I went camping last weekend to Algonquin Park. I just love that place. I went canoeing with my youngest son (6), my brother and his oldest daughter (7). Keeping it simple for the kids, we decided to do Rain lake. Padding from the put-in to the opposite end of the lake, where we made camp, only took about an hour. The kids enjoyed the short paddle and so did we.
We stayed for 2 nights in the same site. This gave us the entire day Saturday to hike, fish, paddle, etc... The kids managed to run around and make up their own games like all kids should. The weather was ideal, overcast and about 20C. Just warm enough that you could wear shorts and a t-shirt and just cold enough that the mosquitoes didn't bother us too much. As a matter of fact I didn't wear any bug spray the entire weekend. There were a couple of quick showers but they didn't dampen our spirits (no pun intended).
The site we stayed at was nice and large. It was located right beside a smaller, feeding lake that had no sites or water access. There was a trail that went over to it and you could honestly say there was no one else there with you. I enjoy the solitude, which is why I camp.
Rain lake is a long, narrow lake. The put-in and first 15-20 minutes looks more like a river. I like this setup over larger lakes for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the kids don't get board as easily; secondly I feel like I'm making progress as the scenery glides by; and finally, when the wind picks up you don't have to battle large waves.
Because Rain lake is not off of Hwy 60 it's not as busy as the bigger, easier to access lakes. Once you pull off of hwy 11 at Emsdale it's about 10 minutes to the ranger station in Kearney. Then it's another half hour down this terrible dirt road before you arrive at the put-in. Most young adults don't appear to like this extra hassle and thus the lake is less crowded.
