So finally! The last post about our trip last summer. After this I will be posting a bunch of posts about our trip to Algonquin Park in September/October.
Well, back where we started, Grundy Lake Provincial Park for a few days before we head home and end our trip. I love this Park, lots of trails, lots of campgrounds and there are 4 main lakes you can canoe on. This time we had an electric site and it was a pull through, not a bad site but quite the slope to it so we had to use all of our blocks to raise the trailer and steps. I know in some campgrounds the sites are close together but not this park, they are spaced quite far apart. The sites in the section we were in were all pull throughs so you drive your trailer in, stop on the driveway then you have an entire area outside your door free. This is where your firepit is or you can play Petanque (Bocchi Ball) or whatever. This one family that stayed beside us for only two nights pulled right up beside us, very close. If our windows opened enough, I could have stuck my arm out and almost touched their trailer, lol Some campgrounds are like that so you deal with it but when you don’t have to, then why do you? Some photos further down.
Campground road 
Me going to start a campfire and see how much room we have? 
Look how close ! 
This is their site and yet they parked way over beside us, weirdos lol
It was really windy but Clear Lake looked pretty calm so we put our canoe in there, big mistake. We no sooner got going and the wind picked up. As I mentioned before, we know what we are doing in a canoe but it’s not fun. Trying to hold a camera and a canoe steady to take photos is next to impossible! We were both trying to photograph a loon family. We both did get a few shots but we cut our paddle short.
Mom Loon and two young ones 
Heron, showing off his beautiful feathers 
Heron in flight
We did some hiking, there was a new trail. This actually used to be a road and you could drive down to Pakeshkag Lake and we loved putting our canoe in there. It was a nice lake to paddle and there was a portage to a river and also another river you could paddle down. You still can but it’s about 2 1/2 km walk each way to get there now as they gated it off to vehicles. We did walk part of the trail but mostly we went off into the bush off the trail; that’s what I like to do, go explore other parts of the Park.
Pakeshkag Lake Trail sign 
Off the trail 
Beautiful spots
One of our favourite trails is the Gut Lake Trail, it’s a very unique landscape and we always enjoy it. We also enjoyed it because I think we saw maybe one other couple on the whole hike.
Trail Head sign 
Unique landscape, this is part of the trail to follow 
Gut Lake 
Taking a break! 
Another part of the trail 
We did paddle the perimeter of Gurd Lake and we stopped at the Portage to Beaver Lake for a rest.
Gurd Lake 
Portage to Beaver Lake 
Off to the town of Parry Sound, set on Georgian Bay, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. While there we went to my favourite Book Store, Bearly Used book store. We also went here when we stayed here the last time! I can’t help myself, I always spend a lot of time and money there but it’s the best book store I have ever been to. Their selection is incredible. We stopped at Trestle Brewery and bought some beer to take home. On the drive back to the Park, we stopped and drove through Oastler Provincial Park . We like to check our as many Provincial Parks as we can. This one is a very small, very congested park. Nothing there but a big beach on a lake, no trails. Not really our type of park but it was very busy so a lot of people must like it!
Park sign 
A view of the Park
We also took a drive through Sturgeon Bay Provincial park to see what it was like. It was trailers all mushed together like a bad KOA, really noisy, lots of people, cars, radios blaring. We left there and drove down a road called South Shore Rd. and there were really nice homes along it. It was a nice drive.
Park sign 
Boat Launch at Sturgeon Bay 
A view of some of the sites
We also stopped at Norse brewery and bought some beer to take back to our trailer. They were not letting people go inside (Covid) so they had a little takeout window that we could order from. We have been here before and it’s very small inside anyways but we enjoy their beer.
We took a drive one day outside the Park, I can’t remember where! I haven’t put a lot of details in my diary, I think I’m getting tired. Anyways, it was a good drive and I took this photo of an abandoned (semi-abandoned) cabin and turned it B&W. I like it. I think this might be a hunting/fishing camp. It was a really nice spot.
So that is that, our “big” trip of 2021 is over and we home we go. But … we are only going to be home about 9-10 days and then we head out again to Algonquin Park for a few weeks. I cannot wait, one of my most favourite places to go!
Take care and stay safe.
Trums Travels 