Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: July 2021
Six Mile Lake Provincial Park is located in Muskoka on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. It offers camping, a variety of recreational activities on the water including boating, canoeing, fishing and swimming, and a few short trails for hiking.
After spending the morning in Awenda Provincial Park, we arrived at Six Mile Lake shortly before 1:30p.m. We planned to make a detour here to hike along the short trails in the park and eat some lunch. We decided to get the hiking over and done with first.
The trail system consists of three short interconnecting trails, which form a larger loop. The trailhead is located in the Maple Campground by site #161 and #163. As we were driving through the campground, signs of all the rain from yesterday was still clearly visible. Some of the campsites were even flooded. I’m glad we weren’t camping here tonight! We were a bit worried about what the conditions were like on the trail.
We started off along the Living Edge Trail (1km). The trail winds over rocky granite outcrops and passes a wetland. The trail itself is well marked, but the ground was quite wet and muddy in areas. This should be no surprise as it’s located close to the marsh and it looked like the the swamp was starting to reclaim the trail.
We contemplated turning around, but then we reached the junction for the Marsh Trail (1km). Weren’t we already hiking along the Marsh Trail?! The conditions on this trail were even worse. I give it a 5/5 in terms of mosquitoes, 4/5 in terms of flooding and 1/5 in terms of enjoyment. Maybe we should have eaten that lunch first.
The Marsh Trail connects with the David Milne Trail (0.5km). The trail is named after David Milne in an effort to recognize his contributions to Canadian Art. Although his work was often overshadowed by the Group of Seven during his early career, Milne is now recognized as one of Canada’s foremost artists.
The trail connects back up with the Living Edge Trail and the conditions become even worse (if that’s even possible). At one point, the trail winds close to the campground. We decided to risk it and cut our way through the swampy bush to get back to the road. We then walked along the road back to the trailhead where we parked. The road itself was also in pretty rough shape from all the rain and many of the campsites along this stretch were flooded and muddy. We could only imagine how much worse it would have been if we had stayed on the trail.
Afterwards we drove to one of the beach areas, which didn’t look the greatest. We instead drove to an empty campsite (that wasn’t flooded) and ate our lunch there. The campsite at least overlooked the water and provided a nice view of the lake.
We were happy to leave and move on to a (hopefully) better park.
L
My progress on the Ontario Parks Challenge can be found here
The hiking did not look enjoyable at all with the flooding! But good for you for earning another park crest.
A colleague has raved about Six Mile in the past. It relatively close to the city too so provides an enjoyable camping experience when not flooded! She did warn me that it is noisier than other campsites cuz of vicinity to city and highways.
Other than the flooding, it did look like a nice park!
Thats was probably some of the worst conditions we encountered while on the trail all year. Besides the flooding and muddy areas, it was quite scenic with all the marshes and rocky outcrops.
I’m not sure how I’d feel about camping at Six Mile as many of the sites didn’t seem all that private and were so close together. So I believe that it can by noisy. My opinion may be biased because we were so turned off from this park by all the flooding.
Yes, my colleague noted the noisy campsites. I guess it’s the trade off for being so close to the city.
I can totally see why your experience turned you off from camping there. Good thing there are lots of other sites to choose from!
We found this summer was especially bad for noisy campgrounds. I’ve been trying to convince K that we should just buy a camper van. It would help block out the noise and we wouldn’t have to worry too much about the weather.
I wouldn’t mind giving Six Mile Lake another chance, but maybe during the off-season. And yes, we certainly do have a lot of camping options. Fingers crossed booking a campsite isn’t nearly as competitive next summer as it was this summer!
A camper van sounds like such a great and fun idea. I live vicariously through social media people who do the van life! 🙂 A good friend of mine rented a camper van in Yukon for her 40th bday in September. It looked amazing.
I think things will still be competitive next summer unfortunately. Not quite out of the woods yet. But hopefully with US travel an option now, it’ll spread it out more!
Ha, same. While I don’t think I could do van life full-time, it seems like it would be a fun way to take a road trip. I’ve heard amazing things about Yukon. I’d love to visit someday in a camper van. I don’t think I’d be brave enough to sleep in a tent there with all the grizzly bears.
Yah, I have a feeling that our parks are going to be crowded for the next few years. But as you said, with more things opening up, hopefully this gives people a chance to spread out.
Grizzly bears are part of the Yukon experience though! 😆
Very true. All the more reason to make sure we have (or rent) a campervan when we visit!
I wonder … how many badges have you earned?! Such a great adventure you’re on. Dee
Oh gosh, I think I have around 50 badges so far. The issue is that many of the parks sold out of their badges early in the summer so there’s a number of parks that we visited where we couldn’t get a badge. Unfortunately you can’t buy they online, only from the actual park itself. I guess this means that we’ll just need to return to a few of these places!
Yup …sounds like repeat trips are in your horizon 😀50 is no small feat!!!! Wonderful
Thanks! We haven’t been making nearly as much progress on our Ontario Parks Challenge over the past two months, largely because we have to venture further afield to visit a new park. No complaints as it’s been rainy and getting colder here. Overall I’m pretty impressed at how many parks we have visited this year so far.
Very impressive!!!!
Thanks 🙂
Hmm, when you mentioned the word “mosquitoes”, I was already on high alert mode! Well, nobody can say you did not try 😁.
Exactly. We completed the majority of the trail. I have no regrets about abandoning it towards the end because at that point it would probably require us to swim through the marsh to get back to the trailhead. Don’t even get me started on those mosquitoes. The sound of them buzzing around my ears still haunts my dreams.
😅
I wonder what it is like in unflooded times. Nice to learn a bit about Canadian art! We usually see more history, nature, and environment info in the parks. Or, of course, the Group of Seven 🙂
It’s unfortunate that we visited after a heavy rainfall. The trail system seems well-signed and there are some lovely views of the marshes and rocky outcrops. The campground didn’t look the greatest though as many of the sites seemed too close together for my liking. I have so much more of an appreciation for Canadian art now that we’ve been to a few of the places where they drew inspiration from.
I chuckled (but also felt your pain) when you ranked that trail 5/5 for mosquitoes. This looks like it was more of an adventure than you were expecting, and not in a good way! Hopefully you can return sometime when it’s not filled with floodwater and mosquitoes.
For a trail that was rated easy, it sure turned into a challenge with all the flooding and mosquitoes. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? If only. We’re totally going to buy some bug jackets for next year though.
The great luck with weather and park conditions finally ran out. I hope the next visits were more enjoyable.
Ha, no kidding. But hey, at least it wasn’t raining when we visited. Not like that would have made much of a difference because our feet ended up wet anyway after hiking along the trail system. I’m just happy that we didn’t have to camp here!
It does look very boggy and the stagnant water must attract lots of mosquitoes but you seemed to make the best of the conditions.
The marshes and stagnant water on the trail were definitely a mosquito’s paradise. We didn’t encounter any other hikers on the trail, so I’m sure the mosquitoes were extra excited to see us. It was quite the adventure and gave us a good laugh afterwards. I’m just happy that we didn’t have to camp and stay the night at this park.
You were wise to abort. Hiking through a challenge is invigorating but there’s no point being stupid about it!!
I have no regrets about abandoning the trail. We did complete most of the loop, but I can’t even begin to imagine what that last stretch must have been like considering how terrible the conditions were on the road. We probably would have been required to swim back to the trailhead.
My tough Canadian friends carry on in their adventures! 😊😊 I’m glad you decided to cut this a bit sort, though!
I don’t know about tough, but we sure are whiny! We had a good laugh about it afterwards. I doubt we’d ever return to this park though.
Wow, mosquitos and ticks! I wouldn’t hike just because of the ticks. I’m sorry this park wasn’t a good hike for you guys. 😞
At least we didn’t encounter any deer flies or black flies. The hike itself wasn’t the most enjoyable because of the bug situation and flooding, which was too bad because it was quite scenic. It’s all part of the adventure though and I’m glad I at least took a few pictures along the way.
Maybe you can hike those trails early in spring before the bugs come out to play? Or just before the snow flies.
The shoulder seasons are the best time to hike for that very reason. That and the fact that it isn’t nearly as crowded. Thankfully it’s cold enough now that the bugs are all gone for the next few months.
Time to get out there then!
For sure. We’re hoping to escape to our cabin this weekend and get some hiking in. We could both use some fresh air and (more importantly) exercise after eating so much Halloween candy!
At least it makes you appreciate the good hikes. Got a chuckle out of your rating system. The mud and broken boardwalks remind me of my hike on the West Coast Trail.
That’s so true. And hey, it makes for a funny story afterwards. Thankfully it was a short trail system, unlike the West Coast Trail, and we were able to find a way off the path and back to the road. I’ve always wanted to do the West Coast Trail. I can always return to this place with a heavy backpack for some practice!
Well, I would have made the same decision to cut the hike short. Sounds unbearable with mosquitos being ranked 5/5.
It was not a very enjoyable hike, which was such a shame because the scenery was really quite lovely. Our shoes were wet and we were pretty miserable after being harassed by the mosquitoes for what felt like forever. Plus we were hungry. Not a good combination. We had a good laugh about it afterwards once we changed into dry shoes and ate some lunch. It could have been worse though and at least we didn’t have to camp here.
Looks like you’d need water-proof footwear, but the photos are lovely. Can’t say I’d want to visit – I hate mosquito bites! LOL
I didn’t even wear my proper hiking boots because the trail system was relatively short and rated easy. How bad could it be? Well, turns out, pretty bad. Thankfully we had dry socks and shoes to change into afterwards. Despite our grumblings about the conditions on the trail, the scenery was quite lovely. I’m glad I took plenty of pictures along the way.
I am glad you had dry footwear to chang into, also glad to see the photos…..
Thanks! Wearing wet shoes all day is never a fun experience.
No, that’s happened to me a time or two, it is not fun!
It never is, especially when it’s also cold outside. We always travel with at least two pairs of shoes for that very reason.
That is very wise!
That’s because we learned from past mistakes!
Good for you, so many don’t! LOL
Well that wooden pathway was disappointing! 🤨
LOL. No kidding. What’s the point when it’s just surrounded by water on every side? Clearly they didn’t build them long enough!
They usually draw me right in but that one was a bit too sketchy to be inviting. 😂
Same, I’m usually a fan of trails that involve a boardwalk. I think this was the exception where it looked like you needed to swim to get to it.
At least you made it through your walk💞
We definitely earned our badge from that park, that’s for sure!
Yes, with all that water the bugs must have been bad! Most of the parks you have visited have been pretty good, so I guess it was time to come across one that was less than stellar.
That’s true. And it’s like someone else said, you have to hike along some of the bad trails to make you appreciate the good ones. It’s too bad about the conditions on the trail, but the landscape was really quite scenic. We still have a good laugh whenever we talk about this park. We used it as a benchmark going forward.
Looks more like the place should be named Six Lakes per Mile. Wet hiking is never fun, especially when mosquitoes are around. At least you have a story, remember that time we had to swim the trails in that park. The boardwalk dying in a puddle was a good touch. Cheers. Allan
Ha, no kidding. Or maybe even Six Miles of Mosquitoes? The stupid thing is that I did bring waterproof hiking shoes, but I didn’t wear them because the trail system was short and the description said it was easy. Rookie mistake. But hey, at least we had dry shoes to change into afterwards. Don’t even get me started on those useless boardwalks. They turned out to be a total trap. We tried to cling to the edge of the trail as much as possible to avoid the worst of the swamp. Despite my grumblings, we still get a good laugh when reminiscing about this trail. Take care. Linda
What a muddy trail! Hiking is a great way to immerse yourself in nature, get a good workout in, and recharge your batteries, but at the same time you need knowledge of the trail conditions, difficulty, terrain and time/effort it takes to go out AND back as well as when to turn around.
We had a severe thunderstorm the day before and it looked like this area experienced quite a bit of flooding. Since this region in Ontario is rather rocky and the soil thin, the water just puddles. For a trail that was rated easy, all the wet and muddy sections sure gave us a challenge!
oh boy….looks like this park needs some upgrades. Wonder what it’s like in summer when the conditions are a better. You just never know what you’re going to find when you set off on a trail. Well at least you can give this a big check for done!
Oh gosh, this park definitely looked like it needed some help. A severe thunderstorm rolled through here the day before and clearly left some wreckage behind in the form of flooding and mosquitoes. For a trail that was rated easy, it sure turned into a challenging obstacle course of trying to avoid the puddles (ponds?) and mud. We definitely earned our badge for this park!
It seems that some additional boarding will be necessary. Thanks for drawing my attention to David Milne, I had forgotten his name.
I’m sure the existing boardwalks and wooden planks are usually fine, but I think we just had bad timing when we visited as this area received a massive downpour the previous evening. It’s too bad the entire trail didn’t consist of a boardwalk though! Despite the flooding (and mosquitoes), the views from the trail were beautiful. It’s always fun to learn more about Canadian history, including how artists drew inspiration from the landscapes right here in Ontario.
Six mile of wonder and inspiration. Thank you.
I like that you focus on the positives! Even though the trail was very wet and muddy and it felt like a mosquito festival, the scenery itself was quite lovely.
I just came across this post. I’m sad to see that you experienced it for the first time during flooding because it really does take away from the experience. Don’t get me wrong, the mosquitoes on that trail are always bad due to the marsh, but I can only imagine how much worse they were with the extra water everywhere. We go to that park every year and while some sites are quite noisy, there are others that are great. If you’re tent camping there are some beautiful walk-in sites to give you that added privacy. For those that aren’t interested in a walk-in, look at the Maple loop to get away from a lot of the noise.