Zine Bite

Wilderness Skills for the Beginner Canoeist at Frontenac

Looking to try a new outdoor activity this summer? Why not make most of the sceneries in Ontario’s provincial parks by paddling them? After all, looking at park scenery from a canoe is an altogether different experience than simply exploring a shoreline. Canoeing is enjoyable in peaceful settings and, above all, is a great opportunity to bring along a friend to paddle with. This could very well be a memorable experience for you and your family!

Summer Wilderness Skills Programsat Frontenac Provincial Park

Frontenac is an enticing semi-wilderness park, close to Kingston, where you can brush up or be introduced to the world of paddling. The park was the first in the province, 21 years ago, to offer wilderness skills seminars. Throughout the year, Frontenac offers a Wilderness Skills Program which teaches outdoor enthusiasts valuable outdoor skills. Courses include wilderness first-aid, backcountry camping, trip planning, canoe certification, canoe clinics, kayak courses and wilderness navigation. Beginner-friendly paddling courses are also offered at Frontenac at an affordable price, starting June 6.

Frontenac is a great park for the “novice” outdoor enthusiast who is unsure if they will like this type of experience. Paddlers with limited experience need not to worry about getting lost, providing some basic precautions are taken, as Frontenac is smaller than its more northerly cousin Algonquin. Indeed, the park, consisting of 22 lakes, is approximately 9 km from north to south and 8 km east to west. The park sits on the edge of the Canadian Shield and therefore has a fairly rugged landscape. “It took me just a dawdling five hours to paddle and portage back from the northeast corner of the park to the trail centre at the opposite corner,” commented one canoeist.

Click here www.frontenacpark.ca/pages/W_skills_2004.html to consult the 2004 Wilderness Skills Program schedule. Call (613) 376-3489 to register.

How to get there? Click here www.frontenacpark.ca/pages/location.html

Note: A detailed equipment list and program outline is available upon registration. Participants are requested to meet at the Trail Centre 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start times of each presentation. The Presentation Fee is payable to the presenter and provincial park daily vehicle permits can be purchased at the park’s Trail Centre or self-serve kiosk. When calling to register for any of the programs offered, be sure to ask about personal equipment rentals. Interior camping reservations are recommended. Pre-registration for all courses is a must, as some fill quickly. Call the park to register (613) 376-3489.

Once your paddling skills have been strengthened at Frontenac, you may also like to try these nearby eastern Ontario provincial parks:

Charleston Lake: Approximately 40 km east of Kingston, Main Lake: Charleston Lake

“Beginner paddlers appreciate the motorboat-free conditions in

Running’s Bay and Slim Bay.”

Murphys Point: Approximately 65 km northeast of Kingston, Main Lake: Big Rideau Lake

“Canoeing is most pleasant on Loon Lake and Hogg Bay.”

Bon Echo: Approximately 100 km northwest of Kingston, Main Lake: Lower Mazinaw Lake

“Motorboats are prohibited on the park’s interior lakes, which remain unspoiled.”

Contributed by Alex Garant, Ontario-Quebec Exchange Student with Ontario Parks, Peterborough