Canada Guide
Ontario
Algonquin Provincial Park
Created in 1893 at the behest of logging companies keen to keep the farmers out, Algonquin Provincial Park ( 
www.algonquinpark.on.ca ) is Ontario's oldest and largest provincial park and for many it comprises the quintessential Canadian landscape. Located on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, the park straddles a transitional zone, with the hilly two-thirds to the west covered in a hardwood forest of sugar maple, beech and yellow birch, whilst in the drier eastern part jack pines, white pines and red pines predominate. Throughout the park, the lakes and rocky rounded hills are interspersed with black spruce bogs, a type of vegetation typical of areas far further north. Canoeing is very popular here and with an astounding 1600km of routes there's a good chance of avoiding all contact for days on end. Wildlife is as varied as the flora – any trip to Algonquin is characterized by the echo of birdsong, from the loons' ghostly call to the screech of ravens. Beavers, moose, black bears and raccoons are all resident, as are white-tailed deer.
Access to the park is via either the West Gate, 45km from Huntsville on Hwy 60, or – if you are arriving from Ottawa and points east – the East Gate. A day-pass costs $13 per vehicle. The two gates are linked by the 56km-long Parkway Corridor – also known as the Frank McDougall Parkway – the park's only road.
Strung along the Parkway Corridor are eight park campsites. The cost of a pitch, covering a car and up to six people, is $26–35, and reservations are well-nigh essential ( 
519/826-5290 or 1-888/668-7275, www.ontarioparks.com ). In addition, log cabins built by early rangers are rented out for $50–80 per person per night.
Also lining the Parkway Corridor are several privately owned lodges and mini-resorts. Perhaps the best is 
Killarney Lodge ( 705/633-5551, www.killarneylodge.com ; Price: $241 and over including meals; May to mid-Oct), whose cosy, prettily painted log cabins dot a spindly promontory that hooks out into the Lake of Two Rivers (at Km 32). A second good option is Bartlett Lodge ( 705/633-5543 or 1-866/614-5355, www.bartlettlodge.com ; Price: $176-240 including meals; mid-May to mid-Oct), comprising a scattering of older cabins overlooking Cache Lake at Km 23. The lodge can only be reached by boat – pick up the marked phone at the jetty and someone will come to get you.