Kayak Joeperry Lake – Bon Echo Provincial Park

Joeperry Lake is one of 8 lakes found in 20,000 acre Bon Echo Provincial Park.  While access involves a long carry in, read on for views of the remote beauty at this spot.

Read on for more about what to expect when you kayak Joe Perry Pake at Bon Echo Provincial Park, or visit our Where to Paddle page for links to more great kayaking destinations in Southern Ontario and beyond.

Our Recommended Trip

Put In / Take Out:  NOTE:  This launch involves a 500m carry-in from the parking lot to the lake’s edge.  The route is a wide gravel path, but there are lots of turns and hills to navigate.

To access Joeperry Lake from the main park entrance, follow the Hardwood Hills/Joeperry Road which goes off under the Highway 41 Overpass.  Continue on this road until you get to the branch for Hardwood Hills/Joeperry, and then keep going straight to Joeperry Lake.  When you get to the end, there will be another branch leading off into 2 parking lots.  The access trail to the lake is at the far end of the parking lot on your left side, so park as close to the far end of the left parking lot as you can!

We used a kayak cart to carry our kayaks down to the lake.  We opted to stack 3 kayaks on top of eachother, using additional lashing straps from our car roof racks to secure the load.  It’s still a lot of work and still required 2 trips at the beginning and the end of the paddle, but we found that more efficient (and probably more ergonomically friendly) than shoulder carrying each kayak down that far.  If you use a kayak cart, you’ll want to really tie down well, because the bumps and hills will result in your kayak shifting around on the cart more than you would expect normally!

Trip Length:  7 km, 1-2 hours.  This didn’t cover the full lake, as we discovered a sand beach (marked in yellow on the map below) on the far side of the lake, and stopped here for a swim with the kids. We also took a very weird meandering paddle because we spied a family of loons out on the lake midway through and paddled in a different direction to get a bit closer.  They put on a good show for us, diving, feeding their juvenile, and singing.

You’ll see on the map below that Joeperry Lake and Pearson Lake connect.  When we visited in August, the marsh grasses were tall and the water levels were low enough that we didn’t attempt to paddle over to Pearson Lake.  If you wanted to push through to Pearson, a paddle around the full perimeter of the two lakes would be around 11.5 km (see second map below).  

Cost:  We were already camping in the provincial park, so didn’t have to pay any additional access fees, but you would have to pay access to the provincial park if you were looking at this for a day trip.

Degree of Difficulty:  Beginner friendly.  There is nothing overly difficult about this quiet lake paddle, except for the carry in.  It is, however, remote, so it takes a bit of planning.

Gear Recommendations

Life jackets and all Transport Canada required safety gear is always a must.  Sunscreen and sun hats are definitely recommended when you’re out on the water.

Given the distance of this carry-in, we recommend extra water and snacks as well as a head lamp.  We always have a first aid kit on board while kayaking, and I think in a more remote location that this would be a good add-on if you aren’t already carrying one.
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Backcountry Wilderness

If you’re headed out to Bon Echo Provincial Park, kayaking the Mazinaw Lakes is an absolute must-do.  But once you’ve explored on the usually very busy Mazinaw Lake, you might be looking for a nice quiet paddle spot as well.  You’re in luck!  Joeperry Lake is one of 8 lakes in beautiful Bon Echo Provincial Park.  While it requires a bit of planning and work due to the long carry in to the launch point, it’s definitely a spot worth seeing!

Below is a picture of 3 of our kayaks strapped on our Suspenz kayak cart.  We saved a few trips by loading more than one kayak on at a time, using additional lashing straps from the roof rack on our car to help ensure the kayaks were well secured.  The trail itself is wide, but it is bumpy and has turns and lots of hilly stretches, so we were lucky that the kayaks didn’t wiggle around too much or fall over.  We had an adult on the front and the back of the cart (on opposite sides) – to help keep it all upright.  We also load a lot of gear into the kayaks – water bottles, paddles, life jackets, etc – they’re all in the bottom kayak for the trip.

Once you get to the end of the trail, you’ll find the lake, and a couple of small docks, as well as a small locked shed (used by the outfitter).  You’ll also likely find wagons, carts, or gear left at the launch by campers using the backcountry sites.

​The lake is surrounded by back country campsites, and lots of coniferous trees.  While the parking lot had been fairly full, we found that the lake itself was quite quiet – we only saw one other group of kayakers, and toward the end, we saw a few canoes from one of the campsites launch for a sunset paddle.  Given the remote location and more challenging access, it doesn’t come as a surprise that it was as quiet as it was.

The week we visited Bon Echo was super hot, and so we had enticed the kids through the carry-in by promising a swim!  Joeperry Lake has a beautiful sand beach on the other side of the lake.  I marked it in yellow on the map above so you can find the location.  We pulled the kayaks into the shore, and we all dived in to cool down.  Water guns may have been involved!

Once we had cooled down, we headed back out on the lake again.  We saw a family of loons.  One of the parents kept diving for food to provide for the juvenile.  The juvenile was also diving, but it seemed like the parent was doing all of the catching of food!
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As the sun started to get lower, we headed back to the dock to start loading everything up for the carry out!  The water was clear and bright, and the sky was beautiful.  We loved this peaceful little lake, and would definitely recommend if if you’re looking for a quiet secluded spot to spend an afternoon or a day!

We chose to do this paddle toward the end of the afternoon, and we saw the sunset as we were loading up.  
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Additional Reading

Ontario Camping discussion about Bon Echo

Looking for more great spots to kayak at Bon Echo Provincial Park? Read our posts on the Mazinaw Lakes and Bon Echo Lake!

Outfitter Options

Bon Echo Outfitters will provide canoes at this lake.

More Kayaking Destinations

For more trip planning inspiration, don’t miss our Where to Paddle page for links to more great kayaking destinations in Southern Ontario and beyond.