Mew Lake Campground, Algonquin Park May 2017
It’s that time again… our annual Mew Lake Algonquin camping family trip where we travel with extended family for a week. The majesty of provincial parks that beckons us yearly. We endure the sometimes cold and wet, but marvel at the wildlife, the tranquility and frankly before this year have been fortunate enough to enjoy warm (20C+) temperatures and even dips in the lakes (whose ice had only receded 1 week prior to our arrival).
Our stay takes us to Mew Lake Campground each year. We travel early May for one specific reason, okay, maybe two reasons. REASON #1: NO… and this is critical… NO BUGS!…. In years past, this trip was done in June but under the curtain of bug nets and a fog of bugspray. And this year proved the same we were out and about any time of day and not a mosquito or black fly in sight.
REASON #2: Wildlife is typically more prevalent during this time of year. We experienced fewer sightings this year but still had a chance to see moose, red fox, beaver, loons, fish, chipmunks, turtles, and even a marten.
Inaugural camper trip
This year also had our maiden voyage of our recently purchased ‘vintage’ pop-up camper (another post to follow). This change from a tent to a camper was perfect timing as it turned out we had 4 out of 7 days of rain. Having a floor, roof, and a screen room certainly made the experience!
With our electric site, we made use of a ceramic heater we brought along so the below-freezing nights were toasty warm in the camper. A few mornings we even awoke to ice in our wash basin! The morning after we left, other family who had stayed an extra night awoke to a snow covered site. And yes that’s a snow pile leftover behind our camper in the photo below. The ice on the lakes had just come off a few days earlier and snowbanks along the south side of Hwy 60 were still visible in the shade. The snowbank was handy to keep the kids amused while we setup and who needs a cooler for drinks when you have a snowbank!
Algonquin Activities
When the rain finally stopped, we managed to squeeze in a whole host of activities:
Hike/trail:
A hike through the Logging Museum trail is an annual tradition. Bird watching, climbing the alligator, watching logs travel down the log chute… all annual highlights of the kids. The museum was still closed but you can still walk the trail and it’s a very easy trail to get through even with the little ones. There’s buildings to explore, nature to marvel at and quiet of the park to just sit and listen to the sounds of nature.
Beach time:
Beach time was even squeezed in when the rain clouds finally took a break! The kids were knee deep in Mew Lake playing in the sand!
Biking:
The sunny day also saw bike time on the old rail line. From Mew Lake Campground, you can easily access the trail that runs across the old airfield and join up to the old rail line trail. It’s a stunning trail that runs alongside a river that was so full that mini rapids were visible and you could hear them for quite a distance. The bike ride is fairly flat but we did have to move a few fallen trees that had blocked the path.
Rainy Days:
And the rainy days… this year there were more than a couple… so on the days with lots of rain, there were lots of games in the camper with family, a few drives around the park, trips to the visitor’s center to get reacquainted with the exhibits, and trips to local restaurants… because after cooking and eating in the cold and rain… sometimes, you just want a nice hot meal in a warm dry environment.
And on one of the final days after going for an evening drive through Algonquin, we drove back ‘home’ and had top stop to capture the sunset pictured below. Untouched with no filters or editing… and magically just on my phone….this is the beauty that is Algonquin Park and the picture doesn’t really do it justice.
