Algonquin Park: Farm-Shirley-Crotch Loop (3 days / 14 km)
Don’t let the length of the portages scare you; this is a beginner-friendly route, though the specific conditions of trip made it more challenging than a group enjoying it later in the year would experience. While this route racks up 3 kilometers of portages over 2 days, they are well-maintained and largely flat. While this was intended to be a first canoe camping experience for a friend of mine, a foot injury waylaid her participation. Instead of cancelling, I decided to take a solo trip, experiencing great campsites, powerful gusts, stifling heat and hoards of hungry insects along the way.
Trip Completed: July 2025
Trip Summary
| Starting Point | Shall Lake Access Point, Algonquin Park |
| Ending Point | Shall Lake Access Point, Algonquin Park |
| Duration | 3 days / 2 nights |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
| Total Distance | 17 km |
| Portaging Distance | 3 km |
| Number of Portages | 4 |
Location: Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
Traditional Territory: This route takes place on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe
Maps & Resources
Guidebook: Petawawa River Whitewater Guide
Maps Used: Jeff’s Map
Interactive Map: Click here to view and modify this route using the Canoe Route Planner
Permits & Reservations
Campsite Reservations: Reservations are needed ahead of time. In Algonquin, clusters of campsites are booked by lake/river section rather than individual campsites.
Permits: No, you do not need to pick up your permits. Having a printout or screenshot on your phone is sufficient
Know Before You Go
Season: This route can be paddled any season Algonquin is open for canoeing. Though as you will read, conditions can be less than ideal in peak bug season.
Cell Reception: No
Water: Abundant, but needs to be treated before you drink it.
Wildlife: Algonquin Park is home to black bears, moose and wolves.
Waste: Thunderboxes are available on all official campsites. Pit toilets are available at the put-in and take-out.
Outfitters & Shuttles
Outfitter: I didn’t need an outfitter, but Algonquin Bound Outfitters has a location as you’re turning off Highway 60 towards the Shall Lake Access Point. Canoes can be rented there.
Shuttle: This route starts and ends at the same point, so a shuttle is not needed.
Trip Report
Day 1: Farm Lake to Bridle Lake (5.3 km)
This trip was meant to be a first introduction to canoe camping for a friend of mine. She’s a backpacker, so is comfortable carrying a load on her back over trails, and was eager to try a trip with the solitude that a longish portage or two adds. Unfortunately, she sustained a marathon training-related injury and was out of commission to join for the trip. Ultimately, it might have been for the best that she didn’t join; the bug experience might have soured any chance of getting her on another trip.
As the distances were quite manageable, I decided to keep the reservation and turn this into a solo trip. So on the Friday of the first weekend in July, I drove from Ottawa, arriving at the Shall Lake Access Point about 3 hours later. I stopped in the office to grab a garbage bag (having realized along the way that I forgot one), and spent a solid 30 minutes chatting with the woman behind the desk. She’s been working in this area for decades and has scores of stories to share.
It was around noon when I launched on Farm Lake. A group of 3 canoes was just returning from a 4-day fishing trip on Booth Lake, where they apparently had a lot of success. The large gravel beach easily accommodated four canoes at once.
After a short, narrow section, Farm Lake opens up into its main expanse. On the western half, there’s a marsh area that you need to navigate through. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, the air was warm, and an eagle flew overhead – the trip was off to a great start. After 30ish minutes of paddling, the route takes a northward turn, and you paddle through another narrow portion that reminds you this is technically part of the Opeongo River. Thankfully, the current is almost unnoticeable. In this portion, you pass by a few nice-looking campsites, but they are close together. While paddling by the “End of Steel” cabin, the occupants called out to chat. They had celebrated Canada Day in the cabin and had quite enjoyed themselves.
Including the chat, it took me about an hour to reach the portage to Bridle Lake.
Portage from Farm Lake to Bridle Lake (760m): The landing for the portage is small. Fitting more than two canoes would be tight, but there’s an open grass patch just beyond. I pulled my canoe and gear up and heard the buzzing. On this hot, sunny, early July day, the forest was positively hazy with mosquitoes. I sprayed on a bunch of bug spray, picked up my backpack and canoe, and carried the first load at a quick pace. The portage rises slightly but consistently straight through to Bridle, but at no point is it steep enough to wind you. Even loaded down it took under 10 minutes to reach the next lake. I deposited the canoe and went back for my barrel and paddle. Within 30 minutes of pulling up to the start of the portage, I had launched on Bridle, slick with sweat, Deet, and feeling like I had been pricked by a hundred bites.
Bridle is a small lake, roughly a kilometre long by 250m wide, with a single campsite on it. That said, it’s a nice campsite! It’s completely covered in pine needles, has a nice exposed view of the lake, a good fire pit, and 2 or 3 level tent pads. I was able to find plenty of wood for the night.
Unfortunately, what the campsite also had in abundance were horseflies, and they were hungry. After setting up camp, I basically went back and forth between donning long sleeves and a hat to reduce my skin exposure and swimming in the lake to cool down. It’s a reedy lake, so not the best for swimming, but it nonetheless felt great.
I went for an afternoon paddle around the lake, where a loon swam very close to me.
There was a lovely period around sunset when the horseflies retreated, but before the mosquitoes emerged. I cooked up a steak and veggies, and enjoyed sitting around the fire. As it got dark, the bugs re-emerged, so I soon retreated into my tent to read before sleep.
Campsite: Great campsite. Room for 2-3 tents, a large open area, a great view of the lake, and a newish thunderbox.
| Total Distance | 5.3 km |
| Portaging Distance (only for canoe trips) | 760m (single carry) |
| Number of Portages (only for canoe trips) | 1 |
| Campsite Reservation | Bridle Lake |
Day 2: Bridle Lake to Shirley Lake (3.2 km)
The forecast had strong winds whipping up in the afternoon, and Shirley is a large enough lake that I wasn’t terribly keen on paddling in rough conditions. I decided the night before not to dawdle at the campsite and instead enjoy the full afternoon on Shirley.
I cooked up some oatmeal, enjoyed a coffee, and packed up. With the sunrise so early, the mosquitoes had mostly retreated from the campsite by the time I left the tent, and the horseflies weren’t yet active. I enjoyed the peace, but with the heat of the day already building, I figured the upcoming portage would be rough.
I was on the water by 9:30 or so, and quickly made it to the portage to Shirley.
Portage from Bridle Lake to Shirley Lake (1320m): This is the longest portage of the route. It begins with a slight hill, but aside from that and a wet, muddy section about halfway along, I’m really struggling to remember specific details. It was once again extremely buggy, and I decided to wear my fleece to protect my arms and sides, and I was sweating hard as a result. But otherwise, aside from being long-ish, there’s nothing stands out about this portage. The double carry, plus loading/unloading, probably took me about an hour.
Launching on Shirley was a relief; I was out of the woods, and could strip down to shorts and short sleeves. A stiff breeze was already blowing, meaning I didn’t have to contend with a swarm chasing me onto the water.
I had my eye set on the lone peninsula site on the eastern shore of the lake, just north of the large island. It was roughly a 2km paddle. Rollers were building in response to the west wind, but keeping a 45ish degree angle I was able to reach the site without issue. This choice proved a great one; the site became a favourite in the park. It’s enormous, with spaced-out pines. You could fit 20 tents on this site without issue. The back of it was also a morass of downed arm-thick trees that took little effort to drag to the fire, so collecting firewood took no time. It has a large, sandy beach with a fine view of the lake. Honestly, the only downside of the site is the thunderbox. It’s fairly exposed to the tents/fire area, and it looked like the makeshift privacy barrier had partially collapsed during the winter. I took some time to build this up more, taking advantage of some dock wood that was along the periphery of the site.
By 2:00, the wind was blowing so hard and straight onto the landing beach that I’m not sure I could have left if I wanted to. While a team of two likely could have managed, as a solo paddler, I was windbound, and that treated me just fine. While horseflies were once again present on the site, the strong winds – especially by the beach – kept them entirely at bay. As a result, I spent almost the entire afternoon reading, swimming and lounging on the beach, with a break for a nap in the hammock.
The wind calmed some around 6:30, and I got a fire lit. Dehydrated pasta – leftovers from a winter camping trip – and garlic bread for dinner. Once again, shortly after sunset, the mosquitoes came out, though the wind made them more manageable than the night before. I sat by the fire until 11 or so, before crawling into the tent.
Campsite: Fantastic campsite! 4.6/5 stars, with points taken away only for the fairly visible thunderbox. It’s massive, with plenty of wood, great views, totally flat, and a lovely sandy beach.
| Total Distance | 3.2 km |
| Portaging Distance | 1.3 km (single carry) |
| Number of Portages | 1 |
| Campsite Reservation | Shirley Lake |
Day 3: Shirley Lake to Shall Lake Access Point (8.6 km)
I woke up to much calmer conditions, the wind having settled back to a manageable breeze. Not in any particular rush to get going, I took my time enjoying a fire with breakfast, 2 coffees, and loaded oatmeal. I was on the water around 10.
Conditions on Shirley were fairly calm, and I made quick progress south. I decided to stop and take a quick detour up the 280m portage to Fog Lake. The landing is fairly nondescript, even with the yellow sign it’s easy to miss, and barely fits one canoe. There are no campsites on Fog Lake, so this portage is seldom used. It’s also one of the most vertical I’ve come across in the park, rising 54m over its 280m length. Naturally, it was infested with mosquitoes. Fog Lake itself is very small, and you have to climb over a mess of deadfall. I’m glad I left the canoe down at Shirley.
I carried on to the rest of the way to the Portage to Crotch Lake, a total paddling distance of a little over 4km. Despite being before noon, it was a scorcher. When I eventually accessed cell signal on the 60, a few hours later, the humidex was reading 42°C. Layering up to protect myself from the dense mosquito clouds was an unpleasant experience, and I knew I would be drenched through by the time I finished the portage.
Portage from Shirley Lake to Crotch Lake (1032m). This is another longish portage with nothing particularly memorable about it. As expected, I was drenched in sweat due to the heat and layers, and the bugs were noxious in their intensity. But for all that, it’s a level, fairly wide, easy portage. On the way back, I took a quick bushwhack detour to look at Owaissa Lake, essentially a pond with muddy shores, but some very cool driftwood. The bush to access this lake is thick, and there are no trails, so be careful not to lose your way. The portage took me about an hour, including the detour.
Crotch Lake is a pretty, if busy, lake. I’ve previously stayed on it in November, enjoying it entirely to myself, but would always choose to press further in the busy months, particularly any site near the 5 side-by-side ones just southeast of the permit office – seriously, what’s the deal there? The sites on the northern island look nice, if very close together. I enjoyed the site just to the south of that island when I camped on it.
You can land your canoe on Crotch, just below the permit office, or paddle under the bridge back to Farm and nearer the parking lot. This is the first time you can really tell you’re on the Opeongo River, the funnelled current under the bridge being strong enough this time of year that it was barely manageable as a solo paddler.
I loaded up the canoe and gear and made my way back to Ottawa, making the customary stop at Whitewater Brewing in Cobden for a pint and burger.
| Total Distance | 8.6 km |
| Portaging Distance (only for canoe trips) | 1 km (single carry) |
| Number of Portages (only for canoe trips) | 2 |
| Campsite Reservation | N/A |
Reflections
An enjoyable loop in a less busy area of the park. I happened to be out on one of the hottest weekends of the year, and the bugs were atrocious, but I’d happily do this loop again to keep my intention of introducing my friend to canoe camping. And hey, just like a heavy canoe on a 1km portage, type 2 fun adds character to the sublime moments of a story.
Author Bio
Dustin is a climate change specialist by vocation and a backcountry camper by obsession. Algonquin Park is his most frequent destination, but you’ll often find him paddling the lakes and rivers around Ottawa. Long fascinated by the Arctic, he is building his skillset (and wallet) towards more challenging northern routes. In 2023, he passed his goal of visiting over 100 different named lakes in Algonquin.
Instagram: Dustin.Out.Camping