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This summer, we decided to take our toddler backpacking for the first time ever. We had never been to Algonquin Provincial Park, so decided to take the plunge on the Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail.
Algonquin Provincial Park has three different backpacking trails, and the Eastern Pines Trail is the shortest. Since we knew we’d be carrying a lot of gear, and one wiggly kid, we opted for it!
There are three different spots on the trail where you can camp overnight. We opted to stay at the Stratton Lake sites and the Bucholtz Lake site. This allowed us to take three days to hike the whole trail.
Overall, the Eastern Pines Hiking trail was actually a really easy hike! There wasn’t much elevation gain. Some sections were flat and easy enough that our two year old could walk for long stretches. This hike could easily be done in a day by experienced hikers.
I’ve heard amazing things about the High Falls. But with how much gear we were carrying, we just didn’t have it in us to make the detour to check it out. An excuse to go back I suppose!
There are a few different routes that can be taken to and from the trailhead. The shortest option (along the south side of Johnston Lake) results in a hike that’s 16.7 km.
The Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail is actually really easy to hike, as long as you don’t have to carry a ton of stuff on your back!
Making a Reservation and Our Route
You have to reserve campsites in order to stay in the Algonquin backcountry. You don’t have to make any reservations just to hike the loop, but you would still need to stop off at the gate house to pay your day usage fee for the park.
We also purchased a map online from the Friends of Algonquin Park. It was only $2.95, and I was happy to have it ahead of time and not risk not having one on our trip.
On Stratton Lake, there are 5 hike in campsites, but when you reserve online what you’re really doing is getting a permit to camp on the lake. The site itself you choose when you get there. On Bucholtz Lake, there’s only 1 campsite so when you book a permit for that lake, you’re essentially booking that one site.
We were able to reserve Stratton Lake for our first night and Bucholtz Lake for the second night, so we ended up hiking the Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail counter-clockwise. Other than that, there’s no really good reason to decide to hike it in one direction versus the other.
The campsites we stayed at were primitive, having just a thunder box, and at one of them, a bear cable. But, folks who had been there before us had gone to great efforts to build a rock bench (at the first site) and a table (at the second), which was awesome!
Getting There
The trailhead for the Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail is near the Achray campground in Algonquin Provincial Park. Before arriving at the camp ground, we drove past the Sand Lake gate, stopping to check in. There were washrooms at the gate house.
By the time we had driven to the Sand Lake gate, I had already lost reception on my phone. So it’s a good idea to screenshot any info you need before you arrive!
Then, we drove further into Algonquin, and easily spotted the signs that pointed us in the direction of the Achray campground. At the campground there was a park store where you could buy snacks and drinks. There was an outhouse just down the road, near one of the campgrounds. Achray seemed to be a popular spot for people to launch their boats from- once we had gotten back we sat and watched people launch for quite a while!
There were designated parking lots for each of the different campgrounds and trails, so we parked in the one marked Berm Lake/Eastern Pines. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.868743, -77.756589.
The Trailhead
The trailhead for the Eastern Pines Backpacking Loop was at the very end of the parking lot, and impossible to miss. After double checking we had everything, we set off.
The trail started out wide and flat, and we soon passed a posted map. 400 metres along the trail, we crossed over a footbridge across a small pond. While we were out, it rained heavily and part of the footbridge was underwater on our way back.
After crossing the footbridge the trail thinned out. We reached the first trail split at 0.6 km, first noticing a sign for a portage off to our left. There were also signs that indicated Johnston Lake and High Falls were to our right, so we headed in that direction.
Starting out on the trail!
Johnston Lake
The trail began to get a bit rockier, but was still quite easy to navigate as it was fairly flat. At the 1.1 km mark, we found ourselves right near the shoreline of Johnston Lake, with a beautiful view over the water. We followed the shoreline for another 400 metres before the trail began to pull away from it.
We spotted the classic blue Ontario Provincial Park trail markers in the trees as we hiked along. But, the trail was so well established that we didn’t really feel like we needed them to keep us on track.
Then, having hiked about 1.8 km we passed over the portage from Stratton Lake to Johnston Lake. We continued straight ahead.
We continued to catch glimpses of Johnston Lake through the trees on our left hand side. Then we came to another trail split after hiking 2.7 km. Once again, the trail marking was exceptional. A sign let us know that High Falls was to our right, while Johnston Lake was to our left. Naturally, we went to the right.
There was great signage at every single split on the trail.
The Trail Gets a Tiny Bit Harder
Before this split, the trail had been incredibly easy to hike. Immediately after the split, we found ourselves on a slight uphill. Then, there were a few more that had us really huffing and puffing. These hills were steep, but still manageable. And they would have been MUCH easier if we weren’t carrying so much gear.
The trail was also becoming a bit rockier, with small rocks that weren’t hard to navigate but did make you think about where you were going to put your feet.
Stratton Lake Hike in Campsites
Just after the 4 km mark we spotted a bright orange sign on one of the trees, indicating that the Stratton Lake camping area was down a little footpath on the right hand side. So this first set of tent sites was just under 1.5 km from the last split in the trail.
Carrying on, we spotted another bright orange campsite sign just 300 metres further along the trail.
There were a few wet sections through here, and things continued to be rocky and root covered as we hiked along. The trail brought us down to the shore of Stratton Lake, where we basically walked into a campsite.
We caught a great view of the lake. Then, we spotted the last sign for the Stratton Lake camping sites around the 5.1 km mark.
The trail then took us away from the lake. We crossed a few more wet sections where small footbridges had been put down, and climbed a few tiny hills.
If you’re looking for the campsites, keep an eye out for a sign like this along the trail.
The Easiest Section of Trail
Around the 6 km mark, the trail turned back into the easiest trail we had ever hiked! For a good long stretch it was completely flat, with no rocks or roots to trip over.
The split to High Falls was 7.7 km in on the trail, and when we reached the trail junction we easily spotted a sign telling us that High Falls was to our right. Sadly, we opted to skip it knowing that our backpacking gear was already weighing us down and we still had a ways to go. Adding on the High Falls would have lengthened our hike by 2.6 km. We just didn’t have it in us, although we were devastated to miss seeing them.
Another easy to spot sign, letting us know what we were missing out on!
Beyond this split, there were sections of trail that were really grown in, and the trail was a lot thinner. It felt like far fewer people traveled this section of the trail. The hike continued to feel varied, with some sections of trail being rockier than others, and some sections being completely flat and easy to traverse.
Glacial Boulder Gardens
Around 9.75 km we passed by a few big boulders, and then could spot Bucholtz Lake through the trees. The following section of trail took us through the “Glacial Boulder Gardens,” which was definitely the most unique and rugged section of the trail. We wound our way through a huge rock garden, stepping carefully over large rocks along the trail and squeezing between big boulders.
The Glacial Boulder Garden was the most technical section of the trail, but it wasn’t physically demanding.
Despite the footwork being more technical, there was still very little elevation on this section of the trail so it wasn’t hard work physically. We stuck with the shoreline of Bucholtz Lake for a bit before the trail pulled away from it to bring us around the northern side of the lake.
This section of trail was the only one where we had to pay any attention to the trail markers. There were a few spots where it was so grown in amongst the boulders that there was just a little bit of guesswork about where to go next. But we were always able to find a trail marker, as long as we were looking.
At 11.2 km the trail brought us back to the shoreline. We made our way another 500 metres to what felt like the most southern end of the lake.
Searching for our second campsite!
The Bucholtz Lake Campsite
Then, we spotted an orange campsite marker through the trees on our left hand side. This one wasn’t posted along the trail as the others had been. 20 metres further, there was a brown sign that said “side trail to campsite,” but the way it was positioned, it would have been easy to miss traveling counter-clockwise.
Right after though, the trail began to pull us away from Bucholtz Lake again. So for anyone traveling in the same direction as us and looking for this campsite, keep this in mind!
Just 250 metres later, we crossed a footbridge over a small creek. Then we walked through a really mossy section of the forest. We were cautiously optimistic that we had hiked through all of the Boulder Garden! Traveling a little further proved to us that we were right.
This section of trail wasn’t too remarkable, but it WAS easy. Since we were on our third day of backpacking with a toddler, we were grateful for it.
This section of the trail was the most beautiful, but we were tired and happy to leave it behind.
On Our Way Back-Taking The Shortest Route
We reached the next split in the trail having hiked 13.8 km in total. Here, we had a decision to make. We could go to our right and take the northern trail around Berm Lake, or head to our left and hike back the way we had come.
Having lost our adventurous spirit and thinking about snacks from the park store, we turned swiftly to our left, following a sign that said “Achray.” There was no sign posted on the split to our right that we could see, but we didn’t care. We were headed home!
The next two hundred metres were a bit grown in, but we traversed them quickly, looking forward to getting back on the easy trail we had started out on. Then, we turned to the right and followed that trail right back to the trailhead. Since we had been out for two days and it had rained a ton, this first section of trail was extra wet with huge puddles to navigate.
The partially washed out bridge on our way back.
Trail Thoughts
By the time we arrived back at the parking lot, we had hiked a total of 16.7 km. Which really isn’t a ton of mileage- this trail could definitely be done in a day.
I’m hesitant to tell you what our total hiking time was, because half the time we each had about 45 lbs on our backs, and the other half, our toddler was walking. That helps lighten the load but it also means we move SLOWLY. So in total, it took us about 6 hours and 15 minutes to hike the entire trail. But you can definitely hike it faster.
A lot of the wet sections had small foot bridges to help keep us dry.
The Eastern Pines Trail was absolutely perfect for us to try out backpacking with our toddler for the first time. It’s also a nice length for folks who want to try backpacking for themselves. Or anyone who justs want a trip where they don’t have to push too far. The site on Bucholtz Lake isn’t clear enough for swimming, so I would only camp there as a real necessity (like, say, you’re bringing a toddler and you know you won’t make it the whole way!).
As a day hike, the Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail would be very doable. Unfortunately, it may feel a bit uninspiring unless you include the High Falls. There aren’t any crazy views along the way, just a nice long walk in the forest. But adding in the High Falls as a destination would totally be worth it!
There was a lot of mud, considering we went late in August.
I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!
Map
Whenever I’m paddling somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.
We hiked the Eastern Pines Backpacking Trail over three days, so our GPS tracked route and elevation charts are split up accordingly.
Day 1, from the trailhead to our Stratton Lake Campsite.
Elevation gain on the trail from the trailhead to our Stratton Lake Campsite.
Day 2, from Stratton Lake to Bucholtz Lake.
Elevation gain along the trail from Stratton Lake to Bucholtz Lake.
Day 3, from Bucholtz Lake back to the trailhead (via the shortest route).
Elevation gain along the trail from Bucholtz Lake to the trailhead.
Gear We Brought
We brought a whole heap of gear, since we were actually backpacking along this trail. If you’re interested in our full gear list (honestly, HOW did we get up to 45 lb packs?), check out our post about backpacking with a toddler. Otherwise, make sure you’ve packed the ten essentials for yourselves, because this hike IS a long one!
Excellent information – wife and I are camping at Achray Campground later this month. Hope to do some day hikes as well. Thanks for sharing!
what was the campsite like at bucholtz lake??
I haven’t visited a TON of backcountry sites (just for context), but I thought it wasn’t great.
There was only one spot for a tent and it was tiny and there was a bit of a slope to it- people had put logs down on one side to level it out. The entire campsite was sloped, at a moderate degree down to the water (not a big deal at all unless you had a toddler like we did, just required a bit more watching since she’s not always steady on her feet). The shoreline was weedy, and super shallow a long way out, so we didn’t feel like an attempt at swimming was worthwhile at all. Not a lot of good spots for a bear hang.
Really cool big boulders scattered through the forest, and a very cute otter playing in the water were the best parts! No guarantees the otter will still be there when you go though lol.
The campsite was great .awesome view right on the lake surrounded by massive boulders .there was even a table someone made over the years with a massive flat stone wedged in between two trees. Lots of wildlife moose,wolves etc