The Passionate Hiker: Charleston Lake Trails

Sun. 13 November: Charleston Lake Trails

Perth on a beautiful November morning

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

It was a busy scene at the Park gates: cars arriving, hikers meeting each other. Finally we had a group of around thirty walkers, mostly from Kingston, but also Perth and Ottawa. There were too many of us for one group, so we divided into two teams, heading in opposite directions around the Tallow Rock Bay Trail.

Charleston Lake Provincial Park is a popular summer camping destination. The lake is huge and has several islands and bays to explore. At this time of year, the gates are closed, but the trails are still open for hiking. This trail is the most demanding one, heading north through rugged woodland, not far from the lake, before looping back, further inland, to the start. There are a couple of side trails leading to wilderness campsites beside the lake, and one exciting floating bridge.

It takes more than a stroll. There didn’t seem to be any flat sections, until the meadows near the end. We were either climbing wooded slopes or scrambling down through rocks. The elevation contour tells the story.

For mid-November, you couldn’t imagine a more perfect day for a hike: sunshine, southwest breeze, temperatures around 10C and dry under foot. The trail was often a deep carpet of leaves. Despite our group numbering around twenty, we were well matched and made steady progress along the roller-coaster route. Our lakeside stops at Bob’s Cove and Tallow Rock Bay were highly scenic.

But of course, for the Passionate Hiker, the highlight was the Slim Bay Bridge. It might have been about a hundred metres across, on a series of floating pontoons, strung together to cross the entrance to a long, narrow inlet of Charleston Lake. This bridge had been closed for over a year, but was now open and safe to use. The breeze caused ripples across the surface of the lake, which shone brightly under the low sun.

As an encore, we took a detour up to Quiddity Lookout, with fine views across the lake to the low ridge of Blue Mountain to the south.

The Tallow Rock Bay Trail takes more effort than most of the Frontenac Loops, which we had been tackling over the past two months. It is worth that extra energy. And if you’re lucky enough to walk it in the company of a group of experienced and friendly RTA hikers, and on a day such as this, then you’ve created another special hiking memory.