Hiking in Frontenac Provincial Park

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Frontenac Provincial Park is a semi-wilderness park in Ontario, Canada. The park encompasses 5,215 hectares offering recreational activities like hiking, canoeing, swimming, wildlife viewing and fishing. Hiking trails feature sights such as granite outcrops, waterfalls, abandoned mica mines and homestead remains. During a hike, you may catch glimpses of the area's diverse wildlife including ospreys, deer, kingfishers, coyotes, foxes or black bears.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step 1

Access the Frontenac Provincial Park at 1090 Salmon Lake Road Sydenham, Ontario. Prepare to pay an entrance fee at the park office. Permits are available for day, seasonal and yearly use. Discounted prices are also available for seniors and disabled visitors. Display the parking permit in your car and park at one of the parking facilities adjacent to the park office.

Step 2

Choose from the 14 trails available in the park. Trail length ranges from 1.5 to 21 km. The Arab Lake Gorge Loop and Doe Lake Loop start and end at the park office. The Corridor Trail also begins at the park office and continues north to Big Salmon Lake. The Arab Lake Gorge Loop is 1.5 km long and offers scenic views of the Arab Lake Gorge's flora and fauna. The Doe Lake Loop is 3 km in length and passes two beaver ponds and a spot overlooking Doe Lake. The trail also passes along the shores of Otter Lake before looping back to the park office.

Step 3

Try the rest of the hiking trails in the park including Cedar Lake, Slide Lake, Akron Lake, Little Salmon, Big Salmon Lake, Little Clear, Hemlock Loop, Tetsmine Lake, Bufflehead, Birchhead Lake and Gibson Lake trail. Note that these trails do not begin at the park office so you will need to walk farther to get to their trailheads. Additional parking is available from late spring to late fall at the Big Salmon Lake and Arab Lake parking lots, making most of these trails easier to access.

Step 4

Follow the park's guidelines when hiking the trails. Only use designated trails for hiking and do not deviate from marked paths. Avoid damaging or harming plant and animal life and remember to always carry out all items that you bring in with you instead of littering.

Tips & Warnings

Year-round campsites are also available in the park.

Drinking water is available at the park office.

Though no official beaches with lifeguards are available, you can still swim in the park's numerous small sandy beaches. These swimming areas are on the interior lakes of the park.

Dogs are allowed in the park as long as they are leashed and cleaned up after at all times.

Anglers can fish in the lakes within the park.

Boil water for at least 10 minutes before consuming from the park's interior lakes and streams.

If swimming, practice caution due to lack of lifeguards.

Resources

Frontenac Provincial Park

Article Written By Rona Aquino

Rona Aquino began writing professionally in 2008. As an avid marathon runner and outdoor enthusiast, she writes on topics of running, fitness and outdoor recreation for various publications. Aquino holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications and English from the University of Maryland College Park.

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