Outdoors

Another trip to Murphys Point Provincial Park and returned to our home at site #135 on Old Stone Road in Fallows Campground.

We left Mississauga bright and early on Thursday morning and reached Murphys about 11:30am. The weather was grey and there was a very light drizzle on the way there. However, if you have taken Highway 7, no matter the weather, the view is gorgeous.

Once we had the site set up, we went to the store to purchase some firewood. Beside the store is the visitors centre where they had an information session about the endangered Rat Snake. What a beautiful creature!

That evening we took our fishing gear out to the end of the beach at Hogg Bay but cut it short as the wind was too strong and the fish weren't biting. On the way back through the parking lot, I spotted a large porcupine sleeping on a branch in a tree on the edge of the forest. That night as we sat around the fire, we had at least two small raccoons pass through...and there were definitely more visitors after we went to sleep. When we woke up, there were little prints all over the car!

We woke up on Friday to a cool, damp morning but after a hot breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee, we were ready for a canoe trip. We packed our fishing gear, some lunch, rented the canoe from the store and launched from the beach at Hogg Bay. We paddled to the edge of Big Rideau Lake before turning back around. On our way back, we spotted what looked like a turtle swimming towards the canoe. As it got closer, it appeared to be a young beaver! He swam beside us, appearing to be unaware that we were there before he quickly dove under and changed direction.

We continued along Hogg Bay, past the beach until we reached the portage to Loon Lake. It was a very calm and beautiful location so we decided to sit down for a snack and some fishing. There were a few nibbles but didn't catch anything. We did however, get the opportunity to see a beautiful Great Blue Heron fly past us so close that you could hear and feel his wings as he flew past us.

We continued out trek on the portage to Loon Lake where we saw lots of little frogs in the mud and a few turtles along the way. Loon Lake has really pretty scenery and just a calm, relaxing feeling. It's not very busy as there is not a beach, however there is a portage to Loon Lake behind the campstore.

We then portaged back to Hogg Bay where we paddled along the shore looking for more frogs and turtles.

Keir dropped me back off as I needed to return to the campsite quickly but it wasn't until my way back to the beach that I spotted the same porcupine still sitting in the tree as the day before...except this time, there was a baby with it! You have not seen cute until you've seen a baby porcupine learning to climb a tree. After about 10 minutes, it made it's way to the top!

As I was helping Keir pull the canoe out of the water, a red and white water snake slithered out of the reeds and into the water. We definitely had a successful canoe trip with lots of wildlife to see.

We returned the canoe and were determined to catch a fish. We went to the boat launch along the shore near Big Rideau Lake and Keir caught a Rock Bass! I was also very excited as I caught my very first fish, also a Rock Bass...I was very excited. Keir ended up catching a small sunfish but when we ran out of worms, the fish lost interest...which was fine as it started to rain.

We had another raccoon go through the site but as we were sleeping, they were definitely not as quiet as the night before! They got adventureous and the corner of the tent was rattling...silly raccoons.

Saturday brought us to day 3. After breakfast, we immediately packed our gear up as there was a chance of rain ...it ended up not raining but better to be safe than have to dry a tent on your balcony!

On the drive out, we stopped at Noble Bay and got some pictures. Great scenery and there were lots of fish...good to know for next time!

We had an amazing trip and I can't wait to go back. See you soon Murphys!

This camping trip marked our first of many outdoor adventures together. Murphys Point is located in the "Southeast Region" of the Ontario Parks system, near Perth. It is a beautiful park, family oriented and although on the smaller scale, it offers wonderful opportunities for wildlife viewing with numerous activities to experience day or night.

During this particular trip, we booked in the Fallows Campgound on Old Stone Road, Site #135. The campsite was clean and private with water and privy a few sites down. We like booking sites that aren't directly around those areas to avoid pedestrian traffic.

The weather was good for much of the trip except for the last day when he had to pack up our gear in the rain. Since then, we have purchased a very large tarp to hang over the tent area as we only have a balcony and attemping to dry the fly of an 8-man tent takes 2-3 days.

This park had been a place of childhood memories for Keir and I was excited to share in what he loved so much about it. We rented a canoe from the park store and picked our canoe up from Hogg Bay where we spent the afternoon on the calm water exploring all the corners and edges it had to offer.

We had the wonderful opportunity to see a loon gliding across as well as a beautiful great blue heron on the small island across from the beach. If you paddle quietly or stop and allow the water to carry you, you can also see many turtles sunbathing on logs and fish swimming under the canoe.

The beach at Hogg Bay had frogs upon frogs in the reeds and along the shore, they were fun to watch...I can spend hours looking for frogs...ask Keir.

We had a few nightime visitors wander through the campsite but the raccoons were very shy and kept moving through the site.

For our canoe trip and our walks to the beach we packed peanut butter and jam sandwiches and dinner came with the usual hotdogs meal. I introduced Keir however to the simplicity of campfire quesidillas and now we have them everytime we go!

Murphys Point has hiking trails but this is the only provincial park we have been to...numerous times where we have not hiked a single trail! The wildlife viewing is so amazing even from the campsites along with the enjoyment of the canoe trips, we seem to run out of time! Our next trip to Murphys Point will definitely need to include the exploration of their trails!

It is a beautiful place to be; the staff are extremely friendly, the sites are well maintained, and the scenery of the park leaves it to be without a doubt, a favourite of ours and we will always go back.