Kayak the Barron Canyon, Algonquin Provincial Park
Want to kayak the Barron Canyon in Algonquin Provincial Park? If you’re up for a bit of portaging, you’ll love seeing the stunning cliffs of this glacial canyon.
Read on for more about what to expect when you kayak the Barron Canyon, or visit our Where to Paddle page for links to more great kayaking destinations in Southern Ontario and beyond.
Our Recommended Route
Put In / Take Out: Squirrel Rapids Parking Lot, Algonquin Provincial Park. 45.87175, -77.55992. From Sand Lake Gate, continue west on Barron Canyon Road for approximately 2km, turn left into the parking lot.
Trip Length: 16 KM round trip, including 900m (450m x 2) portaging, approximately 5-6 hours
No Shuttle Required: Unlike most river routes, this paddling route for the Barron Canyon does not require a shuttle, as you will be paddling upstream and then returning to your launch spot. While there is another way to get into the Barron Canyon coming down stream, this route isn’t generally accessible to kayakers due to the extensive portaging required around multiple rapids.
Cost: You will have to pay access to the provincial park if you are looking at this as a day trip; if you are already camping in the park, you won’t have to pay any additional access fees.
Degree of Difficulty: Intermediate, due to paddling distance to the canyon, rugged terrain for portaging and remote nature of this location.
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 paddle and its remote location, we recommend extra water and snacks, a head lamp, and a well-stocked first aid kit in case of emergency. Do not expect to have cell phone access in this end of Algonquin Park, so be prepared.
The Launch
The Barron Canyon is on the east side of Algonquin Park, much closer to Pembroke and Ottawa than to Toronto and the normal Highway 60 gateway that most of Southern Ontario residents use to access the park.
It is close to the Archray Campground, although this was already fully booked by the time we decided to go, and we chose alternate camping accommodations outside of Algonquin Park.
To access the Barron Canyon the way we did, you’ll access the Sand Lake Gate, and follow Barron Canyon Road to the Squirrel Rapids parking lot (see above for GPS coordinates). Here, there is a large parking lot that was easily able to accommodate trailers, and a sloped beach launch that made for easy access to the water. We had a bit of a carry from the end of the parking lot over to the launch. Once on the water, head upstream (away from the Barron Canyon Road – turn right from the launch.
You’ll paddle just over a kilometer upstream through a rocky and wooded area until you arrive at the (dreaded) portage.
To the left of the exit, you’ll see the rapids feeding into the Barron River. On the right, there’s a clearing with a well-marked portage sign. This is where you’ll need to unload.
That Portage
We had read a few Facebook group posts and a couple of blog entries made by canoers, and knew that the Barron Canyon would be doable in a kayak, but this was the first time that we had portaged our kayaks any great distance, and to top it off, we had a group of 9 boats to move from end to end.
This portage is not navigable with a kayak cart. Even at the outfitter where we stayed for the weekend, there was not a consensus on whether or not we could use a kayak cart during the portage. We had hoped to stack a few kayaks (still loaded with gear) onto the cart like we did to access Joeperry Lake in Bon Echo – but within a few feet of the portage trail, we realized that the cart was just a waste of weight. The photo below shows some of the terrain – rocks, roots, and up and down hills on a narrow trail – not something even our Suspenz cart could handle! Do yourself a favour, and leave the cart in your car.
450m is a short portage by Algonquin Park standards, but it is a long way to tote 9 loaded kayaks, especially when 3 of your kayakers are kids. They covered as many kilometers as the adults running gear back and forth, but it was a lot of effort to move our group through the portage.
A few things we learned and would do differently:
- Loaded kayaks are HEAVY! You’ll want to reconsider the gear you carry with you, but given the remote location, don’t compromise on safety gear.
- We found it was easier to unload and carry the kayaks and gear separately than to carry them loaded. This leads to point number 3!
- If you intend to carry your gear separately from your kayak over the portage, then you’ll want the gear packed in dry bags that are easy to unload and re-load – or in your life jacket pockets… Loose apples, water bottles, safety gear, sunglasses, you name it – these all add time to your unloading and reloading
- For any dry bags, pick ones with backpack straps. If you can fit a backpack into your hatch, this would be ideal, but it wasn’t something that we could fit in our recreational kayak hatches.
- Carrying water for a full day of paddling is a lot of extra weight. We usually carry 2.5-3L per person, and that adds up quickly. I think we would have been more efficient to bring a water filter to re-fill our water bottles mid-trip.
- A single person carrying a single kayak 450m isn’t very ergonomic. As the trail wasn’t wide enough to put a put 2 people side by side carrying 2 kayaks at the same time, we ended up forming a bit of a chain, where people had the back handle of the kayak in front of them, and the front handle of the kayak behind them. The front and back people carried gear. This would have moved all but one kayak at the same time, which would have been very efficient.
Portage finally complete, we were on our way again, and off to see the Canyon. But dreading the return portage even more!
The Lake
The launch after the portage was another gradual slope on a muddy bank, just to the side of the entry to the rapids. We headed straight out and while it’s still called the Barron River, the waters opened up into a wider, more lake-like area that had no noticeable current.
This was a wide and sunny area with little shelter around. It was a glorious sunny day, but I imagine this would be more difficult to cross if conditions were more windy.
It was obvious as we got closer to the entry of the Canyon as the river became narrower, and the banks became higher. Below is a photo of the point we reached on the Barron River where the Barron Canyon began.
We stopped for lunch on a small point before heading into the canyon.
Kayak The Barron Canyon
It was interesting to read “History of the Canyon”, a publication about the Barron Canyon Trail available from the Friends of Algonquin Park Gift Shop in advance of our trip. I ordered it from their online store, along with a map of the park.
“The gentle current of the Barron River carries water from a small part of Algonquin Park down towards the Ottawa River. It was not always so peaceful.” The publication goes on to say that when the ice melted and glaciers retreated from Canada and the northern US more than 10,000 years ago, the Barron Canyon would have been a prehistoric St. Lawrence River, draining all of the great lakes. The water thundering through the Barron Canyon would have had the force one thousand Niagara Falls.
In more recent history, the River was the site of many a spring log drive, as lumber barons moved red and white pine lumber out of the park and down to the Ottawa River. Dams and chutes were constructed to help move the lumber, lasting until the 1930’s. Today these traces of civilization and commerce are mostly gone, leaving a quiet but beautiful spot to explore and appreciate nature when you kayak the Barron Canyon.
The Canyon, with its stunning 100m high cliffs, begins about 5km upstream from the Squirrel Rapids parking lot, and extends for about 3 km, before reaching the Brigham Chute falls that connect the river up to Brigham Lake. This is a longer and harder portage than the one we passed over earlier, and marked the end of our upstream adventures.
We turned around and headed back downstream, taking in the Canyon again as we passed through this beautiful spot.
When we visited in July 2022, we didn’t find that there was much of a current to contend with. I have heard that the river moves more quickly in early spring, and that paddling upstream might be a bit harder then.
Our return trip through the canyon was uneventful. The portage went more quickly as we made adjustments based on our learnings on the way in, plus we had less water and food to carry out.
Flora and Fauna in the Barron Canyon
The canyon’s walls are rich in iron, making the stone a reddish color. As well, the canyon is rich in lime, which is (according to the same “History of the Canyon” publication from the Friends of Algonquin Park) quite rare in Algonquin, and creates a hospitable environment for many rare plants that can’t be found elsewhere in the park.
The Canyon is home to many birds, including Eastern Phoebes, and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. Red tail hawks and ravens nest high up in the canyon walls. We met a large beaver on the river – he seemed unconcerned about our presence and swam a few lazy laps back and forth in the shade of the cliff wall as we passed him.
Our Accommodations
By the time we planned our trip, the nearby Archray Campground in Algonquin Provincial Park was already fully booked. We found that the Algonquin Portage Outfitters, which are on Barron Canyon Road a short distance before you reach the Sand Lake Gate, offered overnight camping sites on their property.
Algonquin Portage also offers canoe and kayak rentals and will provide delivery to and from their store to the park. We were pleasantly surprised – the yard was beautiful and our site had lots of privacy. We also rented the gazebo for the weekend which gave us a sheltered area with a little kitchen counter for food prep, a fire pit, and benches.
Our site was located along a quiet dirt road that lead further back into their property, with lots of room for 3 cars and our tents. The outhouses were very clean, and the fees were reasonable. They have a small lodge with rooms for rent, and showers in the basement of the lodge that we paid to use. The store closes at 2:00PM most days, but we were in the Park for the day anyhow. The staff was friendly and helpful and the store offered camping gear, necessities, and ice cream!
Additional Reading
An excellent article talking more about the geology of the Barron Canyon and showing photos of the Encrusted Saxifrage plant that I was watching for but didn’t see.
Outfitter Options
There are many outfitters that service Algonquin Provincial Park, but you’ll want to look for an outfitter on the east side of the park. Here are a couple:
- Algonquin Portage (this is the outfitter we booked our accomodations through)
- Algonquin Bound (another outfitter along Barron Canyon Road, with a larger camp store)
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.
