10 Best Places To Paddle And See Fall Colours

Autumn in Ontario is hard to beat. Crisp, misty mornings give way to warm afternoon sun, illuminating endless forests aflame with riots of reds, oranges, purples and golds are hallmarks of the season. My only complaint about fall is that the season goes by too quickly—and its passing marks the end of another season of canoeing.

When the long, hot days of summer give way to the shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures in late August and September, the leaves of Ontario’s deciduous trees start losing their green pigment. Chlorophylle is replaced by a kaleidoscope of colours that become more dramatic with time. The exact timing of peak fall colours in Ontario is difficult to predict. It varies based on latitude, local weather, and precipitation over the summer. In Northern Ontario, around the cities of Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, mid-September is a good bet. Late September and early October is often ideal for leaf-viewing in central Ontario, including Killarney, French River and Algonquin provincial parks. Colours stick around in southern Ontario until the end of October and even early November. Heavy rain and strong winds spell the end of fall colours.

Peak fall colours in Ontario are something you have to see to believe. In my opinion, the best way to do so is from a canoe. However, it’s important to recognize that fall paddling trips are riskier than summer outings due to cooler water temperatures and variable weather, so it’s essential to be modest with your route planning and cautious while you’re on the water. This article provides a glimpse of some of the best fall canoe routes in Ontario to immerse yourself in the wonder of this magical time of year.

Robertson Lake, Sault Ste Marie

Located a mere 20-minute drive north of Sault Ste. Marie, just off the Trans-Canada Highway, the Algoma Highlands are one of Ontario’s best fall colours destinations. Specifically, the 5-km loop trail to the summit of Robertson Cliffs is a fall pilgrimage for locals and visitors alike—often with hikers lining up to soak in the spectacular view from the top. The trail is well worth it, and my favourite way to avoid the crowds is to hike Robertson Cliffs at the crack of dawn and follow it up with a paddle on Robertson Lake, which has only a few cottages and has the distinct feel of a remote northern body of water.

Robertson Lake is accessible via a short portage (high clearance vehicles can drive right to the launch) from Robertson Lake Road, about a kilometre beyond the well-marked parking area for the hiking trail. The 3-km-long lake is surrounded by tall, maple-clad hills, verdant white pine and granite cliffs, with a small beach at the east end that’s ideal for a picnic lunch. Local outfitter Forest the Canoe offers canoe rentals and guided day trips for paddlers and hikers alike.

Algonquin Park

When it comes to fall colours in Ontario, Algonquin Provincial Park is truly iconic. In September and October, the park’s Highway 60 corridor buzzes with tourists in search of the flaming vistas that inspired the work of Canada’s famous Group of Seven painters. Look to farther-flung access points—and be sure to book your permits early—to have a better chance at solitude. One of my fall favourites is Shall Lake, located about 26 km north of Highway 60, near the park’s eastern boundary, where you can set off on a day trip or an overnight canoe trip on smaller backcountry lakes.

Closer to Huntsville, the Oxtongue River showcases spectacular Algonquin fall colours in an easy one-day canoe route. Algonquin Outfitters is your go-to source for route information, including rentals, shuttles and guided trips. The Friends of Algonquin Park provides great resources for visitors, including typical dates for peak fall colours in different parts of the park, seasonal forecasts, local webcams for real-time updates, a list of outfitters, access points and maps.

Kivi Park

With networks of hiking and mountain biking trails and on-site canoe rentals, Kivi Park is a great adventure destination for fall colours in Sudbury. Crowley Lake is located in the southern end of the 480-acre park, off of Long Lake Road. It’s surrounded by a mixture of boreal and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forests, creating a myriad of greens and golds with sprinkles of red during the peak colour season of late September. Exposed rocky shores and patches of tamarack trees provide impressive contrasts and reflect Sudbury’s diverse geology.

Sudbury lives up to its title of City of Lakes, and adventurous paddlers can tackle portages from Crowley to Camp and Linton lakes. Or you can try hiking or mountain biking on Kivi’s vast 90-km network of well-groomed trails. Pick up your day permit online.

Lake Superior Provincial Park, Wawa

Located just south of Wawa, Ontario, Lake Superior Provincial Park offers incredible diversity due to its location at the transition between hardwood Great Lakes-St. Lawrence and northern boreal forest types. The southern- and mid-sections of the park, including the campground at Agawa Bay, feature maple forests that blaze vibrant reds and oranges around mid-September. Further north, staring around the Rabbit Blanket Lake campground, you glimpse the boreal’s coniferous black spruces and deciduous white birches, creating stark green and gold contrasts.

The 16-km Fenton-Treeby canoe route is a personal favourite for fall paddling. The starting point on Fenton Lake is located on Highway 17 about 20 km south of Wawa, in the heart of the boreal forest. The route consists of a handful of small lakes and wetland areas, linked by short portages. It makes an easy day trip for seasoned paddlers or a relaxing overnight adventure, with a distinctive northern flair. You can rent a canoe from the park or nearby Naturally Superior Adventures.  

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Though it’s rightfully best known for its hiking trails with sweeping Lake Superior views, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park also offers easy canoeing on Marie Louise Lake, adjacent to the park’s drive-in campground. Be sure to book your campsite in advance; the park is located within an hour’s drive of Thunder Bay, on Highway 587.

You can rent a canoe from the park and paddle the lake’s diverse shoreline. You’ll get plenty of long views of the dramatic hills of the Sleeping Giant—draped in a golden blanket of poplar and birch trees and pin-pricked by emerald conifers as summer gives way to autumn in September.

Temagami

Temagami is a legendary Ontario canoeing destination north of Sudbury and North Bay renowned for its ancient forests, including some of the world’s largest remaining stands of old-growth red- and white pine. These wispy evergreen giants are spectacular at any time of year. For more colour, you’re best to plan a longer fall canoe expedition to higher ground—including the aptly named Maple Mountain, in the heart of Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park.

Intermediate to advanced paddlers should set aside at least a week of canoe tripping to get to Maple Mountain and back, starting from Mowat’s Landing off of Highway 558, west of Highway 11 and the city of Temiskaming Shores. You’ll traverse Lady Evelyn Lake, a sprawling, island-pocked body of water that’s dangerous to paddle in the wind, so build in weather days accordingly. Maple Mountain is accessed via a 3-km (one-way) trail from Tupper Lake, and offers incredible wilderness vistas punctuated by red maples, yellow birches and glinting lakes. Canoe rentals and vehicle shuttles are available from Smoothwater Outfitters and Temagami Outfitting Company. Contact Lakeland Airways to learn more about fly-in canoe trips, outpost fishing camps and sightseeing tours in Temagami.

Mississagi Provincial Park

There’s lots to love about this little-known provincial park on Highway 639, about 20 minutes north of the town of Elliot Lake. Fall is my favourite time to visit the backcountry lakes of Mississagi Provincial Park. I enjoy the challenge of the steep portages and the peaceful solitude of a four-day loop trip starting and ending at Laurentian Lodge on Flack Lake. This canoe route heads south into Blind River Provincial Park (a non-operational park where Canadian residents can camp for free; non-residents require a Crown Land camping permit), passing through clearwater lakes, including Ezma, Ten Mile and a handful of smaller bodies of water—all surrounded by mature maple forests and towering white pine with fall colours that rival any destination in Ontario.

Mississagi also features a drive-in campground with 60 sites on Semiwite Lake, where you can day-trip on a pristine northern lake with several beaches and easy portages to surrounding lakes. Canoeing across Semiwite Lake also affords a shortcut to the spectacular Helenbar Lookout, a hiking trail to a vista towering 130 metres above the flaming forests below.

Killarney Provincial Park

A fall trip to Killarney Provincial Park should be high atop the bucket list of every paddler. I remember one such journey, a few years ago. A friend and I were canoeing across George Lake on a glorious September day, paddling lazily while gawking at the cacophony of colours adorning the lake’s famous white quartzite shores. If that wasn’t pleasant enough, the outing was punctuated by an incredible sighting of a peregrine falcon dive-bombing a songbird in midair, mere metres above our canoe. 

It’s tough to score a drive-in site at the George Lake campground or a backcountry permit for any of the surrounding lakes throughout the paddling season. However, you may have better luck booking on the park’s west side, which is accessed via the town of Espanola and Widgawa Lodge, off Highway 6. You can rent canoes at the access point and set off into stunningly beautiful Nellie and Grace lakes—an area renowned for its crystalline waters and difficult portages, surrounded by maples and oaks.

Restoule Provincial Park

Located in the headwaters of the French River, south of Lake Nipissing and the city of North Bay, Restoule Provincial Park is a near-north canoeing destination that’s beloved by staff and locals as a far quieter alternative to Algonquin—with a reputation for incredible fall colours. Great hiking, mountain biking and paddling make Restoule a fantastic destination for a fall colour weekend camping trip. The park is located at the end of Highway 534, west of Powassan.

There are several options for canoe day trips departing the drive-in campground on Restoule Lake. All begin with a short downstream paddle on the Restoule River, which transforms into a colourful corridor of maple, oak and birch trees in the fall. You may have to portage around a short shallow section when the water is low. When you arrive, Stormy Lake features rugged cliffs, welcoming beaches and several paddle-in backcountry campsites. Paddling through the narrows between long islands leads to Clear Lake, where you’ll find another two water-access campsites. Canoe rentals are available at the park campground.

Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park

The historic Mattawa River is the centrepiece of this beautiful provincial park located just off the Trans-Canada Highway, 60 km east of North Bay. The Mattawa was a prominent travel corridor for Indigenous people and later became a key part of the voyageur route from Montreal to the Great Lakes during the Canadian fur trade, 200 years ago. Today, visitors can camp adjacent to the river Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park’s spacious campground and encounter the spirits of the past while day-tripping by canoe—an experience that’s even more magical when the park’s hardwoods flare amidst the deep greens of the white pine in the surrounding Laurentian hills.

Several options are available for canoeing the Mattawa River, depending on your skill level. The four-day trip from Trout Lake, near North Bay, to the town of Mattawa passes through the park and includes many historical highlights; for a condensed experience, skilled paddlers can follow in the footsteps of the voyageurs on the rugged day trip from Pimisi Bay to the park’s campground; and novices and families can enjoy the fall colours and calm water on Moore and Long lakes. Canoe rentals and vehicle shuttles are available from Algonquin North Outfitters.

Safety Essentials for Fall Canoe Trips

Fall colours may linger for weeks, but it doesn’t take long for Ontario’s lakes and rivers to shed their summer warmth with the arrival of cooler temperatures. The risk of hypothermia due to cold water immersion is a serious concern for autumn paddlers. Always wear your PFD, dress in warm layers (consider wearing a wetsuit or drysuit), and be responsible in gauging your skills and experience to choose an appropriate route. Make a contingency plan for inclement weather if you embark on an overnight trip.

Remember that daylight hours are shorter in the fall and rain and wind are more common, so you won’t be able to cover as much distance as a summer trip. Your cell phone may not work in remote areas, so pack a satellite communicator device for emergencies. Finally, it’s good practice to always leave a float plan with a family member or friend, including a description of your route and equipment and the date and time when you plan to return—with clear instructions on what to do if you don’t.

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