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A Day Trip to the Basin Lake Area of Algonquin

I spent a day hiking a cluster of trails off of the Basin Depot Road in Algonquin Provincal Park. My day started at the Charles Lafleaur Homestead trail and ended at Buck Lake, which is a drive-in backcountry campsite. In between, I hiked three more trails and stopped to check out a historic building at Basin Depot. 

The Charles Lafleur Homestead

The first trail of the day was a short 0.88km round-trip trail, accessed just off of Basin Depot Rd. There's a small grass parking lot right off the road,  the trail itself is cut grass that runs from the parking lot to the historical homestead. At the homestead, there are a few decaying buildings alongside two log cabins that are being maintained. The buildings are locked, and there isn't anything to see through the windows. A few dozen signs scattered around the homestead, telling you about the history of the place. 

Historic homestead building.

Whispering Winds (Egg Rock)

The second trail of the day was Whispering Winds (Egg Rock). I'm not sure why it goes by two names but it is listed as Egg Rock on Google Maps. The trail is 0.7km round trip and climbs 51 meters in elevation to a nice view point over Couchain and Stringers Lakes. The trail is dirt and rock, and has a bit of growth on the sides. To access the trail pull over on the side of road as there is no parking lot. 

 
Egg Rock trailhead.

View from Egg Rock.

Payne's Pine Trail

The third trail of the day was a short drive away from the previous one. Payne's Pine Trail goes through a pine plantation and along the side of Stringers Lake. It's a very nice trail, clearly marked but also very overgrown. Thankfully, mainly with ferns and not tall grass. It is a 2.5 km loop trail, that is mainly dirt. To access the trail pull over on the side of road, as there is no parking lot. When I hiked it, I had a swarm of flies following me the whole time, so I'd recommend bug spray, long sleeves, and pants. 

Payne's Pine Trail.

Between the trees.

Stringers Lake.
 
Find the trail.

White Admiral Butterfly.

 Basin Depot  

After Payne's Pines trail, I made a quick stop at Basin Depot. It houses the oldest standing building in the park. The cabin was built in 1892 as a kind of hospital to serve diphtheria patients. After that, it was used as a harness shop, post office, school and finally a ranger cabin. It was restored in the '80s and moved to its current location around that time too. The door is unlocked, and inside the cabin is a little information about it, and a set of stairs leading upstairs. Upstairs is just empty, with signs saying not to walk on the floor. Across the road from the cabin is the ruins of Basin Depot village with a short trail, but I didn't explore it. 

Basin Depot Cabin.

Road to Basin Lake. You would need good clearance. 

High Falls Trail

High Falls Trail is just a short distance up from Basin Depot. There is no parking lot, so I just pulled over on the side of the road. The trail follows an old logging road for most of the way, until it veers off down to the waterfall. Hiking the trail, you almost continuously hear running water, which makes you think you're getting close, but it's just the rapids in the river that the trail parallels. The trail is 4.5km round trip. Once the trail splits from the old road, you go down a steep slope to the first of a series of three waterfalls. You then turn left and climb down a very small cliff to get to the main swimming hole. Once I got down to the swimming hole, I just couldn't resist going for a swim. The water was lovely, and there was a slight current, but the river is shallow enough away from the plunge pool that there isn't a worry about getting swept downriver. On the walk back to the car, refreshed from the swim, I noticed a few old-growth white pines and a maple along the trail that I hadn't noticed on the way in, those trees were huge.  

High Falls Trail.

Old growth White Pine.

Falls, Plunge Pool and rock barrier.

Plunge pool. Great swimming spot.

High falls above the plunge pool.

The first of three falls.

The first of three falls, with the rapids behind. 
 

McIntyre's Clearing Trail

This was the most disappointing part of the day. The public road ends at the hydro line, and from there it splits in two, but its private logging roads that you can only walk down. If you follow the road along the hydro line, you'd eventually end up at the McKaskill Ranger Cabin, over 10km away. There is a road that goes north of the hydro line that is part of the McIntyre's Clearing Trail. To access the trail, you park at the fork in the road and walk down the logging road for a bit until you see the trail sign off to the left. This was a very poorly maintained trail, without pink flagging tape, you wouldn't even know it was a trail. The trail winds through the ferns and trees for a few meters until it comes to a clearing full of ferns. This isn't McIntyre's Clearing, from what I could tell, the actual clearing should be down by the river, but this was as far as I would go, as the trail disappeared, there was no more flagging tape, and I didn't feel like bushwhacking to a clearing that may not exist anymore. The failed hike ended up being 1.4km round trip. Near the fork in the road is a campsite labeled as Bonnechere Put In, the idea behind the site is that you camp there before you start the long trek along the hydro corridor, but it doesn't look like anyone has camped for a very long time there, and as of right now its not even bookable on the parks site. Not to mention the hydro line emits a low buzzing sound the whole time.   

Bonnechere Put In campsite.

The scar of Algonquin-the hydro cut. 

Could use a new stop sign. 

Sign for the trail along the logging road.

You can just make out a trail thanks to the flagging tape.

Clearing where I lost the trail. 

Buck Lake

 The last stop of my adventure in the Basin Lake area was Buck Lake. It's a lake located just off of Basin Depot Rd. The lake has one campsite, and is right on the road. It was a fairly nice site, and it could definitely fit a trailer, which is rare for the backcountry. The site has water access but not a great swimming location, as its all weedy. Apparently there is brook trout in the lake. 

Buck Lake from the campsite.

Buck Lake campsite.

Thanks for coming along on my adventure to the Basin Depot Rd area of Algonquin Provincial Park. I didn't end up seeing a person all day, even though it was Saturday. 

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