Long Lake Canoe Trip in Kawartha Highlands

September is probably one of our favorite times to go tripping since the days are warm, the nights are cool and there are minimal bugs. Again I was watching the Ontario Parks reservation site and almost didn’t plan this trip. Why you ask? Keep reading.

While on the parks website I was able to find a couple of sites open for Kawartha Highlands for a Saturday night, however, it meant taking a couple of portages before reaching the site. Not a big issue, but not ideal for a single night. I opted to wait before booking and when checking back the next day a site opened up on Long Lake! This required NO portages and a paddle of about 45 minutes. Score!! These are the kinds of conditions that make it super easy to convince my two boys to go for the night. So I booked the site and we started gathering and preparing gear and food for the trip.

We have camped many times at Kawartha with it almost feeling like a second home we come here so often. Staying on Long Lake was also a first, even though I have paddled it before as well as Hayden. This would be Dan’s first time on Long Lake. The put in was busy that afternoon but it took us no time to load our gear and push off from the sandy beach.

Afternoon Paddle to the Site

With some head winds for that day, we hugged the shore and meandered in and around the islands part way down the lake. I have not yet paddled on the one side of these islands, so we opted for that direction. It was a great decision as we were treated with a Blue Heron just chilling on the shoreline.

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Once arriving at our site, we set up, gathered fire wood and also get our tarp set up over the fire pit. There was chances of rain for the afternoon into evening and we wanted to have a fire and a place to keep dry…..

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Well, we are in need of a new tarp…the rain came and our tarp that we have had for the last 18 years no longer works. The seams leak as well as any spots where the water sits. It managed to keep the majority of the area dry, but I will be looking to buy something new for next season.

Supper and New Gear

Promo plug anyone? LOL. A few years ago I had received a KIHD stove and have yet to try it out, even though it has come on many trips. This trip I was making sure to change that. Knowing that we didn’t want to have a huge fire to boil our water for supper, this stick stove created the perfect scenario. It uses small sticks that are easily found around camp and we had boiling water in just under 10 minutes. I’m not sure if this is a long or short time as I never have really timed the boiling of water on the fire before, but we were happy with the results. It was great and easy to use as even my son was able to stuff the stove with sticks.

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Our supper was a combination of OTG Meals and and OTG Meal Dessert!!! Yes dessert from this company!!! The hardest part about these meals is waiting the 12-15 minutes for the food to hydrate. While waiting I tried to take pictures of the cookie dessert, but as you can see someones one impatient and tried to grab some.

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Evening Activities

With our bellies full we decided to pass the evening by fishing and just enjoying the quiet evening. Hayden managed to catch some rocks and trees underwater and got the line stuck multiple times. There was one fish that went to the line once, but after that nothing. He loves just being able to cast a line and try for a bit.

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With the skies clearing we enjoyed a beautiful night by the campfire and burned pretty much every piece of wood we collected. Soon it was time to go to bed and with the cooler evening temperatures it would be a great nights sleep.

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Sunday Morning

I’m not your usual morning person, but I found myself up before the sun rose to visit the privy and get the food barrel down, just in time to watch the sun come up over the water.

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Hayden started our fire that morning while I got water boiling for our breakfast and hot drinks. I decided to sit by the waters edge drinking my hot tea and watchg the sun rise higher on the horizon. The morning mist of the lake was swirling around creating really intriguing patterns that mesmerized us all. It was a combination of the morning Sun and the cool breeze that made these neat patterns.

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We knew that the winds would be picking up again soon, so we decided to hit the water earlier than we would have liked to avoid paddling against headwinds. We had a head wind yesterday and didn’t want that again today. As usual, Hayden assumed his canoe paddling position as the two of us paddled the short 45 mins back to the dock. Sure enough the winds started as we got closer to our beach and our vehicle. Luckily we made it out before it got too bad.

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Before too long we were home and unpacking our gear, letting things air and dry out before we plan more adventures. As of now, this was our last foreseeable paddling trip of the season. Little did I know that I would have one more paddling trip a few weeks later.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about Kawartha Highlands. I’m sure we will be back again next summer where the plan is to visit other lakes that are new to all of us. Please leave a comment below about lakes you have visited in Kawartha and any sites you have particular liked.