Beaver Pond Trail — Attraction in Unorganized South Nipissing

I have a story about a weird experience on the trail.

Incredible view of the lookout over the beaver lodge and closeup to the dam, but deceptively rocky path -- not great if you have back or knee problems, as we found the hard way. No problem for people who enjoy the hikes and have good shoes on, it's only 2km. We were warned by a family with children exiting the trail as we entered that it was bumpy but not that long of a trek. Terrain did have a lot of tree roots and some narrow paths, but nothing extreme. My dad, my sister, and I began the trail TOO close to sundown on August 7th 2020, and it took a turn for the worse.

My sister was reluctant to walk the trail due to the rocky and uneven path, and we heard other voices down below the hill as we began the first climb after the marsh, so felt we were not alone in starting the walk later in the evening. We slowed down and stopped a few times to let her stretch as she was hurting from the incline. She later could hardly walk at all by the time we got to the large dam at the bottom of the log stairs and was crying. Not knowing how far in we were, we continued forward as best we could assisting her, trying to hurry because the sun was going down fast and seemed even darker in the cover of the trees. We rushed past the markers, and I honestly thought I might have to leave her with my dad to go get help as we could not support her weight on this rocky narrow path if she couldn't finish the hike. It got so dark we had to use our phones as flashlights because we took so long to get through the trail. We continued to hear voices of a man and woman behind us, so we figured we could ask them for help if we needed, but they never caught up to us even at our speed. Eventually we made it through without further incident (or bear encounters)... and turned out, there were no cars or bikes in the parking lot except ours. So we were alone the whole time.

Wondering if we were all hearing things, or if there was another entrance to the trail we didn't know about. The map showed it as a loop. Maybe someone had walked down the Highway to the trail. We never saw them or any flashlights. We definitely heard other people talking to one another. Bizarre. Dad and I spoke about it the next day and chose to keep it to ourselves.

Also never saw any beavers unfortunately but we were also very scared and in the dark, hobbling along, cold, thinking we are going to be bear chow. Wish I had the time to go back in daylight and spend more time at each marker, but it was honestly such a scary experience that we brought upon ourselves that ruined the thought. It was stunning from what we got to...

Let's say you are in Algonquin Park to see the fall colours. You purchased the Park pass for your vehicle so you want to stop somewhere to take a walk in the forest to get a more immersive experience. So, Beaver Pond Trail? Yes!

It's a great trail to try if you want something relatively short. At about 2 kilometres long, it takes less than an hour at a leisurely pace for adults. It will be challenging if you are not fully mobile because there are mild elevation changes and you have to watch your step over some rocky parts.

I have not seen any beavers in the ponds. But it is really cool how the pine needles fall down on you like rain with the wind... there are less deciduous trees here for leaves to do the same. You will be out of sight of the highway as you follow the trail and you will be surrounded by the forest, water and sky. Here I find myself to be more relaxed and I take note of things I may normally not, like all the various fungi around.

Maybe you too will find your own balance, moments and sights here on Beaver Pond Trail. It just has that effect...

Beaver Pond Trail was our first family walk in Algonquin Park. The weather was very warm and sunny, so plenty of suncream, sun block and water. The paths were all well kept on the trails, whether it was boardwalk above the marshes or paths through the woods. Everywhere provided a wonderful viewpoint for photographs and we learnt a great deal from the information points and our walk guide that we bought from the West Gate Visitor Gate. Highly recommend the trail brochures and they cost very little. We were amazed to learn how the beaver changes its environment, but no spoilers here. We did see beavers, our first, and we saw a number of birds, chipmunks, butterflies, dragonflies ... I will recommend hats and bug spray especially in June. Personally this was one of my favourite walk I have...