Special Insider Offers

Whether it is a weekend escape or full week vacation, plan your autumn getaway with Ontario Parks. Discover the special places, art galleries and landscapes around the Killarney, French River and Sudbury regions with your FREE copy of An Artist’s and Photographer’s Guide to Wild Ontario (Value $29.95) and Canadian Geographic Trans-Canada Ecotour Guide (Value $14.95).

Click here for details on these special autumn getaway offers.

Ask an Expert

What’s new and exciting in Killarney? Just ask Mike Lavin, the park’s Natural Heritage Education Co-ordinator. A couple of years ago, Mike began travelling through an area recently added to the park. So, if you’re looking for a new place to paddle, especially if you’re an American who is crossing over at the Sault Ste. Marie border, then this part of Killarney is for you.

Routes range from three to five days. Mike’s pick, however, is a four-day loop beginning at either Lake Panache Marina or Walker Lake public launch. You can reach the marina by taking Highway 17 and Regional Road 55. It’s about 30 kilometres west of Sudbury. For Walker Lake public launch, drive south on Highway 6 through Espanola and turn left on Panache Lake Road. The nearby Mountain Cove Lodge provides parking and accommodations.

The route is best paddled counterclockwise, from Walker Lake to Bear, High Basson, Panache and back to Walker. You can take a number of side trips from Bear Lake, allowing you to travel throughout the northern portion of Killarney Provincial Park itself.

Did You Know?

The grains of sand that make up the rock of the La Cloche Mountains have a very old story to tell. These white peaks comprise quartz sandstone, a very hard version of sandstone, made from sand grains once contained in ancient beaches.

Three billion years ago, a huge chain of mountains was rising north of where Killarney is today. They were part of the oldest rock of the Canadian Shield, known as the “Superior Province”. For 500 million years, the wind, rain and ice of glaciers beat down on them, eroding away the great high mountains.

Great rivers flowed from these mountains to a wide shallow sea, creating wide deltas of sand, which built into very thick layers in the sea, as deep as 12 kilometres. The weight of more sediment on top of that created pressure and heat, cementing the sand into sandstone.

A little over 2 billion years ago, geological events in the area became more intense; a period of mountain building began which caused the sandstone sedimentary rock to fold and lift up. The rock became harder and changed into quartz sandstone.

The folding sedimentary rock formed anticlines, or long ridges, and synclines, or valleys. The anticlines and synclines rose higher and higher – geologists think they may have risen higher than the Rockies. They are known as the Penokean Mountains, and once stretched from Lake Huron to North Dakota.

About a billion years ago, a small continent “floated” in from the south called the Grenville Province (now central Ontario, including Algonquin Provincial Park). Mountains began to form in the Grenville as well, and great bubbles of molten granite rose to the surface between the Penokean Mountains and the Grenville Province. These pink granite rocks now form the Georgian Bay shoreline and islands at the south end of the park, and the Granite Ridge hiking trail crosses it.

Once the mountain building was over, erosion again took over as the key force in shaping the La Cloche Mountains. By the time the glaciers of the ice age had covered Killarney and most of Canada, the tops of the mountains (anticlines) had eroded away, and in some places the valley bottoms (synclines) were higher.

The glaciers ground away at the rock, removing hundreds of metres of height from the mountains. This process continued till about 10,000 years ago, when the glaciers melted and the Great Lakes covered the La Cloche Mountains – at times they were just a chain of islands. As the waters receded, clear blue lakes were left behind, perched on mountain tops.

Much of the sand and gravel the glaciers left behind elsewhere was washed away in Killarney. The park’s forests are thick in the valleys, but make a hard living in the cracks and crevices of the white hills. The bare white mountain tops are a reminder of the forces that shape the earth.

Follow in Famous Footsteps

While Killarney’s rugged landscape has attracted artists such as Robert Bateman and Bill Mason, it was the Group of Seven, who first exposed this painter’s paradise to the vast majority of the world. Their search for Canada’s true “wild country” took them to many places. However, Killarney and La Cloche gave them the very best canvasses.

The first member of the Group to see the quartzite hills was Franklin Carmichael. His brother-in-law, E.R. Went, had told Carmichael about the beauty of the area. He was hesitant at first, feeling that a true artist should never be told where to find his inspiration. But in 1926, Carmichael finally visited a relative who lived near Whitefish Falls. From Tower Hill he saw the hills, the water and the islands, and was instantly captivated.

Grace Lake, in the north west portion of the park, was always a Carmichael favourite. From there he would head up the ridge to the north or clamber up the steep incline to the south, and sketch the mound of quartz separating Grace and Nellie lakes. He also liked to paint the many hidden waterfalls in the deep valleys between Cranberry and Grace, and Nellie and Murray lakes.

Carmichael’s artistic expression was based on a panoramic view of the landscape. The Baie Fine ridge, the Bay of Islands area, and the North Channel gave him this perspective, as did “Old Baldy,” an outcrop of quartzite which the artist’s sketching companions dubbed Mt. Carmichael. It was on this particular ridge that he painted “Northern Tundra,” an inspired portrait of Killarney’s rugged topography.

The North Pole

In July 1863, the steamer Plough Boy docked in the town of Killarney to let off a group of adventurers, led by James McCormick of Toronto. The group unloaded their supplies, including several horses, wagons, buggies, dogs, hand sleds, toboggans, harnesses for both horse and dog, and a good supply of “medicinal” whisky. Camp was made by the main street, and the men set about preparing for their expedition – to the North Pole!

In a month’s time the farthest the men had travelled was to the top of Silver Peak, Killarney’s highest point, for they frequently returned to base camp for more medicine. When the liquor ran out, so did the dreams of reaching the North Pole. The expedition was soon forgotten, all the equipment sold, and the party members returned home.

Recipe - Camp Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup dried apples, chopped
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or apple pie spice mix
Hot water to just cover fruit in pot
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except nuts in a pot and let soak until fruit re-hydrates - about 15 minutes. Meanwhile combine the following:

1/4 - 1/2 cup oatmeal
3 tbsp. flour
4 heaping tbsp. margarine
3 tbsp. brown sugar
A pinch of salt (optional)

Mix together with hands to a crumbly consistency. Grease a fry pan. Add nuts to fruit mixture and pour into pan. (If there is a lot of liquid, stir in 1 tbsp. flour.) Cover with oatmeal mix. Bake, using a small campfire, for about 15 minutes until heated through and browned on top.

Nearby and Interesting

Located just west of the Park, the town of Killarney is well worth a visit. Some key highlights include:

Herbert Fish & Chips is world famous and shouldn’t be missed. It's located on the main street of Killarney, (705) 287-2214. But hurry, they are open until October 8th

Killarney Mountain Lodge and Outfitters

Killarney Museum, located on Commissioner’s Street in Killarney

Be sure to stop at Ontario Parks French River Visitor Centre located on Hwy 69 at French River. It’s only open until October 8th. Call 705-857-1630 for more details.

The City of Greater Sudbury has some great attractions including Science North and Dynamic Earth.

Share a Tale or Say It with Photos

Debbie of Calgary wrote telling us that it was at Rushing River Provincial Park where she found the best campsite she had ever had. "As I ate my supper the sun was setting and the full moon began to rise in the east. What a perfect afternoon and evening. The next morning I watched the sun rise and the world wake up. A mother loon feeding her chick kept me entertained throughout breakfast. It truly made it difficult to leave the province of Ontario behind as I had such a great summer camping in your provincial parks."

For a chance to have your story or photo featured in an upcoming issue of the Insider, email us your story or photos today! Everyone who makes a submission will also be entered into a monthly draw for great parks gear!

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