If you’re looking for a pure wilderness experience there are certain animals that have a way of confirming that you’ve arrived. One of those creatures is the Bald Eagle.
This impressive bird of prey is found across North America, yet many people have never seen one in person. On my recent adventure into Algonquin Park, it was a great surprise to learn that some Bald Eagles had taken up residence and started nesting on part of Opeongo Lake in recent years.
As we rode our Algonquin Outfitters water taxi ride out to our canoe put-in, we passed by an island that had one of the Bald Eagles minding it’s nest. As we watched the bird for some time, it took off and flew around the island, before perching atop one of the highest tree branches it could find.
Bald Eagle at Opeongo Lake in Algonquin Park
It flew with such grace, it looked quite effortless. While I went to Algonquin Park mostly in search of Moose, this was one of many wildlife surprises that helped over deliver on excitement during my time in the park.
Editorial note: While I am always looking for great outdoor adventures, especially at our provincial parks in Ontario, this particular experience was compliments of the great people at Explorer’s Edge, who sent me on a 3-day “Quintessentially Canadian” tour in Ontario as part of the TBEX Toronto conference.
There is nothing more mesmerizing in the wilderness than hearing the haunting call of the common loon (also known as the great northern loon) from a nearby lake.
Ontario is a haven for common loons, a great looking bird that you’ll often paddle by in canoes. With red eyes, blue and green colourations with white specks, they’re one of the prettiest birds found in Ontario. As kids, when you grow up around cottage country or go “up north” to camp in Ontario, you learn from a young age how to try and mimic the “sounds” of the loon with your hands. Some people can get quite adept at it, although it was never a skill I was particularly good at.
They’re usually found in pairs, but as quintessential as they are to the lakes of Ontario, they are also hard to find in some places where acid rain, pollution and frequent disturbance from human activities take their toll.
Common Loon on Hailstorm Creek, Algonquin Park
Thankfully, Algonquin Park and many Ontario Parks, are safe havens for these birds, who prey on all sorts of fish. Some of my favourite moments from road trips and adventures in Ontario come from quiet nights camping near a lake, when the only noise you hear is a loon calling to another loon much further away on another lake. This sort of call-response communication or back-and-forth calling reminds you that you’re in a part of the country where nature rules, and you’re just a visitor.
Just remember that if you do see loons out on the lake, or nesting nearby, they’re sensitive birds, so please keep your distance and admire them from afar so that they’ll continue to return year after year.
Editorial note: These loon photos were taken during a great canoe trip along Hailstorm Creek, near Opeongo Lake in Algonquin Park compliments of the people at Explorer’s Edgeand Algonquin Outfitters who sent me on a 3-day “Quintessentially Canadian” tour in Ontario.
When I ride my mountain bike around home in Toronto, it is normally on flat pavement or easy waterfront trail paths. Nothing too exciting, but still plenty of fun.
Well, up at Buckwallow, in Muskoka, the idea of flat pavement is far from your mind as the many winding trails all have you riding through the forest, over rocks and bumping against trees and logs along the way.
The Buckwallow Logo
With somewhere near 25km of trails, they are rated intermediate to difficult with plenty of singletrack as well as doubletrack options.
My little mountain biking group didn’t include any hardcore riders, which I was happy about, as my mountain biking skills are novice at best. When I lived in the Galapagos Islands I rode a bike everywhere, but that was still on easy roads and paths, not pure mountain bike trails.
Ready to roll at Buckwallow Mountain Biking trails
As it had been a couple of years since my last real mountain biking adventure, I was curious to see how I’d fare! Riding along the one hoof and two hoof trails, I seemed to meet my skill level on the two hoofed trails.
Winding around and up and down, we had a great time testing ourselves on some top quality bikes. Well, except for one of us who managed to try out the trails on a crazy looking “fat bike” with tires the size of a dirt bikes. Let’s just say those big tires had a knack for climbing over barriers that were meant to keep us on the trails!
The Crazy Big Tires on the Fat Bike…
My bike was great though, and by the end of our adventures I was excited to try some more challenging vertical drops and quick turns. Hard on the brakes, sliding down sheer rock surfaces with the back tire skidding along…that was fun times! Moving along at a quick pace also helped keep the pesky mosquitoes at bay, as they were quite plentiful in the forest around Buckwallow.
A fellow Mountain Biker riding the trails at Buckwallow
The lunch afterwards at Inn on the Lake in Bracebridge felt well deserved and I started to think that next time I’ll start tackling more challenging options, maybe even a three-hoofer. But really, what I want to try is to ride that crazy fat bike in the snow in winter, now that would be fun!
Lunch break at Inn on the Lake after Mountain Biking
Editorial note: This mountain biking adventure was courtesy of Muskoka Outfitters and Explorer’s Edgeas part ofan epic 3-day “Quintessentially Canadian” tour in Ontario during the Toronto TBEX conference.
I’ve known about the Beer Makes History Better tour for a number of years, but never had the timing right to join the tour myself, until recently.
Run by Tour Guys founder, and fellow beer lover, Jason Kucherawy, this isn’t your typical beer tour, it’s more of a light history tour of Toronto with beer stops thrown in. It’s actually a great mix of fun and learning, as everyone – tourists and locals – are bound to walk away with a few interesting tidbits of information on beer or Toronto.
St. Lawrence Market – a stop on the Beer Makes History Better tour
I have recommended this tour to friends visiting town many times, but always felt a bit guilty as I hadn’t done it myself. Well, now I can finally recommend this tour with confidence! Jason entertained us with Toronto beer history and Toronto city history, as well as teaching us all a bit about the styles of different beers.
Kicking off at the Hockey Hall of Fame, he impressed everyone with his top secret tip of how to spot the Stanley Cup, without having to pay to enter the Museum. (Take the tour to find out!) Then we moved on down the street towards the Flatiron building, learning about the history of Gooderham & Worts. Smartly, before we had to consume too much education, we were at our first pub for some beer consumption.
Yeast Farts and Alcohol Sweat at C’est What
Too much to choose from, the impressive C’est What beer Menu
As we perused the impressive list of local beers at C’est What, Jason gave us our first beer lesson. A quick recap of the difference between top fermented ales and bottom fermented lagers and a review of the beers on the menu. He put effort into trying to determine appropriate beers for each person’s tastes. As we began to enjoy our first drinks, Jason eloquently spoke about the key ingredients of beer, in particular yeast. As he put it, the yeast eats up the sugars in the beer, and farts out CO2 and sweats alcohol.
Bet you hadn’t quite thought of beer in that way before, huh?
We had some great discussions over the first beers, including talking about whether farming of certain grain crops was started to make bread, or actually started to make beer? Hmmm.
Beer + Mustard = Good Eats. Choosing some mustards at St. Lawrence Market.
As we moved on to our next stops, Jason pointed out some interesting parts of the city. Old water fountains with separate drinking bowls for humans, dogs and horses; and signs commemorating historic places of Toronto.
The LCBO and St. Lawrence Market
Buying beer in Ontario means one of two things – visiting the Beer Store or the LCBO. As our tour friends from Denmark, the US and UK listened on, Jason pointed out how the government controls most of our access to alcohol. In some ways, good, in other ways bad, we all agreed that at least it wasn’t as bad as it used to be – the original LCBO stores required you to have a liquor buying license and were not allowed to display any products in plain sight!
Getting the low down on the LCBO during the Beer Tour
Learning a little more about Toronto, as we meandered around St. Lawrence Market, the Beer Makes History Tour, took a beer break and we sampled some fine Niagara wines, local mustards and other treats. The market is really a must stop for anyone who is coming to Toronto, not just for the foodie aspect of today, but for it’s important role in the early days of Toronto.
Half Full, or Half Empty? Beer at Betty’s.
The Betty Ford Beer Connection
Munching on some nachos and enjoying some more local beers, our little tour group was gelling quite nicely, enjoying the casual vibe of Betty’s. This Toronto bar has quite a history to it apparently, as Jason was eager to point out. Most people found it quite amusing that the bar was originally named Betty Ford, but had to change their name for somewhat obvious reasons.
Betty’s is your typical neighbourhood dive bar. Nothing fancy, just comfy and simple. They do stand out though by offering a better selection of beer than most little bars.
Some Final Learnings and Final beers…
After a couple of hours, and a handful of beers, the last stop of the tour was in sight. We ventured towards the Distillery District and learned a little more about the Gooderham facilities and buildings that still stand today. We saw all the pipes that still connect the building, which one used to carry alcohol. It was a perfect place to end the tour, as we were now at the home of the Mill Street Brewpub, and new Mill Street Beer Hall.
Historic Distillery District in Toronto
After enjoying some final samples in the retail shop, our group split up. Some buying some Mill Street beers to take back home, and others stopping to enjoy a few final beers, and some food, at the Mill Street facilities.
The tour took just a little longer than 3 hours, but didn’t feel rushed at all. We had plenty of time to drink some beers at each stop and also take some photos and learn about the development and history of the city of Toronto. All around, probably the best walking tour I’ve done in the city!
Algonquin Park is one of those special, quintessential Canadian experiences. Hiking, camping, canoeing and Moose-spotting are favourite Canadian past times in this part of Ontario, and when is the best time of year to spot Moose? Spring time!
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Algonquin Park more times than I can remember, including guiding groups of tourists around parts of the park. I’ve always had a soft spot for this park because of it’s impressive wildlife watching opportunities, with Moose being the #1 desired animal for me, and pretty much everyone else.
Algonquin Park Moose – Springtime
The most Moose I’ve seen in one day was 13 (in Springtime of course), but despite there being so many of these odd looking creatures in the park, most of my summer visits have resulted in seeing no Moose. How come? Well, they’re just so good at camouflage!
Take a look at this photo. This is the same Moose that was pictured above. But after slipping only a few feet into the bush, all you can see is a silhouette. The springtime vegetation was just starting to fill in during this trip, so if this Moose was standing there in summer, he’d be totally hidden by leaves and branches. If you’re driving or walking by, you probably won’t notice this shadowy figure. Especially after he takes a few more steps deeper into the forest and virtually cloaks himself in darkness.
Algonquin Park Moose – Camouflaged
That is the trick with these giants of the forest, they’re just so hard to spot sometimes! While spring is the best season to spot them – less vegetation, and they like to be near roadways, getting salty nutrients after a long winter – any season is a good time to go looking for Moose.
In summer, thankfully they love eating water lilies so spotting a Moose while canoeing down a lake is always a possibility in Algonquin. The same goes for autumn, but by then you have the added bonus of leaves changing colours and the male Moose will be sporting impressive, large antlers. In winter, finding animals like Moose in the park is made more fun by being able to see their tracks in the snow.
Moose in Algonquin Park – they are the tallest members of the deer family
Now, in general, the Moose tend to like grazing open waterhole and grassy areas, like this guy was. But not during the heat of the day in summer. They like to take shelter in the shade then, so it’s always best to look for Moose in the early morning and late evening hours, after sunrise and before sunset.
This particular Moose was one of 9 I saw on a day trip to go canoeing in Algonquin Park with Algonquin Outfitters, a trip organized by Explorer’s Edge. Some people I was with said they saw 14 or so Moose that day, but my eyes couldn’t spot them all!
This Moose could use a nice, new coat of summer fur…
A lot of people laugh at the weirdness of these creatures. They look awkward, being so tall, and have odd faces. This guy also happens to be one of my favourite Moose I’ve seen in all my visits to Algonquin. His antlers are starting to grow, with a smooth, furry “velvet” on them, but his fur is still matty and ugly-looking from the winter.
Have you ever seen a Moose in the wild? What do you think of these Moose pictures? Is he cute? Ugly? Weird-looking?
Editorial note: While I am always looking for my next great outdoor adventure, this particular experience was compliments of the great people at Explorer’s Edge, who sent me on a 3-day “Quintessentially Canadian” tour in Ontario as part of the TBEX Toronto conference.
