Algonquin: Rain Lake to Islet and McCraney Lake Loop (4 days / 24 km)
This was the 7th annual canoe trip for our family. My brothers and I have been taking our kids on a canoe trip every year since they were between 3 and 9 years old. After 7 years we wanted a trip that would allow them to practice their canoe skills while still upping the challenge.
We started at Rain Lake, the west of Algonquin was new ground for everyone, and travelled through a couple of portages to spend two nights on Islet Lake. Our third day required a few portaging, improving everyone’s stamina, then into McCraney Lake for our third night. We left the ‘challenge’ for the last day in the form of a 1.8 km portage, our largest yet, back to Rain Lake and home. We had a little rain, but were prepared for it, and the days were a little cooler than typical July weather.
Trip Completed: July 2023
Trip Summary
Location: This route is located on west site of Algonquin Provincial Park, near Kearney, ON
Traditional Territory: This route takes place on the traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki (source).
Maps & Resources
Guidebook: None
Map: Planned and navigated using a topo map and a 2021/2022 Friends of Algonquin Park Official Algonquin Provincial Park Map.
Route Planner: Click here to view and modify this route using the interactive route planner
Permits & Reservations
Campsite Reservations: Book your campsites on the Ontario Parks Reservation System. In Algonquin Provincial Park you book by lake not by specific campsite and you can book up to 5 months in advance of the start of your trip. Once you get there, sites for your lake are first come first served.
Permits: You will receive an emailed receipt on booking. Print this as proof of your permit. You must also register your vehicle and licence plate via the reservation system. Make sure you have the right licence plate number for everyone in your party as you won’t be able to update or change it once you get there.
Know Before You Go
Season: 2023 was exceptionally buggy much later in the season than usual. Normally by mid-July the black flies would be gone and mosquitos would be mild. This wasn’t the case on our trip. Weather is normally hot and sunny this time of year, but it was cooler than normal and we had one day of rain.
Cell Reception: Cell reception ended 30 min before we arrived at the access point so no reception for the entire route.
Water: The only drinking water is the lake, so bring a water purifier, or carry in your water.
Wildlife: Black bears are normal in Algonquin Park but we were a loud group and did not see any. However, there was recent evidence of bears at the site in Islet Lake.
Waste: All garbage is pack-in/pack-out. There are no garbage bins at the access point. Each campsite has a well-maintained thunder box.
Outfitters & Shuttles
Outfitter: We rented one canoe from Canoe Algonquin in Kearney, ON to supplement the three we brought with us. You have to pass by the outfitter to get to the access point so it was very convenient to pick up the canoe along the way and return it when we were done. The canoes come with painter lines, bailing kits and paddles if you need them. The outfitter can deliver canoes for a fee and rents a bunch of gear if you need it.
Shuttle: This route starts and ends at the same access point so a shuttle was not needed for this route.
Trip Report
Day 1: Rain Lake Access Point to Islet Lake (8 km)
Rain Lake Access Point
The road from Kearny to Rain Lake is a maintained dirt road. It was rough on the way in with several large pot-holes (watch your suspension!) but had been re-graded by the time we left. At the access point, there is a large parking lot with outhouse facilities. Canoe entry is a shallow beach with a floating dock and you may have to jump over water to reach the dock if the water level is high.
After packing our canoes we set out east along Rain Lake. For the first day the Western Highlights Backpacking trail follows along our path until Islet Lake, so you could hike the same route.
Portage from Rain Lake to Hot Lake (730 m): Our first portage is 730 m to Hot Lake and takes a steep climb up about 100 m. Be careful as the climb is washed out by rain and the steps are in poor condition. Once you get to the top the rest of the portage is very manageable.
Hot Lake: Hot Lake is a small lake, marshy at the edges with lots of bugs. We moved across the small lake as quickly as possible (about 600 m) to the second portage.
Portage from Hot Lake to Islet Lake (500 m): This was a typical Algonquin portage; relatively wide, flat and well-marked.
Islet Lake: From the portage, it was a short paddle to our goal: the site on the first peninsula. In total, the day was just under 4 hours of travel time.
Campsite: We stayed at the site on the east peninsula, south side of the lake. On the 2021/2022 edition of the Friends of Algonquin map, this site is incorrectly marked on the map as a backpacking site; it seems the map has switched some canoeing and backpacking sites. With the older 2002/2003 Algonquin map the site is marked properly as a canoe site. The site was big enough for three tents, had a large clearing with a fire pit, and a number of half-sawed logs for sitting and preparing your food. The canoe landing was sandy, and okay for swimming.
| Total Paddling Distance | 7 km |
| Total Portaging Distance | 1230 m |
| Number of Portages | 2 |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Lake: 66 – Islet Lake |
Day 2: No travel today
We spent the day working on canoe skills, giving everyone the chance to stern on a trip to the island site in the middle of the lake. It was a great site to relax, swim and explore the forest. There was an abundance of mushrooms after a very wet season.
Day 3: Islet to McCraney Lake (7 km)
The kids took turns as stern paddlers the entire day today, so it took a little longer and many of us were exhausted by the time we reached our site. There were four portages, from 40 m to 630 m, along the route which connects Weed, Wee, and Way Lake. All tiny lakes and a little marshy (so. . . bugs).
Portage from Islet Lake to Weed Lake (40 m): A very short portage, or long lift over, with limited space for only 2 canoes to load/unload at each end.
Portage from Weed Lake to Wee Lake (600 m): The portage starts at the end of a marshy area and is mostly flat, ending at a muddy and shallow landing.
Portage from Wee Lake to Way Lake (570 m): The portage starts flat portage with a slight gradual climb and turns into a long, steeper descent for the last 150 m to the lake.
Portage from Way Lake to McCraney Lake (70 m): A short, flat portage opens up to the larger McCraney Lake with a larger landing area.
Once we reached McCraney Lake we had to pass a few occupied sites before we found a suitable open site. The day took us 4.5 hours.
Campsite: The west side, across from the south of the island. The site was uneven and a little cramped for our large group. We did find enough space for three tents and the swimming was still good, even if a little rocky, after a long day.
| Total Paddling Distance | 6 km |
| Total Portaging Distance | 1280 m |
| Number of Portages | 4 |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Lake: 67 – McCraney Lake |
Day 4: McCraney to Rain Lake Access Point (9 km)
On our last day, we paddled north through the narrows that connected to Little McCraney Lake. We encountered a beaver dam and had to get out and lift the canoes over. It required some balance and strength to avoid falling into the river.
Portage from Little McCraney Lake to Rain Lake (1680 m + 130 m): The last portage on the north side of Little McCraney Lake has two starting points. The first one you are likely to see is a muddy mess. Fortunately a solo tripper coming the other way suggested we use the second entrance, which adds 130 m to the portage but was dry, about 100 m further to the right (east). The portage follows an old railway bed for almost all of the 1800 m so it is very flat with several muddy sections that are hard to walk around (easiest to walk right through them!).
The end of the portage crosses the West Highland Backpacking trail near a backpacking campsite. After 30 minutes of paddling, we were back at the access point, travelling just over 4 hours for the day.
| Total Paddling Distance | 7 km |
| Total Portaging Distance | 1810 m |
| Number of Portages | 1 |
| Campsite Reservation | N/A |
Reflections
I loved this trip. For a short trip, it was sufficiently challenging while still enjoyable for everyone. We got to see a different part of Algonquin Park and were able to improve our portaging skills. We were not properly balanced in our packing for the first and third days of portaging – too many large packs and not enough smaller carries for the younger kids, so the adults and teenager took at least three trips each. For the final day, we shed a lot of food and packed 2 loads per person of the appropriate weight (small, medium, and large). Everyone took exactly two trips on the last portage out and did the entire 1.8 km in one go. Exhausting, but rewarding.
Author Bio
Bob first developed his passion for canoe tripping as a Scout at 11 years old. Throughout his teenage years he went on multiple trips every summer with various youth programs and eventually took on a camp director role, leading canoe trips for 12-18 youth every summer.
Tripping is excellent for building resilience and leadership in youth. The most memorable trips involve overcoming hardships and testing your limits. One year, when Bob was 16, the directors of a 5-day trip in Algonquin Park failed to plan for the appetites of 15+ teenagers and only had cabbage and peanut butter by the last day. Everyone along the Madawaska River could hear the chant ‘hamburgers, hamburgers, hamburgers’ as a pack of hungry teenagers raced to the end of the river where a BBQ lunch awaited them.
Today, Bob tries to get outdoors as much as possible, adventure racing on weekends and leading youth groups into the same backcountry that was so formative in his youth.