The Highland Backpacking Trail

Last fall, a friend and I had the opportunity to hike the Highland Backpacking Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park. We got out JUST before the last of the leaves fell! So we were able to enjoy a few pops of colour as we hiked the trail over two days.

The Highland Backpacking Trail is made up of two loops. And it’s quite easy to navigate, making it a good option for a lot of people. However, there is a lot of up and down. Despite appearing easy at first, it can be considered a bit physically demanding!

The smaller of the two loops, around Provoking Lake, is about 19 kms. The larger, which we completed, is closer to 35 km.

We took 2 days and 1 night to complete the loop, although began to worry upon our arrival that we had overshot our abilities. There were MULTIPLE warnings posted about how tough the trail was!k

Quick Facts

Length: 35 km
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead Coordinates: 45.572911, -78.525249
Washroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Cell Reception: None
Wheelchair Accessible: No
Parking: Right at the trailhead.
Cost: $11.00 per person per campsite booked. If you’re planning to hike just a portion of the trail you’ll need an Algonquin Provincial Park day pass.
Open in Winter: No

Getting There

Hoping to get an early start (we didn’t), we spent the night before camping at the Mew Lake Campground. Mew Lake was the campsite closest to the trailhead. As a bonus it’s also super close to the Lake of Two Rivers Store where we had to stop in the morning to pick up a map and food for lunch since I had forgotten it. And some coffee!

Just a few minutes away, at 45.572911, -78.525249, we pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead. There was an outhouse nearby, and space for at least a hundred cars. At the back of the lot there was a big map of the trail, as well as a bulletin board with some additional information. The trail started behind this bulletin board.

The warnings also started here, with one of the signs stating that “experienced backpackers will have no difficulty covering the long loop (35 km roundtrip) in 3 days.”

Setting Off

Since we planned to complete the trail in just two days, and we were already getting rained on, we felt a little wary setting off. But off we went regardless.

For just over a kilometre, we headed uphill. The trail was incredibly well established, with no offshoots, so it was very easy to follow. This would remain true for almost the entire length of it. And despite the uphill it wasn’t very difficult, as the footwork was easy. There was also a bit of up and down which felt gentle on this first day but would feel like a form of mild torture on our way back.

At 2.3 km we passed the first trail split we had seen. It was well marked with a sign announcing the Highland Backpacking Trail was straight ahead of us. The trail split was a wide, unnamed trail that crossed over the trail we were on. Looking at the map, we saw that it was the Old Railway Bike Trail.

Provoking Falls

Just after this split, we crossed a short bridge that brought us over Provoking Falls. This is a lovely little waterfall, and there are lots of spots to sit near the water on open rock face or a few benches that are scattered about.

At just under 3 km, we crossed over the Old Railway Bike Trail again. This split was even more well established and looked like a well-used ATV trail/logging road. We then got right back onto the trail, following both a “first loop” trail sign and a Highland Backpacking Trail sign with an arrow. This next section of trail was one of the steepest we had come across yet. There were big open rock faces to traverse as we headed up the hill. I distinctly remembered the LAST time I had hiked this trail, pregnant and carrying a toddler- this was a spot that I just sat right down to rest.

First Trail Split

Around 3.6 kms we passed over a couple of wooden foot bridges. The second one was beginning to fall into a state of disrepair, but we were still able to cross it. Then at 3.9 km we had arrived at the trail split where the first loop splits.

There was a map posted, and in order to complete the longer loop we had to turn to our right here. And again, there was another sign warning that it takes eight hours to get around the next section of the loop so if hikers don’t have camping gear they should turn back.

Not long after we passed campsites 6 thru 11. Then at 4.5 km we crossed over another short footbridge. Here there’s a spot with a massive open rock face, and a small creek where a bunch of logs have gotten jammed up over the years- so it’s a pretty cool sight.

The Second Split

At 5.5 km we arrived at the trail split where the second loop veers away from the first. There was a map posted here as well, and we followed the “second loop” sign that was off to our right.

The trail markers were still few and far between, but on the trail for the second loop they changed colours, and we were following yellow markers. Here, the trail was also noticeably thinner, likely because fewer people walk it.

Just after 6.1 km we passed the side trail to the campsite at Faya Lake. So far, the second loop had been pretty flat and very easy to hike. But around 7 km we found ourselves on another uphill section followed by a steep descent. There was a lot of up and down until we reached the lookout at 8.5 km. Here the trail split with no signage, but we could spot a trail marker off to our left. Looking off to the right, and checking our map, we decided this was probably the “lookout.”

The “Lookout”

It was, although the term lookout is very generous. Mostly it was an open rock face that we sat on to eat our lunch, enjoying absolutely no views. Since that was supposed to be the only lookout along the trail on this section, we realized we were in for a pretty boring hike.

We checked our pace at this point, and we were only covering about 3 km per hour. So as much as the terrain didn’t feel technical, there had been enough ascent and descent to slow us down some!

After lunch we set off again. By 10 km in our legs were starting to feel a little tired on the uphill. It had also been raining almost the entire day by this point so a lot of the trail was flooded. We found ourselves rock hopping in places to avoid walking in the muck of water and leaves.

At 12.8 km we passed a portage sign, and the trail for a short time joined with the portage between Head Creek and Head Lake. So we walked beside a small river for a bit. That was nice because since the excitement of the first waterfall we really had just been walking through the woods for hours with not much to see.

Head Lake

Just a little further on we arrived at the emergency campsite at Head Lake. This was good timing as we were running low on water and getting tired, so we rested here for a bit and pumped some water from the lake.

Unfortunately for our tired legs, the hill just past the emergency site was the steepest we had seen yet! Fortunately, it levelled off after that, and around 13.76 km we passed campsite number 3 on Head Lake. There was a bright orange sign right on the trail, just as there had been at the emergency site. So, these campsites are pretty hard to miss. Campsite #2 was at kilometre 14, and Campsite #1 was about 750 metres beyond that.

Carrying on the terrain stayed much the same- a lot of up and down that on their own wouldn’t have been too demanding, but they added up to a tough day! We also crossed random foot bridges here and there, and since the logs were so wet, they were quite slippery and we moved cautiously. My friend fell down twice before deciding to take these bridges a little more slowly!

Finally at 16.3 km we passed a big orange sign for campsite #4. We were excited to be getting close to being done for the day! Campsite #3 was at 16.8 km, an emergency site was at 16.95 km, and Campsite #2 was at 17.4 km.

Campsite #1 on Harness Lake

Finally, at 17.6 km we saw a sign for Harness Lake, and for Campsite #1, which we had booked. We turned to our right and travelled a little ways to the campsite.

By the time we arrived we had hiked 17.7 km for day one, and we were definitely feeling fatigued and happy to be able to set up camp. It had taken us 6 hours and 6 minutes from trailhead to campsite, which isn’t a horribly long time… but is when you’re two Moms who are deconditioned and not used to travelling long distances by foot!

The campsite itself was nice enough, with lots of space to set up our tents, and big open rock face to sit and look over the water. There was a steep hill down to the shoreline but a few good places to get in and swim in warmer months. The fire pit had a bench beside it which came in handy for cooking dinner, and there was a thunderbox that also came in handy. The thunderbox was in full view of our tent, so if you’re big on privacy this site may not be the one for you!

We pumped water out of the lake, made our dinner, cleaned up and hung our food, and then went right to bed to relax and rest up for the next day.

Day 2

Heading out on the second day our muscles felt stiff and sore. We briefly debated taking the shortcut back. Leaving the campsite, we kept straight to continue the Highlands Backpacking Trail in our counterclockwise direction. I actually missed the split it was so seamless, so if you’re hiking this trail clockwise, you’ll want to pay attention here!

The first 3 km weren’t too tough in terms of up and down. There were a couple of noticeable hills, but that had a lot to do with our fatigue from the day before. We then crossed a fairly dicey bridge over Mosquito Creek, and carried on much in the same fashion as before for the first 5 km. Not too tough!

At 6 km (23.6 km total) we arrived at our trickiest crossing yet. It was over a tiny, tiny creek but just had random sticks thrown down to help cross it. So, we VERY carefully made our way across, managing to keep dry.

Mosquito Creek- Again

At 6.9 km (24.5 km total) we arrived back at Mosquito Creek. Before crossing over we sat on the open rock face next to the creek and had a snack, because it afforded us a nice view up Fly Lake. This crossing is normally done via rock hopping, right beside a huge old beaver dam that only allows so much water to flow through. Today, with the excess of rain the crossing was quite wet and a bit tricky because this made the rocks slippery. But we made it.

There was a big climb right after Mosquito Creek, and our legs were screaming. As we continued on the up and down began to feel very reminiscent of the day before, as it steadily increased.

Back on the First Loop!

At 8.44 km (26 km total) we reached the first trail split of the day, where turning left would bring us back to the trailhead via the 1^st loop, and turning right would take us the long way around, having us finish the fullness of the second loop.

Right away the trail markers switched back to blue and we spotted them more frequently.

Again, with the hills! There was what felt like a ton of up and down through this section of trail, and we finally reached the end of Provoking Lake after hiking 11.4 km (29 km total). We were happy to see it! And just a couple hundred metres later we arrived at the emergency campsite on provoking Lake. There was a beautiful view down the lake here, and a privy set far back into the woods that we stopped to use.

Provoking Lake East Campsites

At 11.92 km (29.5 km total) we passed by the orange sign for campsite #4. We could see the site from the trail itself, so this is not one that would be my first choice. There was another emergency site at 12.8 km (30.4 km total). Soon after we passed by Campsite #3, which was visible from the trail as well, but set back a little further than #4. Campsite #2 was at the 13.3 km (30.9 km total) mark, and well away from the trail.

This section of the trail felt pretty unique since we had been walking through mixed forest for DAYS before this point, and here the forest was made up mostly of evergreens, and more open with less groundcover.

We headed down a very steep, rocky section, passing the sign for campsite #1 at 13.53 km (31.1 km total).

Next, we came across a portage sign for the portage between Provoking Lake and Lake of Two Rivers. At just under 14 km (31.6 km total) the trail split. There were no markers on the wide trail straight ahead of us, but backpacking trail markers on the trail off to our left hand side, so we headed in that direction assuming the other trail was a continuation of the portage.

A Real Lookout!

After we had hiked 14.35 km (31.95 km total) we reached the trail split for the lookout on this section of trail. There was a map here and the lookout trail was well-signed. Exhausted but not wanting to miss it, we dropped our packs near the split and headed over more up and down to get to a beautiful lookout. It was 250 metres out to the lookout so adding this on adds a half kilometre to your trip, but it’s worth it. We spent at least half an hour at the lookout, partly because the view was the most beautiful one we had seen all weekend and partly because we were so tired, we didn’t want to start walking again.

Eventually we pulled ourselves away and headed back. From the split for the lookout, it was another .65 km to get back to the original trail split that started it all. Finally, we would be traversing terrain that we had seen before. Unfortunately, the terrain that seemed so manageable on the way out the day before was absolutely exhausting at this point.

We dragged ourselves the remaining 4 km back to the trailhead, cursing every single hill that popped up in front of us. At the end of our second day, we had hiked 19.4 km, and took 7 and a half hours to do it. We were TIRED. In total, we had hiked 37.1 km over 2 days.

Trail Thoughts

The Highland Backpacking Trail was… not my favorite. But perhaps I’m being a bit judgmental! It is, after all, 35 km worth of being out in nature and that alone does count for something!

Many of my backpacking trips have been shorter, and the longest one I’ve taken was on the Lake Superior Coastal Trail, which has absolutely stunning views every stretch of the way. So it could be that many backpacking trails have long stretches of boring forest and this is just my first experience with it!

Ultimately I think if your goal is to travel 35 km through the woods and get far enough into the Algonquin Backcountry that you’ll have a lot of peace and quiet, this trail is just fine. If a shorter distance works just as well for you, I think the 19 km loop around Provoking Lake is the more fun section of trail and I personally would choose that.

Lastly, I’ll say that the Highland Backpacking Trail is deceptively challenging! At least it was for me. Taken individually, the small hills and fairly mild descents don’t seem to tough at first. But after two days on the trail, I was incredibly sore and stiff- and happy to be heading home!

So, I guess what I’m saying is this trail DOES have a lot to offer in many ways. It’s just not my favorite. But maybe it could be yours!

Map and Elevation Gain

 

 Gear We Brought

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For Travel
MEC 70L Backpack (+ rain cover)
Keen Hiking Boots
Hiking Poles
Dry Bags to ensure certain gear stayed dry (sleeping bag, clothes and electronics).

For Sleep
Marmot 2 Person Tent
-7°C Sleeping Bag
Thermarest Prolite Sleeping Pad
MEC Inflatable Pillow

For Comfort
Headlamp
Small Lantern
Kula Cloth (for peeing)
Toilet Paper
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, wipes and deoderant)
1 Book
Powerbank (for charging phone and watch)
Wireless Headphones (Jabra 3 Elite)

For Eating
Ursack Bear Proof Food Bag (+ rope to hang it)
2 Person Jetboil Stove (+ fuel and lighter)
Enough food for 2 days
Ziploc bags to keep food dry and organized (and for garbage)
Nalgene
MSR Water Filter
Lighter

For Safety
Map
Compass
Garmin inReach (tiny satellite communication device, there’s a newer version that’s less expensive.)
First Aid Kit

For Wearing
2 Pairs of Leggings
3 Pairs of Socks
2 Tops
1 Sweater
Underwear
1 Bra
Rain Pants
Raincoat