Solitaire Lake Trail — Attraction in District Municipality of Muskoka

Hi!

See that little grey inked poster in the back corner of the picture? You know, behind my wolf and her ancestor?

That inked poster is the trail guide. A friend of ours told us to do the lookout and somehow we were convinced by fellow hikers to do the solitaire trail.

”How long is Solitaire trail, ” we asked. (Our only concern was that we would be on a trail when CAA arrived. Yes, we were those people who ran out of gas, but hey, we ran out in the perfect spot at the perfect time.

Anyone who knows me knows that I only like to give 5-star reviews. Aka. Anything with nature gets a whopping 5-star, BUT, LET THESE TIPS DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THIS TRAIL IS FOR YOU.

This is not a trail for a human with a dog counterpart that pulls. The terrain is too unpredictable to be yanked around by the neck of a dog.

The trail markers deserve a C+. They were all the same colour and shape, but all of a sudden there were none. Then there were signs about quartz’s and some sign about a, ”go this way to go downhill.” We had to guess to get back into the parking lot but we made it in time for our CAA guy to show up. Not sure if CAA is just slow or we are fast hikers but it all worked out.

The maps on the locked office cabin do not include ”km’s”!!!!!!!!!!! A fellow hiker told us we could do it in an hour and a half. We walked a 13km dewey trail along the water which was BEAUTIFUL!!! But, we were not prepared to walk 13 km. In fact, we thought we were pulling up to a short lookout like other ones nearby. Do your research if you want to walk any of these trails.

Understand that some parts of the trail go through the backyards of cottagers. You need your dog on leash.

They should set up some sort of meditation/prayer alter at one of the water lookouts.

Pick a Sunday afternoon to do this one!!! And do it as a couple if you can. Or couple yourself if you...

Moderate trail, a couple difficult parts, mostly easy. Took us a little under 2 hours. Diverse sections (bridges over water, more forested areas, more rocky areas). Well maintained so at no point do you feel unsafe. They have benches places somewhat regularly throughout if you need a break. The quartz deposit was really neat. Dog friendly as long as they’re leashed, but might be pretty long if you have a smaller dog. The trail was mostly shaded. Also a nice beach in the area. Wide variety of mushrooms and local wildlife, but definitely bring...

Arrived at 9:20 on a Tuesday in July, only 2 other cars. Decided to do clear water trail/turtle lake trail only about half. A mostly shaded walk. Bugs weren’t too bad but would recommend bug spray. The trails were clear with some roots - I probably wouldn’t do this trail after it rained as I could see it becoming muddy. A couple nice spots to look out on the lake. Took our corgi and he loved the walk. Also stopped in at the nearby tuck shop, had some snack options, so would remember to bring your own water and snacks and bowl for your pup...