Lady Evelyn River: Gamble Lake to MacPherson Lake (Return) (5 days / 33 km)
Starting on Gamble Lake, this simple out-and-back is a hidden gem when it comes to the area. Taking place entirely within Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Provincial Park, this route avoids the more common areas downstream of Katherine Lake – it still has the rugged beauty of the area, all while being less traveled. We were a large group, starting at 10 and growing to 11 when our friend caught up partway through, so had a pretty large effect on our pacing.
This trip was designed with a focus on fishing rather than covering distance, so the pacing won’t exactly work if that’s not your goal.
Trip Completed: September 2022
Trip Summary
Location: This route is northwest of the town of Temagami, but the closest community to the put-in is Gowganda
Traditional Territory: This route travels through the traditional territories of the Teme-Augama Anishinabe, Cree, and Algonquin people.
Maps & Resources
Map: Jeff’s Temagami Map
Interactive Route Planner: Click here to view and modify this route in the Route Planner.
Permits & Reservations
Campsite Reservations: Campsites are on a first-come, first-served basis. We did not have any issues with finding sites, and in fact, we didn’t see any other groups while we were there.
Permits: You need Interior Camping permits for the entire length of this trip, as it is completely within Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Provincial Park. You can book these permits by going to the Ontario Parks Reservation Portal > Backcountry Registration > Temagami Cluster > Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater.
Know Before You Go
Season: This is my favourite time of year to paddle in this area. It is a little less busy than July and August, and it’s not yet as cold as it gets in October, but most of the bugs have already died off. We got quite a bit of rain, but that is not unexpected. I’ve also paddled in this time of year and had five days of sun, so it’s by no means a sure thing.
Cell Reception: There is no cell service along this route.
Water: Once treated, all of the water that you are paddling through is fine to drink.
Wildlife: There are many different kinds of wildlife in the area, but we did not have any specific incidents. There are black bears, beavers, otters, as well as many other rodents and small creatures.
Waste: I know that most (if not all) of the campsites had thunderboxes, but some of them were a little run-down and it was preferred to dig personal holes. We did not see any garbage cans anywhere along the route.
Outfitters & Shuttles
Outfitter: This trip was fully outfitted by the Temagami Outfitting Company. A few of us had our own gear, but for those who didn’t, they provided tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, barrels, packs, and all cooking equipment. They also provided all of the food, which was a mix of dehydrated meals, as well as food from their restaurant that they had frozen and vacuum-sealed.
Shuttle: Temagami Outfitting Company also did our shuttle. Cars were left at the outfitter, and they drove us to and from Gamble Lake.
Trip Report
Day 1: Gamble Lake to the Confluence of the South Lady Evelyn River
We met at the outfitter early, knowing we had a pretty long drive as well as a decent paddle today. It took us a while to get all of our gear organized at the outfitter, but after some rearranging of bags and their contents, we were able to load up their van and hit the road around 10 am. If you’re doing the drive yourself, the road to Gamble Lake is in okay condition and is on Google Maps, so you shouldn’t have any issues getting there as long as you aren’t driving a lower-clearance car.
The outfitter had supplied lunch as well, so we had our sandwiches as we unloaded the boats off the trailer and made sure we had all our gear. We pushed off onto the lake under slightly greying skies, but the rains were holding off for the time being. Gamble Lake and Chance Lake are both very similar, with some patches of reeds and grasses, and even when it started misting on us a little bit we still all felt good to just be out there.
Portage at Chance Lake Outflow (40 m): We had high enough water and sturdy enough boats that we were able to drag down it, but in lower water, you might have to do the short portage (40 m).
The outflow of Chance Lake was calm enough that we could drag our boats down it, so we did that while the more competent fisherfolk of us set up the rods. Not feeling like we were in any rush, we spent some time at the pool at the bottom fishing, and a few people caught their first brook trout! It was very exciting, but eventually, we felt like we had to keep going, so we continued to meander our way down the North Lady Evelyn River.
The rain eased up over the course of the afternoon, which made the river much more enjoyable, but while we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife we didn’t see any. Before too long we passed the confluence of the South Lady Evelyn River and reached our campsite. It was on the left side of the river, and had a nice enough fire pit and kitchen area, but got a little cramped (for a group of our size).
We were pretty lucky with the weather because it stayed dry-ish long enough for us to make and eat dinner, but almost as soon as the dishes were done it came back, and we all ran off to the tents and had a mellow evening of reading and cards.
Campsite: The first campsite past the confluence of the South Lady Evelyn River. It was a little small for the size of our group, but with a reasonable-sized group, it would have been fine.
| Total Distance | 10 km |
| Time | 5 hours |
| Portaging Distance | 0 m |
| Number of Portages | 0 |
| Campsite Reservation | No reservation required |
Day 2: Confluence of the South Lady Evelyn River to (almost) MacPherson Lake
The rain had stuck around all night and continued into the morning as well. We had a nice tarp set up, which made it a little more enjoyable as we chatted over our morning coffees. A few hundred metres past the campsite we ran into our first portage of the day.
Portage (280 m): The portage trail is on river right. Not needing to make much distance, we took turns fishing, a couple of people doing loads of the portage at a time. The trail was a little rocky at times, made a little slick by the continued drizzle, but by the time we had finished with our fishing and portaging it had eased up to just grey skies.
We made some tacos for lunch at the far end of the portage and then continued down the winding river as the skies continued to clear. By the time we made it to the falls, we were surprised to see a fair bit of blue, and had to break out the sunglasses!
Before we did the portage, we pulled out at the campsite on river right and walked down to the river to fish. The brook trout were plentiful, and by the time we were leaving this spot, I think everyone had caught at least one trout. (We were only doing catch and release, as the brook trout in the Lady Evelyn are far too small to reasonably eat, but it was still a great time!).
Portage around the Falls (345 m): The access to this portage can be a little tricky, there is a little inlet of water on river left that you can negotiate the boats into and unload out of the current. This portage has some rocky sections where you need to watch your footing but is overall quite easy to follow.
We scooted across the larger pool at the bottom and then decided that the small rapid beneath was easy enough to drag/line down and avoid portaging (50 m of lining/dragging).
From the bottom we could see our campsite across the pond, so we hurried across and set up in the afternoon light before going for a swim. Just as we were finishing making dinner, our last group member showed up! He had soloed here today, all the way from Gamble, and we were glad to have him. We all visited and caught up, and once it started to cool off we all dispersed to our tents.
Campsite: A beautiful campsite on the far side of a pool at the bottom of the last rapid. Lots of room, with a nice big fire pit.
| Total Distance | 4 km |
| Time | 6.5 hours |
| Portaging Distance | 675 m |
| Number of Portages | 3 |
| Campsite Reservation | No reservation required |
Day 3: To MacPherson Lake and Back
We had a bit of a sleep-in today, for our day of relaxation and enjoyment. Partially also because it was incredibly cold and no one wanted to get out of their bags! Once everyone had emerged from the tents we had some breakfast burritos in the morning sun, which was trying its hardest to warm up the world.
Once we had eaten, we took small daypacks with lunch, water, and the other essentials.
Portage to Small Pond #1 (70 m): We portaged to the other side to make our way through multiple small ponds/lakes to get to MacPherson Lake. The first trail was easy and short, with just one fallen tree to be stepped over.
Portage to Small Pond #2 (95 m): Across another small pond was our next portage on river right, which was similarly inconsequential.
Portage to Small Pond #3 (125 m): At the risk of sounding repetitive, we paddled across another small pond to the next portage (river right access), but we were also starting to see a bit of change in topography. The river banks were starting to be a little more hilly, and this next portage took us around spectacular falls.
Portage to Small Pond #4 (130 m)The small pond between portages #3 and #4 took it to the next level, being ringed in by beautiful cliffs. The last portage was also easy and brought us into MacPherson Lake, our playground for the day.
We spent the next hours relaxing, fishing, and snacking until we eventually thought it best to start making our way back. We did all of those lovely portages in reverse, thankful that we were so lightly laden, and made it back to our campsite around 4 pm. We collected extra firewood tonight to have a big bonfire on the rocks and stave off the chill of the evening, and eventually made our way back to our tents after a successful day.
Campsite: Same as last night
| Total Distance | 5 km |
| Time | 6 hours |
| Portaging Distance | 840 m |
| Number of Portages | 8 |
| Campsite Reservation | No reservation required |
Day 4: (Almost) MacPherson Lake to Chance Lake (8.5 km, 8 hrs)
Portages:
- 50 m on river right
- 345 m on river left around falls
- 280 m on river right
We were up in good time this morning, wanting to make sure we got most of the way back to the takeout so we could be on time for our pickup tomorrow, but also wanting to make sure we had time for some fishing on the way. Granola made for a quick and easy breakfast, and before long we were paddling across the small pond to our portage.
Portage around small rapid (50 m): Unfortunately, it wasn’t worth it to drag up the rapid, so we had to do the short portage across the rocks to get upstream of it. The portage is on river right.
Portage around the Falls (345 m): After paddling through the slightly larger (but still not huge) pond filled with patches of reeds, we found ourselves back at the portage around the falls. This one we decided to just tackle all at once, planning on fishing at the next portage, so we got through it in a very reasonable time.
Portage (280 m): It was just about now that the good weather we’d had all of the day before finally turned, and it started raining on us. This made the paddle up the river, and the next portage (river right), pretty soggy, but we’d had such a good time so far on this trip that it didn’t feel like it mattered. It’s remarkable what being around good people can do for the morale of a group, it makes the bad things not quite so bad, and the good things so much better. With the rain, we only ended up doing a little bit of fishing before giving up and blasting through the last portage, then paddling as quickly as we could up the river to our last campsite.
We camped at the first campsite upstream of the confluence of the South Lady Evelyn, on river left.
It felt like we were playing Tetris with the tents trying to find space for them all to fit, and we had to get a bit creative with our tarp setup, but eventually, everyone had somewhere to get changed into dry clothes, and we were able to cook out of the rain. A few folks went right back to the tents after dinner to relax and read, while others stayed under the tarp, making the most of our last evening on the trip. Eventually, though, we all dashed through the rain back to our beds and dozed off to the white noise of the rain on our flies.
Campsite: A bit small for our group so we had to get a little squished, but overall not bad. I’m sure it would have felt spacious to a smaller group.
| Total Distance | 8.5 km |
| Time | 8 hours |
| Portaging Distance | 675 m |
| Number of Portages | 3 |
| Campsite Reservation | No reservation required |
Day 5: Back to Gamble Lake (5.5 km, 2 hrs)
It always feels a little bittersweet to be finishing a trip, but we were excited at the prospect of a warm shower as we emerged from the tents this morning. Thankfully the rain had eased off overnight, and we were able to pack up with just slightly overcast skies.
Portage at Chance Lake Outflow (40 m): The weather stayed mostly nice, with just a little bit of drizzle, as we backtracked up the river, winding our way along until we got to the last portage of the trip. Similarly to the one at the start of the day yesterday, we were unable to drag back up it, so we just all carried each boat across as a group.
After that final team-building exercise, we were within striking distance of the takeout, and after paddling through the reeds and grasses of Chance and Gamble Lakes, we pulled up at the campsite at the end of the road. It was pretty perfect timing since just as we had finished unloading the last boat, the van showed up for our pickup! Erik helped us load up, and we set off back towards town.
| Total Distance | 5.5 km |
| Time | 2 hours |
| Portaging Distance | 40 m |
| Number of Portages | 1 |
| Campsite Reservation | N/A |
Reflections
This trip was a lot of fun and a bit of a departure from the norm for me. I usually do trips that are much more focused on the journey itself and the places we’re going through, but it was really nice to have an excuse to spend a bit more time in one place. I also liked the excuse to have two nights in one place, because that always simplifies things logistically, but it was also nice to have something to do that day because I find I end up feeling a little restless at the end of a rest day.
There’s not necessarily anything that I would do differently, but it’s not the kind of trip that I would do super often, just out of personal preference. It could be interesting to turn this into a longer trip, one that starts at Gamble but continues past MacPherson and down towards the waterfalls of the South Channel, as more of a one-way trip than an out-and-back. But that’s a possibility for another time.
Author Bio
Liam has been canoeing since childhood, starting with short trips alongside his parents and their friends. He considers the Temagami area his playground, having grown up attending Camp Wanapitei. For the past seven years, Liam has worked as a guide for various companies in the region, sharing his love of the outdoors by introducing people to the places he cherishes.
When not in the wilderness, he spends time on the west coast, working at an outdoor equipment shop, where he enjoys helping customers plan their adventures—and secretly wishing he could join them.
Instagram: @white.squall