Poker Lake Route

CanadaOntarioSouth Central
Submitter & Author Information
Route submitted by: 
Admin
Trip Date : 
Route Author: 
Unknown
Additional Route Information
Distance: 
9 km
Duration: 
2 days
Loop Trip: 
Yes
Portage Information
No. of portages: 
9
Total Portage Distance: 
1550 m
Longest Portage: 
235 m
Difficulty Ratings
River Travel: 
Not applicable
Lake Travel: 
Novice
Portaging: 
Easy
Remoteness: 
Novice
Background Trip Info
Water Levels: 
Route Description
Technical Guide: 

Hwy 116 20 km from the junction of
Hwy 118 and 35.
Park in clearing south of the highway.
Access to Bentshoe Lake via a 100 m portage
To northwest corner of Bentshoe Lake
P 325 m to south end of Poker Lake
Follow north shore of Poker Lake to portage
P 50 m to small weedy pond (swampy!)
To north end of pond
P 75 m to Quirt Lake (swampy)
To most westerly bay of Quirt Lake
P 75 m to Cinder Lake
To most southerly bay of Cinder Lake
P 175 m to small pond (swampy / overgrown)
To south end of pond
P 175 m to Poker Lake (wet and muddy)
Across bay to next portage
P 275 m to Upper Crane Lake
To south end of Upper Crane Lake
Liftover between Upper Crane
Lake and Lower Crane Lake
To west end of Lower Crane Lake
P 300 m to Bentshoe Lake
West on Bentshoe Lake
Liftover at mid point of lake
To south end of Bentshoe Lake
P 100 m back to Hwy 118 to finish

Maps Required
Other Maps: 
Chrismar Adventure Map - Poker Lake Area (shows all portages, campsites, other useful information)

Comments

Post date: Sat, 01/01/2000 - 07:00

Comments: 

I spent 2 days camping on the island in Poker Lake with a friend and our sons. It is a beautiful spot and great for people who are new to wilderness camping. The only pertinent information I have is that there are fallen trees in Poker Lake that you will need to 'portage' around to go from the west side of Poker Lake to the east. I hope this will be of help to someone. I haven't been on a canoe trip since I was 16, and this was a great spot to be re aquatinted to wilderness camping. I am looking forward to going back in the next few weeks.

Post date: Sat, 01/01/2000 - 07:00

Comments: 

Great site. I have two suggestions -- it would be very useful to have a location reference (i.e. nearest major town, highway) included in basic info for each route; it would also be helpful to integrate into the overall site -- a section on canoe/kayak rentals.

Post date: Sat, 01/01/2000 - 07:00

Comments: 

I did this trip with my wife a number of years back, it is an easy trip. The only drawback is that when camping on Poker Lake you can hear the traffic on Hwy 118.
You can obtain maps from the Ministry of Natural Resources. This route is found midway between Bracebridge and Carnarvon (just North Of Minden)
Ron

Post date: Sat, 01/01/2000 - 07:00

Comments: 

My husband and I stayed on Bentshoe not realizing that there was a portage! Bass fishing is awesome here and although the sounds of traffic could be heard, we found it was great for a family with small kids who couldn't do the long canoe trips. The kids were happy to paddle and set up camp without having to lug gear in and out of the canoe several times. I recommend it for the first time canoe campers or families with young children who want to try canoe camping.

Post date: Sat, 01/01/2000 - 07:00

Comments: 

It is approximately 34 KM's east of Highway 11 on highway 118 OR 20 KM's west of Highway 35.

Post date: Sat, 06/28/2008 - 16:59

Email: 
Comments: 

Site specific permit fees are in effect as of May 1, 2008. $10 per adult per night. Available at http://www.algonquinhighlands.ca/water/

Post date: Sat, 01/01/2000 - 07:00

Comments: 

A great trip for young kids just learning how to paddle and portage. The traffic does take a little of the "wilderness" away.

Post date: Wed, 07/22/2009 - 01:57

Comments: 

We spent three relaxing days exploring the Poker Lakes chain in May 09.There were very few people heading out on the portage trails this early in the year.
The weather was warm and sunny.
One of the highlights of the trip was the marsh we found behind a series of 3 tiered beaver dams just left of the first portage into Lower Crane. a beaver slapped its' tail as we pulled the canoe over the first dam. We were able to walk the canoe over the the next two small ponds into the lower marsh made by the beavers.It was filled with beatifull driftwood pieces, water lilies and flowering shrubs. The scenary in the marsh was dominated by two huge birds nests perched high atop two tall tree trunks in the middle of the pond.
We camped the first night on Lower Crane on a ridge at campsite 56. The wind sweeping across the ridge kept the blackflies down and we were able to enjoy a brisk swim and then sun out on the warm rock ridge overlooking the lake. The sky was clear that night and we were able to watch the pick out the constellations with ease away from the glare of town lights.
The next day we canoed into Upper crane and say a mother moose and her young fawn by the waters edge. She looked at us wearily but allowed us to come close enough to take some great photos before she nuzzled her young fawn back into the shelter of the woods.
Two short and easy portages later we were in Cinder Lake. We found a different species of trillium growing along the portage trails. They are white with a burgandy center
we had the whole lake to ourselves and chose a perfect campsite, again on a point of land facing into the wind to drive the bugs back.
We had packed in three days food in a 35 litre plastic barrel. Our menu consisted of our favorite dehydrated sauces, brown rice and pasta, fresh fruits, eggs, humus and sunflower bread. We had a Katadyn water purifyer system with us and had packed tea and coffee.
We spent a day exploring the lake and stopped at a bay between campsite 75 and 76 to picnic and paint. The scenary is inspiring.
Light Ochre coloured rock outcrops rise smoothly out of the water there backdropped by a cluster of submerged sunbleached old tree stumps which curve gracefully around them onto the northern shore. We saw loons, blue herons, sandpipers and various species of ducks.
The next day we headed back. We took the western portage route back.
On the map it shows a 100 metre portage into a curved lake with narrows leading into another bay with a another 150 metre portage into a smaller lake. From there it is only a 50 metre portage to Poker Lake.

MISSING PORTAGE SIGN

We could not find the poratage sign or the route on that small Lake. We searched the shore for well over an hour. There is a high ridge there and we got out and made our way through the thick brush, climbed the ridge and searched for a trail. The only thing we found was bear scat, so we decided to scat. We retraced our path and took the route we took into Cinder from Poker back. We decided to take the western poratage into Bentshoe from there. It is a 400 metre portage over a ridge. It was a tough climb up over fallen rocks and between the boulders, fighting the blackflies all the way but the going down was a breeze.
The ministry should look into setting up a more visible portage sign on that last little lake, (if it is there at all) and re-establishing that trail. It put us behind schedule to retrace our steps.
All in all it was a GREAT trip. The scenary on cinder Lake is beautifull and all the little lakes in between are like jewels set between granite cliffs.

Post date: Wed, 11/28/2007 - 15:26

Comments: 

Portage heads/tails between Poker and Cinder tend to be swampy or steep.

The area has many atv trails, avoid being lead off the path.

Big East Lake can be a nice place to hang out for a couple days, no portaging required once you're on the water.

2008 will see this area managed by HHWT, there will be fees.

Photos of the area can be found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atripamonth/collections/72157600038071394/

Post date: Tue, 05/04/2010 - 05:07

Comments: 

Hi. My name is Dan. I am 25 years old and I am starting an annual trip with friends. I,ve done my research and this route looks perfect for us. I,m not new to canoe trips, I,ve done the magnetawawn river as a teen with my dad, but my friends are new. I am looking for detailed maps, if anyone can help me with either a website to locate maps or e-mail them directly to me it would be a great help.
thank you
Dan Delmore