Dates : September 20 to 22, 2026
Total Distance Traveled: 23.6km Portages : 5 Total Portage Distance : 1630m
Introduction
Back in the summer of 2017, a friend of mine from Japan came to visit me in Canmore with his son, where we did an overnight canoe camping in Kananaskis Provincial Park in Alberta. It was a 30 minute paddle across a reservoir to a backcountry site with closely spaced tent pads, a common kitchen area, and metal food lockers. Not exactly a hardcore outing, but one that was more than sufficient for my friends son, who was just 9 years old.
Almost a decade later, my friend was back with his son to do another adventure. This time, we’d be doing a more serious trip in one of the most iconic canoe camping destinations in North America – Algonquin Provincial Park. Of course, Momo, the portage puppy, would be tagging along as well.
Our destination would be Ragged Lake, which ironically was also the first lake I ever stayed on in Algonquin. To give our three day trip some variety, we’d move to Parkside Bay the following day before returning to the Smoke Lake access point via a set of longer portages.
September 20,, 2026
Day 1 – Smoke Lake (Access Point #6) to Ragged Lake
Distance Covered : 9.3km
Portages : 1 (250m)
Total Portage Distance : 250m
Total Time : 1:55hrs
For this trip, we decided to rent a 3-seat, 17′ canoe from Algonquin Outfitters. Unlike my first outing with my friend, where we were able to squeeze into my 16′ canoe, his son was now bigger than either us, and I knew that my H2O Alpha canoe would be pressed to its limit.
Having Algonquin Outfitters leave our canoe at the Smoke Lake access point saved me a lot of time when it came to loading and unloading my Jeep, but we still decided to leave Toronto at 7:30am since the days were getting much shorter.
Upon arriving at the access point, we took some time to organize and divide our gear before launching the canoe just past noon.
What a difference from our last canoe trip together. Smoke Lake must be around five times the size of the lake we paddled on nine years ago, and now that my friend’s son was fully grown, his paddle strokes were strong. This was the first time I paddled the stern in a three-person setup, and was amazed at how fast we were moving.
Before long, we hit the first portage into Ragged Lake, where we did a single carry with me carrying the canoe. The Swift canoe was noticeably heavier than my H2O, but it was manageable.
Once on Ragged, we decided to paddle south into West Bay to try and grab a westward-facing campsite to take advantage of the sun. The campsite on the northern point of West Bay was taken, but we were able to grab the island site, which was quite stunning. Perched around 10m above a sandy embankment, it resembled a fortress from the water. The views from the top were among the best I’ve seen, and the island itself had plenty of space.
Unfortunately, as is the case with a lot of popular sites, there was some signs of overuse in the form of litter, including a fishing line with hooks lying in the sand. Thankfully, my friend caught that before Momo stepped on it. I also found scattered toilet paper near the back of the island.
The other problem with island campsites was the lack of firewood. Since we had plenty of time, we decided to paddle to shore to grab some firewood for the night. While getting into the canoe, Momo refused to get in so we left her on the island. Upon pushing off in the canoe, she let out some brief cries and sat on the shore until we came back.
September 21, 2026
Day 2 – Ragged Lake to Parkside Bay
Distance Covered : 4.6km
Portages : 0
Total Portage Distance :
Total Time : 0:56 hrs
The second day of this trip was perhaps one of the easiest canoe camping days I’ve ever had. It only involved traveling a few kilometers with no portages.
But with that being said, we woke up at 7am and left relatively early at 10:30am to beat the crowds. I knew that Parkside Bay had a dense grouping of campsites, so we wanted to grab a decent site with relative privacy.
Within 30 minutes, we were paddling into the mouth of Parkside Bay, where we noticed that some of the more decent looking campsites were already taken. This was partially a blessing because the campsite we eventually settled on was perhaps one of the best I’ve stayed at. Located on a point, it had great access to water along with a tiny beach complete with firepit. The common area also had some basic furniture surrounding the main fire pit, and there was plenty of room for tents.
The Bay itself was beautiful, but I’d probably want to avoid it in the middle of summer since we could see five other campsites from our point. Only one was occupied, but during the summer, it could get a little distracting.
Since we arrived at 11:30am, we took our time to set up camp and have lunch before we moved onto the biggest chore – collecting firewood. The forecast called for overnight temperatures of 3C so we gathered enough firewood for the evening and the next morning. A series of faint trails behind the thunderbox led us deep into the forest, where we were able to cut and then process plenty of firewood.
September 22, 2026
Day 3 – Parkside Bay to Smoke Lake (Access Point #6)
Distance Covered : 9.6km
Portages : 4 (350m, 280m, 180m, 670m)
Total Portage Distance : 1380m
Total Time : 2:49 hrs
As with almost all of my trips, the final day of our trip was just a paddle back to the Access Point. Since my friends were catching a flight at Toronto Pearson International at 8pm, we left our campsite at 9:30am to be back in downtown Toronto by mid afternoon so they’d have some to hang out before catching their flight.
Despite a few portages and a choppy Smoke Lake, we were able to return to our car by 12:30pm where we quickly packed up and started driving.
Sadly, Highway 11 was closed due to construction, which stopped traffic and forced us take many detours, which led to me dropping my friends off directly at the airport. The drive from Smoke Lake back to my house took nearly 7 hours! That’s a new record and a very disappointing way to end a peaceful relaxing trip.
Final Thoughts
This was my fourth time on Ragged Lake in just over a year, but this particular trip was the most memorable since I was able to do it with a friend who I’ve known for such a long time. Back on Canada Day in 2002, my friend joined me and two others on a backpacking trip on the Western Uplands trail in Algonquin, so it was nice to reminisce about the past.
What made this trip especially interesting was seeing how much had changed since then. When my friend first brought his son to Canada in 2017, he was only nine years old. Now, almost a decade later, that same kid was sitting in the our canoe, helping us paddle across Algonquin. It made me realize just how quickly life passes by.
And then there was Momo. Back in 2017, my friend’s son was the youngest member of our little adventure, and this time it was Momo’s turn to be the rookie. She’s still only a puppy, but she’s already been on more canoe trips than most dogs will ever see. I have no idea how many more Algonquin trips we’ll have together, or what she’ll be like years from now, but I suspect I’ll look back on these early adventures with her the same way I look back on those trips with my friend and his son. The people (and dogs) change, but there’s something pretty special about having Algonquin there through all of it.