Grundy Lake to Gurd Lake: Beginner-Friendly Backcountry Camping
Grundy Lake Provincial Park 20400 Highway 522 Britt, ON P0G 1A0, Canada
A pair of tents pitched in a bed of grass and soft Reindeer Moss
At Grundy Provincial Park, you step into a tale of ice and time. Shaped by volcanic origins and molded by glaciers, this park has a breathtaking array of landscapes including encounters with wetlands, upland forests, expansive rock barrens, and sparkling lakes with sandy beaches.
Trip Report:
Grundy Lake Park offers great beginner-friendly paddle-in sites for visitors wanting to dip their toes into backcountry camping, while still having the facilities within easy reach (sites average around 500 meters from launch points). With 18 sites available across Grundy and Gurd Lake I booked a site at each.
| Type | Backcountry | |
| Toronto Drive | ||
| Duration | ||
| Camp #1 | 2 - Grundy Lake | |
| Camp #2 | 7 - Gurd Lake | |
| Season | Summer (September 2021) | |
Day 1: Grundy Lake
Site #2: this site has gorgeous views and is so close to the launch but comes at a price. There is a steep incline where you have to haul your gear to the campsite and the path is rugged. Keep an eye on your footing! When you arrive, you’ll find a spacious site with a well-placed picnic table and fire pit. Many lookout areas to view the lake and lounge around too.
Tip: the thunderbox (toilet) is at the base of the incline where you dock, not at the top.
Camping Reservations: (here)
Park Map: (official map)
Grundy Lake Park Map: backcountry camping sites and canoe routes
Filtering Lake Grundy Water: Is That tea?
Grundy’s waters have a very notable taste - particularly close to shore. Because the lake is so shallow, its water acts like a “tea” in that it steeps the organic matter of nearby forests into its waters, adding a tannin flavour. Although this is safe once properly filtered, this may be an issue for sensitive tongues.
Aluminum canoe and a few inflatable paddle boards were our modes of transportation for ourselves and our gear
Your Friendly Neighbour
There weren’t many flat places to pitch our tents near the picnic table so we settled in a little further out. The campsites in general have very plush grounds thanks to the abundance of moss. These mosses are small, non-vascular plants that thrive in various habitats, including wetlands, forests, and rocky areas. A few species you can find at the Grundy Lake Park are Sphagnum Moss in wetlands, Rock Cap Moss on rocky surfaces, Haircap Moss in woodlands, Polytrichum Moss for soil stabilization, Cushion Moss in damp areas, and Sheet Moss in woodlands.
Lichen Here, Lichen There, LIchen Everywhere
Another common sighting you’ll see are lichen. Lichen are fascinating organisms formed by a partnership between fungi, algae or cyanobacteria. This relationship allows the lichen to survive in diverse environments and is an indicators of an ecosystem’s well-being.
Rock Tripe lichen at Grundy Lake Park
You’ll be able to spot Reindeer Lichen, British Soldier Lichen, Pixie Cup Lichen, Powdered Ruffle Lichen, and various crustose lichens around the park. Throughout history, lichens have served as an important survival resource during times of famine where it’s served as a last resort for sustenance.
Our fire pot came with a sturdy grill we were able to place our iron dutch oven on top of
Tip! Use the needles of a fallen evergreen branch to help scrub the excess gunk from your dutch oven
Bald Eagle Sighting
We had our very first close-encounter with a bald eagle right by our campsite! Close enough to clearly see its underbelly and magnificent wingspan which is an intimidate moment I’ll never forget.
Bald eagles prefer habitats with open water bodies where they can hunt for fish, their primary food source. For fellow birders, you can also spot Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, woodpeckers, Osprey (rare), as well as an assortment of waterfowl, and songbirds.
Bird watching at the campsite, Grundy Lake
Day 2: Gurd Lake
It was a cold night despite how dry this photo looks. Although it’s warm in Toronto during September, camp just a bit more north and the nights dip down lower than you expect. Be prepared! Bring an extra sweaters and proper rain gear because if it rains, the heat will be robbed from under your feet.
View of the outdoors from within the tent
Steel-tongue drum, morning music playing session
after Early Morning Forest Bathing, Onwards
Despite having wind gusts of over 30km/h we decided on paddling and portaging to our next campsite (instead of overland driving). We wanted adventure! And to experience each lake, though the wind speed was pushing the upper limits of our inflatable paddle boards. Even our canoe needed effort to stay on course.
Paddling towards Gurd Lake, we traversed through Gut Lake inbetween.
For paddle boards, the bridges have shallow water we had to be careful to navigate our fins through
And as the wind predicted, it rained mid-way on our journey and the 190m portage felt a lot longer.
After the portgage, facing Gurd Lake. There is a large beaver dam in this area
I’ll be honest and say the journey was way more gruelling than we anticipated, and its mostly due to the weather. You’re seldom blessed with ideal conditions so the hardship, though misery-inducing at the time, made arriving at camp so much more glorious. Even better was that the sun started to break as we were meters from our site. I’ll take it!
Arriving at Camp
Site #7: what a lovely view! There are side-swept trees that reminded me of the ones we saw at French River last summer and I had a deep pang of nostalgia. This area was massive with so much to explore without any neighbors within view (though you’ll see daytime paddlers regularly). Truly, the sites in this park are spectacular and I mean that.
Campsite #7 at Gurd Lake
Being on top of a rock outcropping, we were very exposed to the wind so this spot may be colder than you think. There aren’t many forested areas that were close by without going deeper into the site (which we didn’t want to do to avoid disturbing the flora) so wind breakers are a must, or atleast an extra layer at this time of year.
Rehydrating a deconstructed lasagna dish, cooked in a dutch oven
Can you spot the camper? Our friend did cowboy camping under the stars: a great option for the hardy
Day 3: Rest
We awoke to a chilly morning: W tried camping in a hammock and was miserably cold so he barely lasted the night before climbing back into the tent. The night time temperature is wildly different than day time (we even had it go down to 4°C one night) so layer up!
The morning sunny view after a chilly night
View of the tents at Gurd Lake amongst sparse trees
Explorations Amongst Moss
Going deeper into the campsite unveils various areas to carefully explore with denser trees that provide wind barriers and stone surfaces that heat up during the afternoon sun to keep you warm throughout the day. Hiking around was my favourite activity to do here and you can hear anything from cackling grackles to chittering songbirds as you pass by.
Various sedges, grasses and mounds of Reindeer moss with evergreens are common around this site
British Soldier Lichen (Cladonia cristatella); they get their name from their fruiting bodies that resemble red-capped soldiers
Brewing coffee in the woods using a mini wood stove. Always check the fire alerts beforehand
Waving at the paddling park warden, slurping ramen, and basking in sunlight in our camp chairs were the activities du jour. After dinner, we were nosey neighbours and cruised around the perimeter of the waters to sneak peeks at the other sites.
Note: for those wanting a canoe day trip: you can actually paddle all the way to Pakeshkag River, portaging at the north of Gurd Lake after bypassing Beaver Lake.
View of Gurd Lake from the campsite, we got here by canoe and paddle boards
Day 4: Home
Just like Grundy Lake, the launch point at the beach is within view so paddling back to the parking lot is quick business. We lucked out on crystal clear water and set out for an extremely short paddle back.
Canoe back to the main park campgrounds from Gut Lake
So Quick, we added a Hike
Reloading the car was so quick we drove to the head of Gut Lake Trail (2.5km) for a hike. This trail is moderate with a lot of changes in scenery.
Forested area at Gut Lake Trail
Don’t forget to scan the ground for mushrooms
In open areas, it’s common to see Turkey Vultures circling around: you can tell who they are by their large silhouettes and how they tend to “rock” when they glide; riding the warm air currents in large steady circles. Birders often describe them as lazy fliers, but I say they’re just being efficient!
Another fun fact: Turkey Vultures have a keen sense of smell used to locate food; I can only hope it’s carrion they’re noticing and not the smelly campers. TVs are my favourite raptor because of their incredibly important role in the ecosystem: preventing disease from spreading by feeding on animal carcasses which are neutralized in their highly acid stomach capable of process toxins like botulism - a home canner’s worst nightmare. Bald head be damned, I think these guys are so cool.
View of the great Canadian Shield at Grundy Lake Provincial Park, Gut Lake Trail
Final Thoughts
The Grundy Lake Park canoe-in sites are perfect for beginner backcountry trips and for large groups with mixed camping experiences. The landscape is truly breathtaking - there’s so much to see! Looking down at your boots was never more fascinating. The biggest con is how it isn’t secluded with the launch points within view and the portages are quite annoying: but that’s the price of convenience.
The beauty of Grundy Lake is how you can compress or expand your trips: stay in just one lake if you want something quick. Or hop to the other lakes to extend your adventure. Throw a paddling day trip in there too if you need even more challenge. I’ll definitely be coming back to explore the other sites. Highly, highly recommended.
For our camping gear list, click here.
Read another beginner-friendly paddling trip at Algonquin, Kawartha Highlands or more.
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There’s a majesty to seeing powerful trees permanently side-swayed by the bay wind that is near unexplainable.