The Barron Canyon

On the east side of Algonquin, after a 50 km stretch of dirt road from Pembroke, is Archray Campground. Small by Algonquin standards, this 45 site campground features many sites on the shore of Grand Lake. Aside from its beauty and the sense of being in the interior (especially in late April), this was the site of the ranger station that Tom Thomson of the group of 7 (well, more or less) stayed. The log cabin he stayed is is still there, and a short trail takes you to the place where he sketched the painting of the Jack Pine - although the tree itself is long gone. Two other hiking trails are available. The Berm Lake trail, sharing some trailway with the eastern pines backpacking trail (14.5 km) travels around Berm Lake, while the Barron Canyon Trail provides a stunning viewpoint of the canyon from a cliff. Here we met a lady visiting from Dublin while her son competes in a playboating (crazy kayaking) tournament. I promise to post some more pictures both from the camp ground and Barron Canyon. Its amazing there, I was quite pleasently surprised.