I turned 60 this year. For a full year I had been saying “I want to go to Killarney for my birthday.” I needed to see the red and white rock again. It had been years!
I heard all the reasons why we should not go to Killarney – no picnic tables, no campfire grills, no internet, long drive, challenging portages…. I held fast and found solutions to most of these arguments. This included a folding table and a promise to plan a trip with very limited portaging. The internet well that was another story. I put that in the hands of my tech savvy husband – the one who has a business and needs to stay connected. He found a cell signal booster. We knew we can get service on George and Freeland, but after that it is very spotty. We used the cell coverage map by our provider and found where we might be able to get a signal. We found that there was service in the middle of Killarney Lake. hmmmm
We didn’t think our family would be interested in Killarney, for all the reasons listed above. They were in there 70s, so picnic tables have become a deal breaker. I was thinking Killarney would be a short trip, just my husband and I, followed by another longer trip with them somewhere in southern Ontario.
When our friends found out we were going to Killarney, they asked if they could go with us. This was the couple who originally introduced us to Killarney. We didn’t think they would be interested so this was exciting news. So we booked a trip with them.
THEN our family members said they wanted to go with us to Killarney too. I was so excited – I was getting two trips to Killarney for my birthday. This also meant we had a short 6 day trip over a long weekend where he could workout the internet signal issues before we returned to Killarney for 11 days.
It became my challenge to figure out how to book an 11 day trip with minimal portaging. David Lake was an option, but I decided on George, Killarney and OSA Lakes. These are all very popular lakes because they are beautiful and easy to access. Our family loves OSA Lake as much as we do so it was the goal to add a few nights on OSA. It took some work. I had to juggle the dates of the trip and I had to book two nights on George Lake to start the trip and one night on George Lake at the end of the trip to get the lakes we wanted. As it turns out, that extra day on George Lake at the end was a lifesaver. But, more on that later.
Have you ever looked at the pictures on the Ontario Parks booking site? They are not helpful unless you want to know if the thunderbox is moldy. So I had no idea what the sites were going to be like. We really do love the option of booking a site though. So much better than the Algonquin style of booking a lake not a site. We are too old for the unpredictability and the rushed feeling.
Site #5 on George Lake
After a long drive, George Lake is a good place to set up camp the first night. When I booked the site I thought it would be a terrible site – given it’s location and availability – why was it not booked? We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. It was a very pretty site, with several flat tent site options. The main complaint was the thunderbox – it had a clear view of the neighbouring site so when people were on the beach at Site #4 it felt awkward. We were pretty sure they wouldn’t be able to see us without binoculars, but it was still a strange, exposed feeling.
There was no place on the site to walk, explore or get wood. There was a trail, it came to an ended quickly. We paddled into the bay behind the site and found a pile of bear poop just up the shore from our site that was the size of a soccer ball – a purple soccer ball – I guess the bear was enjoying the blackberries.
The swimming wasn’t great at the site. We tried walking in at the beach takeout, but it was shallow and rocky. We discovered you could climb to the water over the rock that faces site #4, but it was tricky getting down to the water. Once there however, it was actually very nice deep water swimming. If your knees are under 60 years old you would be fine. There is a take out in the bay as well but we didn’t use it but it looked good.
As mentioned, we had to stay on George for two nights because of booking challenges. However, it was actually a good thing. It gave us time to explore George Lake something we have never done before. We usually go from the George Lake campground to the portage, on a tight timeline. Staying on George Lake two days gave us time to explore the shoreline. It is a very pretty lake, with granite on one side and white quartz on the other. Very big cliffs, a little hidden lake and breathtaking white rock walls.
One morning when we arrived back at the site after a paddle, we found that someone had been at the site. They had spelled out HI with rocks. Our dog’s toy was on the beach. What mixed feelings. The HI with the rocks was cute, but knowing someone was walking around our site while we were away didn’t feel as nice. It is hard to get the city out of your head sometimes. Later that day a family stop to ask if they could have lunch at our site and let the kids have a swim. We said no because we didn’t feel like socializing and our dog hates 
people, especially kids, so he would have barked the entire time. We did direct them to a good lunch and swimming spot though. We didn’t want to have people at our site, but it felt antisocial to say no. Turns out we are all comfortable with antisocial. If you want privacy, George Lake is not the answer, it is a busy lake.
Things we loved about the site – it had a great view up the lake ideal place to enjoy a morning coffee. It was also a perfect stargazing rock. The takeout is easy, the tent sites flat. There is a cozy campfire area as well.
We were off to a good start. Now we were on our way to Killarney Lake for four days.
Killarney Lake Site 19
We left Site 5 and paddled about 30 seconds to the portage. The paddle was easy. It was sunny and warm and there was very little wind on George Lake which is unusual. On a nice day like this we knew the portages into Freeland Lake and Killarney Lake would be very busy with daytrippers. It was nice to see so many people over 60 (well they looked to be over 60). We were in good company. This year our ages ranged from 59 to 78.
We arrived at Killarney Lake with the crowds. We took our time on the portages and we made sure to keep our canoes off to the side so others had room to come and go. While launching we saw a woman try to get in the canoe with a pack on her back. She lost her balance and fell into the water. We all gasped but she was OK. However, her boyfriend laughed hysterically. We all agreed he might need some sensitivity training.
Only a bit of wind on Killarney Lake, which was very unusual and it made us very happy. We were on site 19, a very steep site about halfway up the lake. The hike up and down to the water was not easy. It was slippery with the loose rocks. But the thing about a steep site, you get a great view. We had a great view of the lake in both directions. The site was also very private because it is so far away from the water. We got a workout but have no injuries to report.
Even though the trip up to the site was steep, the takeout was very easy. It was also beautiful. There was a rock ledge of white quartz, with beautiful red markings. Funny when you are in Killarney you start taking quartz for granted but rock like this anywhere else would be awe inspiring. We did take the canoes up the hill so they were out of the wind. After last year’s $1,200 accident, we are very careful where we put the canoes now.
There were a few possible tent sites but many did not look like they would be good if we got rain. Pegging the tents was hard because the site is mostly quarts. We tied ropes around rocks and hoped we were sheltered enough from the wind that the rocks would hold.
Camping on a cliff is always beautiful, but we had to keep the dog close. One morning I was swimming and looked up and there was his little head sticking over the edge of the cliff watching me swim. That dog will be the death of me.
Staying for four days gave us a lot of time to explore Killarney Lake. You can even paddle into a bay and see the top of the Crack.
One night we saw lights across the lake, flashlights and a campfire. We were curious since there were no sites across from us. So the next day we paddled past and discovered people camped in a non campsite location. There was a clearing back in from the shore but it was hard to see because the bush was thick near the shore. It was a very dark site, no sunshine at all. It was also clearly not the first time someone had camped there. It would only be possible to find if you knew it was there. They looked away when we paddled past, I guess hoping we didn’t see them. We are wondering if this is common in Killarney since we saw it happen three times over the summer. We are not sure where they park cars and how people know about these non sites. It doesn’t seem fair given how hard it is to get a site in the park. Perhaps this is the reason people make their own sites. It was not a site I would want and not something I would do, but without enough people working for Ontario Parks it will likely keep happening. I was told to contact the park when I see this type of thing but unlike the last time, this couple were not doing any harm. The other situation was a large group of people on a very small island.
While on #19 we saw people stop near our site and leave their canoes on shore to hike up a path. They hiked up the hill with backpacks. We heard them return later in the day. They must have been hiking all afternoon.
Site #19 has a special surprise if you follow the trail that goes past the KYBO. I am not saying any more, but trust me, it is worth going for a little walk.
The swimming at this site is excellent, the rock is beautiful, the view is spectacular. Paddling in the mornings is highly recommended because the wind tends to pick up around noon.
OSA Lake Site 64
We packed up to leave before lunch for the short trip into OSA Lake. The people taking over our site had been staying at a site just up the lake and must have been watching because they started over when they saw us bringing things down to the water. They had to wait a bit while we packed up so we felt a bit rushed, but they were very nice. They had little kids with them. Not sure I would relax with the cliff and kids, but how great to expose kids to Killarney.
So off we went to OSA. The lift-over was not as easy as it was the few weeks before. There hadn’t been any rain so the water levels were down, but it was still pretty easy. We always do the lift-over and the short portage but I think we see more people using the longer portage. The lift-over and short portage are easier but a bit more fiddly.
OSA was lovely as always.
Site 64 was another steep site, but not as rocky. We definitely earned our mountain goat badge on this trip. There were two paths up and down to the water. The options were short and very steep or long and less steep. This site didn’t have much rock at the shore and it was steep so it was not as nice as the last site for sitting beside the water or swimming. It is also tucked in behind islands and the view from the main part of the site was a bit limited unless you were standing close to the shore. I love sites that have a wide open forest, and this definitely had that to offer.
We found two flat tent pads. The forecast was for rain and several of the options looked like they would be in the path of any runoff. We didn’t have rain so it was all good.
The site was OK, the swimming was OK, the sunrise was lovely, the privacy was OK even though there were people a few feet away on the little island site. The mice in the KYBO were bold and did not want to leave when we lifted the seat. There was some firewood but it required going for a long walk.
The best part of OSA are the day paddles. It is just so beautiful. As we explored we were fascinated by this very bright green algae, hope it was algae. We also found an old sunken boat. We explored an island and found an old cabin that must have fallen in years ago. We heard that there had been a fire on the island and there was a helicopter pad built on one end of the island.
One day we were out for a paddle and saw big storm clouds and decided to head back, quickly. There was a lot of thunder and very dramatic clouds, but no rain. However, we could see the storm over the Crack. The people on the Crack would have been very wet.
We had discovered in an earlier trip that you can get a few ‘bars’ on our phone near the portage, so we paddled up the lake to the island with our signal booster every day to check for emails. Sad but true.
One afternoon we decided to paddle up the lake to an island to check messages. We didn’t know how bad the winds were until we got out past the little islands, then we started flying down the lake. We were down the entire lake in minutes. We aimed for an island and it was almost impossible to get turned in and land. It was hard to hold the boat still. We quickly got emails and left. We went around the end of the island toward the right shore to head back up the lake. Lifejackets on, dog on the bottom of the canoe, stomach in knots, off we went. What a workout! It was so hard. We finally made it back to the shelter of the islands and across to our site.
George Lake Site 4
We had a beautiful, calm, sunny day for our paddle out, however, half way across OSA the wind picked up and we just sailed to the portage. The wind was howling on OSA, but totally calm on the other side of the portage. Even the trip across Killarney was calm – very strange. We got to the portage and no one was there. So strange because this portage to Freeland, is usually so busy. We did enjoy having the whole portage to ourselves. None of us thought to ask “why are there no people on this portage?” Especially on such a beautiful day. We were to find out very soon.
We paddled out into Freeland thinking we would just float while we waited for our paddling partners to load up. We didn’t get far before we hit wind. This was not a breeze, this was like a wind tunnel wind. Not a lot of waves, but it was impossible to wait so we started paddling. It was without a doubt the most challenging paddle we have ever had. So weird not to have waves when the wind was so wild. But the wind was pushing back harder than we were propelling ourselves forward. Freeland is marshy and shallow with only a channel down the middle so tucking into shore was not an option. We tried, looking for deep areas to follow. We even got to shore at one point so we could all rest. Yes there was a lot of yelling and swearing going on in both canoes but we could not even hear each other the wind was so loud. The wind was too strong to stop or to turn around to talk. When you have hearing aids wind is a big challenge!
On a normal day the trip up Freeland would take about 20 minutes. It took us over an hour. We were all thinking “What the hell are we going to find on George Lake?” We got to the portage to George Lake exhausted and irritable. We discovered what we had expected, wind and waves. The wind on the portage was so strong we could not even talk. The men were sure we could get to our site on George Lake because it was just around the corner from the portage. However, it would mean loading the canoe in giant waves then paddling across these waves when we were all very tired. The females in the group said safety first. So we put our stuff off to the side of the portage and followed a path up the hill to a sheltered area so we could at least talk. We were hungry so we took our chairs up the hill and had our lunch. We tried to ignore the fact that people obviously used this area as a portage bathroom.
From there we could monitor the trees in the channel. We kept watching to determine how bent over they were.
At one point someone went down to get something and saw one canoe coming up the lake, then they disappeared. We hoped they had landed somewhere. A while later we heard a crash and went to investigate, we found the solo paddler. He explained that there were warnings at the George Lake campground not to go out on the lake, but he had a site on OSA and he only had a few days so he didn’t want to wait. How he make it up George Lake is a mystery even with the wind behind him. He told us that he took shelter in one of the bays but then found he could not get back out. The crash we heard was his canoe. He tried to lift it but the wind pulled it out of his hands and it crashed on the dock. We helped him with his canoe and wished him well as he headed up Freeland. He would be fine until he got to OSA. I hope the wind had died by then.
So there we sat, wind bound for the first time ever. We have experienced high winds and challenging paddles, but never anything like this. I think part of the ‘drama’ was the sound. We waited for several hours before it was calm enough to load up the canoes. We paddled straight out into the wind then we turned quickly and paddled with the wind at our backs, back in towards our site.
We were staying at Site #4, thank goodness. It was close to the portage. We were all talking about what would have happened if we had to paddle to the George Lake Campground. It would have been very late by the time we would have arrived at the cars.
We stayed on Site #4 years ago and loved it. We were sad to find that it is a very tired site now. It is a treed site and it was late in the day so we ended up cooking in the dark with headlamps. We were quick to bed that night.
Our final day and paddle out was much better. Waves and wind, but manageable. We had breakfast on the rock, packed up and started out to George Lake campground.
Sadly, I was the only one in the group talking about wanting to come back.
On the way home I had a brilliant idea – an all women’s trip to Killarney Lake with a visit to the Crack. Time to start planning.
