square kilometers. And it's kind of a park of two different personalities. You've got the north, northern part of the park with just vast forests and bogs and thousands of lakes and 2,100 kilometers of canoe trails. And that's pretty much how you explore it, on foot or by canoe. And then you've got a 56-kilometer stretch along Highway 60 through the southern part of Algonquin where you'll find eight provincial campgrounds with over 1,200 sites. And that's where we are today in this episode. We're at Pog Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park. We are Terry and Cindy O'Keefe and we've been camping together for more than 40 years. And we invite you to join us as we share our latest RVing experiences and adventures. The route to Algonquin's East Gate took us through quiet farms and small towns of the Ottawa Valley. But as you near the park, the rugged Canadian Shield takes over the landscape with granite outcroppings and ridges. And while it's not exactly mountainous, there are some grades to pull. Unless you're arriving with full water tanks, you'll want to visit the sanitation station to fill up with water. And it's located between Pog Lake and Lake of Two Rivers Campground. Now, we try to keep negativity out of our stories, but we feel we owe it to you to make you aware of Algonquin's shortcomings when it comes to the park sanitation station and drinking water facilities. They are kind of lacking and outdated. And in past visits, the water pressure was so bad, it took a long time to fill our water tank. And because the water fills are just past the two dump stations, if someone is using the tap to fill their water tank, well, the dumps are probably not getting used and lines develop. And while the Rock Lake Campground does have a second sanitation station, it's about a 15-minute drive off the main road. And at the time of our last visit, they actually had a boil water advisory for the water that was available there. Hopeful note here, word is the park is building an additional dump station near the Canis Bay Campground. But when it might be operational, no one seemed to know. So if you are visiting Algonquin, you might want to consider filling your tanks with water before arrival. Oh, there's a little better pressure than normal. That's good. We didn't because we arrived on a Tuesday morning expecting little to no wait. And the water pressure was not too bad. Once loaded with water, we headed to the Pog Lake Campground. Last time we were here, it was a few years ago, there was a moose right here. With a baby. So when you arrive at Pog Lake, just pull past the office and park in here. And then you go back into the office to do your registration. This is just so pretty. 1 in 12. What do you think? Beautiful spot. It is a beautiful spot, isn't it? Beautiful spot. Ranger, what do you think? He is not impressed being tied up. With thousands of lakes and rivers, Algonquin offers canoe and kayak enthusiasts incredible opportunities to explore. And if you don't have your own canoe, kayak or paddleboard, there are a few outfitting companies that serve the park. You can rent online or by phone, and the canoe will be brought to the campground for you. Or you can just speak with the staff when they make their deliveries and pickups. If you're more a peddler than a paddler, Algonquin has three bike trails, including the old railway trail. And this is accessible from most campgrounds, including Pog Lake. For most of its 16 kilometer distance, the trail follows the abandoned bed of the historic Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway that opened in 1896 and was decommissioned in 1959. This bike trail is rated easy and it's pretty family friendly, while Algonquin's other two trails are more for experienced mountain bikers. And if you didn't bring your own bike, you can rent one at the kiosk next to the Lake of Two Rivers camp store. And if being on the water or the bike seat has you seeking a bit of a quieter day, Algonquin also has a fascinating visitor center. It's actually more of a museum, from the park history to its wildlife and ecosystems. It's exceptional displays and information that really are top notch. There's also an observation deck and bookstore gift shop. It's an awesome view. Yeah, the forest fire smoke's kind of making the sky a little hazy, but it is beautiful. And while we haven't been to all of Ontario's provincial parks, we are trying, Algonquin has the best visitor center of any of the parks we've been to. Algonquin has a second museum that is definitely worth visiting, or should we say hiking? It's the Logging Museum. I'm always amazed at the ingenuity of how to make a waterproof roof. The Algonquin Logging Museum brings to life the story of logging. From the early square timber days to modern forestry management. And logging that still goes on within the park today. Did you see your horse friends? Yeah? Who's this? Oh, it's a horse! Of course! You're silly. The exhibits are laid out along a picturesque and easy to hike 1.5 kilometer trail. So they built a big crib out of the logs. They're going to anchor out and use horses to crank it in to move the logs downstream. I mean, it's the amount of work that would go into that. It's unbelievable. The ingenuity used is mind-boggling. Be careful, Ranger. It's an alligator. Alligators improved on the horse-powered crib, so they have moving log booms. The alligator crew disengaged the engine for the paddle wheels used to power to winch the alligator and the attached boom of logs up to the previously placed anchor. As much as a mile and a half. Holy cow! Flat bottom boat could also winch itself over land from lake to lake. Wow. They demonstrate the techniques, tools, and conditions loggers have encountered over the last 150 years. Dangerous work. A little more modern era of logging. Mess Hall. I think lunch is ready, Cindy. Are you hungry, Ranger? Are you hungry? Look at that truck. Baby blue. You don't see that anymore. That is really cool. Oh, wow. Pretty cozy in there in 1943. How is Algonquin Log today? Logging now takes place in about two-thirds of the park. That was a really nice walk. Yeah, it was. I always enjoyed this trail. A little mountain goat. Okay. Up you go. I'm coming, Ranger. You go with Cindy. Okay, go ahead. In addition to canoeing, Algonquin is famous for hiking on its 20-mark trails. Some with rugged, challenging terrain through hardwood forests. You almost made that look graceful. Beautiful. What do you think? It's beautiful. Yeah. Don't take my picture. Too late. And others along tranquil boardwalks meandering through a spruce bog. This is just such a pretty little clearing right here. How's that thermosell working, keeping the mosquitoes away? Yeah, it's good. I like how I can just carry it with me. Very handy, and it works well. And visitors to Algonquin are always hoping to see some of its full-time residents. There's a lot of moose. And we decided to return to the area we'd seen the mother and their cub on our drive in. And we found a young female with two cubs digging and flipping rocks looking for lunch. Back in Pug Lake, we wanted to share a bit more information about this specific campground. Divided into three sub-campgrounds. A section where we were has a pretty beach. The majority of sites in the section have electricity. And a few sit high with a beautiful view through the trees of the lake. So we have a beautiful site here at the Pug Lake campground that's directly across the road from the beach. And it's absolutely beautiful here. The sites are big right in this section. They're not very private, but the view is amazing. But I will say this. This is midweek in mid-June. And come July and August when the kids are out of school, this peaceful, tranquil, beautiful spot is quite a zoo. Because this beach gets really busy during the high season. The A-section campground also has a small section that is meant to be quiet. Many provincial parks have campgrounds that are radio-free. Meaning you don't have to worry that you're going to be hearing people's stereos and radios. There's no amplified devices. Pug Lake has that, but they also have a section where there's no dogs for people who don't want to camp with other people's furry friends. B-section has both electric and dry sites. Some of the dry sites in particular have beautiful lake views. But some of them might be tough to maneuver a large RV into. And C-section is all dry camping. While many of the sites are large, and some are right on the water, the roads are narrow. And this campground may be best suited to tents or small truck or van campers. And if you arrive in Algonquin and discover you've forgotten something, the park has a well-stocked camp store near Lake of Two Rivers. That includes a small restaurant. Cheers! There's also two outfitter stores with camping and paddling equipment in the park. The Canoe Lake store has some beautifully painted canoes on display. And as we sign off from this episode, we wanted to offer a little apology for being away from YouTube for a little while. There's been a couple of issues that we've been challenged with. The trailer was at the dealership for some warranty repairs that took a lot longer than anticipated. And Terry broke his ankle. So he's been taking some time to recover from that accident. So back to Algonquin. If you haven't been, it really is a wonderful park. Definitely worth a multi-day stay. Whether you're into, you know, water sports or hiking or biking, Algonquin Park is definitely a gem in the Ontario Provincial Park System. And if you found this information helpful, please don't forget to hit that like and subscribe button. Thank you.