The Great Outdoors Getaways and Day Trips
Toronto Life
Toronto Life City Guide 2006
Toronto, Ontario, Canada – March 2006
The Great Outdoors
Northeast
Algonquin Log Cabin Lodge
Before you unpack your bags at the base camp – a rustic log cabin on the northwest margins of Algonquin Park – you will have taken part in a hike through four kilometres of hardwood forest, eaten lunch and canoed two kilometres. And that is only the first four hours of the three-day Pathways of the Algonquin tour. Other activities: an evening stargazing paddle, where guests learn about the northern sky; a walk in search of wild edibles; a sunset outing in the 26-foot voyageur canoe for a cookout dinner; and a pre-dawn paddle in search of moose.
Less ambitious souls may opt for the Log Cabin package with fewer excursions and more time just to hang around the lodge or borrow a canoe to explore Surprise Lake. The lodge has six rooms, each with two single beds. There is no electricity, but there are plenty of candles and propane lights for eveing reading, and a hot shower in the sauna building. Hearty meals are shared at a communal table (guests may bring thier own wine), and a great stone fireplace and two wood stoves ensure comfort on cold nights.
Where: northwest of Algonquin Provincial Park on Surprise Lake; call the Toronto office at 416-486-3605, 1-800-794-9660.
When:year-round.
How much: Pathways of the Algonquin package $425 (per person), Log Cabin package $325, and winter Footsteps of the Pioneer package $595; all packages are three days, two nights, all-inclusive; round-trip transportation from Toronto is available for an additional $105 per person, departing from York Mills station.
Driving time:three and a half hours