Length of stay: 2 days
Visited: January 2025
For the past few years we’ve been visiting Killarney Provincial Park at the end of fall or beginning of winter when the trails are much quieter. It’s located along the northern shore of Georgian Bay and features windswept pines, lush forests, pink granite and white quartzite ridges. The landscape is so breathtakingly beautiful that it provided much inspiration to the famous Group of Seven painters. We typically stay in one of the rustic cabins, but they’re becoming harder to book. We managed to reserve a yurt though and decided to give that a whirl.
We arrived at the park Friday evening just before 6:30pm and it was already dark outside. And it was cold. It was -11°C outside and felt like -21°C with the windchill. While Killarney is open year-round, the main gate into the George Lake Campground typically closes at the end of November and all the campsites are walk-in only. We parked just outside the park office and found a couple of toboggans that the park provides to help haul in all our stuff.
There was a layer of crusty snow and ice on the ground so we strapped on our microspikes. We then put the baby in her snowsuit and loaded our cooler, sleeping bags, pillows, food and gear into two sleds. From the parking lot it’s about a 500 metre walk to get to the yurts. And part of the walk requires walking down a big hill, which was a bit challenging to do in the dark with a heavy sled that seemed to have a mind of its own.
The heat was already on in our yurt, but we cranked it up all the way. After unpacking K walked back to the parking lot to return the sleds while I started to unpack and make ourselves at home. We then got dinner ready, which consisted of heating up leftovers from the night before.
We let the baby play around for a bit before hitting the hay. We made the mistake of not bringing her travel crib, which meant once she was ready for bed, we all had to get ready for bed too.
Day 1: Sudbury
We woke up the next morning and it was -14°C outside and felt like -25°C. That was a bit too cold for hiking. So we decided to take a day trip to Sudbury, which is located about an hour away from Killarney. After eating breakfast we packed some lunch and headed out. On the way to the park office we stopped to check out the main beach on George Lake.
We then hit the road and headed to Science North, an interactive science museum. It consists of two buildings that are shaped like snowflakes and are connected through an underground tunnel through the rock. As we walked to the entrance there were a few storyboards with more information about the landscape in Sudbury, including how it was formed and why so many of the exposed rocks are blackened.
As the glaciers melted and ice sheets advanced across the surface of the land it picked up rocks and sand, which scratched and smoothed the bedrock underneath. The direction of the scratches, known as striations, indicate where the glacier advanced, which was from northeast towards the southwest.
As to why Sudbury’s rocks are dark, well, this was from early mining and smelting practices. Mining has played an important role in the city’s development, but it also came at a cost in terms of high pollution and destroying the environment. Over the last few decades the city has taken great strides to improve its air quality and restore the natural environment.
The museum is geared more towards kids and includes hands-on educational experiences. There’s a few different exhibits on the natural landscapes within the northern ecosystem, including forests, lakes and rivers, and wetlands. There’s also a butterfly gallery and a Tech Lab that includes interactive activities related to technology, space and biology.
We then drove to the Big Nickel, an exact replica of the 1951 Canadian five-cent coin which was 12-sided. It’s nine metres (or 30 feet) tall, is 64,607,747 times the size of a real Canadian nickel and is the largest coin in the world. It was built to commemorate the city’s mining history.
Dynamic Earth, a hands-on science centre that focuses on earth science and mining, is located here. We contemplated visiting as it seemed like a neat place to learn more about the geology of the area. And there’s even an underground mine tour. But baby M was due for a nap soon and we weren’t sure whether we’d have enough time to make the visit worth our while.
Instead we went to the Art Gallery of Sudbury. It was temporarily closed, except for their contemporary exhibits, which we weren’t too keen on. We did manage to appreciate some art along the drive though as there are several murals scattered around the downtown core.
And so we headed back to Killarney. We went for a short walk by the main beach on George Lake. This marks the start of the La Cloche Silhouette Trail, a strenuous 78km backpacking trail that typically takes 7 to 10 days to complete. The trail is dedicated to the Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichael and named after one of his paintings. We didn’t make it very far as it was cold, windy and the sun was just starting to set. So we turned around and walked back to our yurt to warm up and get started on dinner.
Day 2: Cranberry Bog
After making a morning cup of tea, I ventured out into the cold to pick up a sled by the park office. It was overcast and a bit warmer today, only -11°C. But it was calm and quiet outside. The snow was still firm and crunchy, which was easy to walk on with microspikes. I loaded up our sled with some stuff we didn’t need anymore, like our sleeping bags, pillows, lantern and spare clothing and made another trip to the parking lot to drop it off. By the time I returned to the yurt, breakfast was ready.
We finished packing the rest of our stuff and made one last trip to the car. We then walked back through the campground to find the trailhead for Cranberry Bog (4km loop, rated moderate), which is located by the second beach.
While the road was icy, the trail wasn’t too bad. We followed the numbered signs and red blazes through the forest. The first notable point of interest is a viewpoint of Proulx Marsh. Thirty years ago the marsh used to be covered in water and emptied into George Lake, but today most of the water is gone.
The trail continues through the forest to Cranberry Bog. It seems aptly named given all the pink coloured rocks and ridges. But Cranberry Bog isn’t actually a bog. It’s a fen, a peat-covered wetland that receives its moisture from groundwater. We crossed the bridge to get a closer look.
At signpost #6 we turned around. We’ve hiked this trail several times before and knew that after this point, things get more challenging, especially in the winter with all the snow and ice. So we walked back the way we came.
Once we returned to the parking lot, we used the restrooms at the park office and refilled our water bottles. We then hit the road. While we didn’t get in as much hiking as we would have liked because of the cold, it was still nice to get away for the weekend.
L
Nice post 🌅🌅
Thanks for your kind words and for leaving a comment. Even though it was cold, it was still nice to spend some time in nature.
Group of Seven country is beautiful in so many ways. Thanks for this introduction to Killarney Park. I’ve never visited this one. It does look cold in your pictures but the yurt seems cozy and comfortable. Great addresses photo of you and Baby M. Cheers.
* Great photo of you and Baby M. I don’t know where the addresses came from. 😉
Oh I know. It’s been neat to visit a few places in northern Ontario where the Group of Seven frequently visited. It’s such a beautiful area in Ontario that surprisingly doesn’t get too many visitors. We were a bit worried that the yurt, especially the floor, would still be a bit chilly given how cold it was outside. But we had no issues staying warm.
Maybe you were thinking of what it would like to live in a yurt permanently and that’s how “addresses” slipped in!
Brrr… it looks and sounds very cold! But I love how blue the skies were on the first day. Sometimes I forgot just how far north Canada is. The murals you saw are beautiful and Science North also seems quite interesting.
The cold fresh air is good for us, but it was way too cold on our first day to spend much time outdoors. This gave us a good excuse to drive into Sudbury. We’ve been meaning to check out Science North for awhile anyway.
I doubt there is a more well-traveled baby.
Let’s hope all those past travels helped acclimatize our little one as we’re actually getting ready for our longest and most ambitious trip yet. We’ll be heading to New Zealand for five weeks at the end of the month!!
Beautiful photos with the frozen lakes. The yurt looks nice and cosy and I liked the giant sized nickel coin at Sudbury. We’re enjoying Toronto and have been lucky with the weather!
Thanks for your kind words. I was pleasantly surprised at how warm it was in the yurt despite the freezing cold temperatures outside.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying your time in Toronto. This week has been lovely with the warmer weather and plenty of sunshine. The weekend isn’t looking too promising though. Enjoy the rest of your time in the city and safe travels back home!
Where would we Canadians be without micro spikes? What a great adventure for your family, getting the Little adjusted to your love of the outdoors. Some excellent hikes and time spent in Sudbury. It was 1978 when I last spent any time in Sudbury. A lot has changed. Thanks for sharing Linda. Allan
Oh I know! We only started using microspikes a few years ago and often wonder why we didn’t use them sooner. They are such a game changer to hiking in the winter, which is actually one of our favourite seasons to be out on the trail. A lot has changed in many cities over the past few decades, but especially Sudbury given all the pollution from smelting. It was neat to hear how the city has tried to revive its environment.
Baby M is going to be quite the adventurer! I haven’t stayed in one of these park yurts, but our yurt in Kyrgyzstan had a wood stove that kept it cozy inside. But it was only around 0 overnight. Maggie
I sure hope so! She’s not a fan of being in her car seat but absolutely loves being outside either in the stroller or baby carrier. Given how cold it was I was a bit worried that the yurt would be a bit chilly, especially the floor. But we had no issues staying warm. The heat had to stay on the entire time though.
This sounds like a nice winter break. It’s always great to get away from the crowds and enjoy nature. The Group of Seven Artists has such a unique history with Canada and Nature. The Science North Museum looks like an educational adventure especially for youngsters. Interesting murals.
Our parks have become way too busy in the summer and it’s really tough to book one of the yurts or cabins. So we much prefer to visit during the off-season when everything is much quieter. It’s been neat to visit a few of the places in northern Ontario where the Group of Seven frequented and drew inspiration from. It’s a far drive to get to, but the scenery is outstanding. We’ll have to return when M is a bit older though so she can take advantage of all the hands on exhibits at Science North. It’s such a neat museum.
Wow, this park is very beautiful!! It was cold but the upside is the bugs weren’t biting. Have a great weekend, guys!! 😎🇨🇦❤️
Very true! I’ll take the cold over the bugs any day! Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well. Our snow is mostly gone and it’s starting to feel and look a bit like spring.
All is well down here in the desert! Yay for spring!
You bet!! I’m enjoying the sunshine!!
It looks so refreshing, and you guys are so brave for heading out into the outdoors when the temperatures are way below zero!! But this is such a beautiful park, and it looks so wonderful covered in snow. I love the colourful murals and my girls would love visiting Science North as there are so many interesting exhibits and things to see. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
We contemplated cancelling given how cold it was supposed to be, but I’m glad we didn’t. It took awhile for our yurt to heat up, but once it did, we had no issues staying warm. Killarney is one of our favourite parks. While we didn’t do as much hiking, we still had a wonderful time. And we got to explore a bit of Sudbury to escape from the cold. Thanks for reading. Hope you had a lovely weekend. Linda
Fascinating.
The frozen landscape was beautiful. It was tough to take my hands out of my warm mittens to take pictures though!
The yurt looks like a cozy refuge from the cold.
I was a bit worried that the yurt wouldn’t be warm enough considering how cold it was. It took awhile to warm up inside, but once it did, it stayed warm.
Killarney looks like a nice park, and it’s particularly beautiful in the winter. You’re brave to camp in the winter!
We’ve been to Killarney in all the different seasons. The winter is one of my favourite times to visit as it’s much quieter. And we’re actually able to book one of the heated yurts or cabins. We managed to stay toasty warm inside despite it being freezing cold outside!
I love Killarney so much. One of my favourite parts in Ontario and so interesting to see it in the wintertime. You two, now three, have visited practically ever yurt in the province by now! 😊😆
I loved seeing more of the Sudbury area through your photos. We did the Big Nickel but didn’t have time to do the museum nor the bog, so something to keep in mind for next time. We’re considering a visit this summer along with a drive further north up to Sault St Marie.
Killarney is one of my favourites as well. We prefer to stay in one of the cabins, but a yurt is a good alternative. There’s still a few parks with cabins or yurts that we haven’t tried out yet, like at Silent Lake and Pinery. But we’ll get there. It’s becoming harder to book these roofed accommodations over a weekend though!!
I’m glad we got to explore more of Sudbury. I’d love to return when M is a bit older so she can more fully enjoy the interactive museums. Dynamic Earth sounds pretty cool. That’s exciting that you’re thinking about visiting in the summer. There’s a lot of great parks along the stretch towards Sault St Marie. Would you also visit Manitoulin Island?
We did Manitoulin in summer 2020 as part of our Thunder Bay roadtrip. Loved our day trip there!
It’s such a beautiful area. It’s too bad the water is always freezing cold though!
Oooh, I love the views from the Cranberry Bog trail! Was it warm enough in the yurt with how cold it was outside? I know you said it’s heated, but it doesn’t seem like it would hold heat well.
The colour of the pink rocks around Cranberry Bog is very pretty. The yurt was chilly when we first arrived and it took awhile for it to warm up, especially the floor. It doesn’t retain heat very well, so the heater was running non-stop. But the heater worked surprisingly well.
Fabulous share! I appreciate seeing the inside of the yurt and of course many other things to enjoy. Thank you! Happy weekend to you.
The yurt was quite spacious and surprisingly very warm considering how cold it was outside. It’s a comfortable way to stay overnight in the park. It would have been nice if the weather was a bit warmer and we could have explored more of the trails, but we still had a wonderful time. Enjoy the weekend as well. Linda
Thank you for the added detail. 🌄🙏🏻
Of course. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
I enjoyed your blog, Linda. Keep sharing your adventures. It’s so good to see the stunning places there
You are too kind. Even though it was cold, it still nice to enjoy the fresh air and snowy scenery. And I’m glad we had a few indoor activities to keep us warm and entertained.
Yes, enjoy the indoor and outdoor activities, especially the snow. Stay safe, Linda.
Thanks! Our snow is mostly all melted now and we’re finally enjoying some warmer weather. It won’t be long until the spring flowers are out!
Oh, it sounds exciting, Linda. I love flowers in spring in the photos on the Internet
Me too. They are a much welcome sight after months of cold and snow.
Yeah. Another vibes.
Wow, that’s chilly!! But it makes for some beautiful photos – the park looks stunning with the snow and frozen lakes. The science museum looks like a fun, interesting place to escape from the cold.
Thanks for your lovely comment. It’s always neat to see how different the landscape looks throughout the seasons, even in the winter. While we didn’t spend as much time outside because of the cold, we still enjoyed the frozen scenery. And we found other things to do to keep us entertained.
So wonderful place full of beautiful nature and special photo of dear you and your lovely child 👶 Gorgeous 👌🥰🥰
Tha photos are full of great winter to watch 😍 frozen lakes , the yurt ⛺️ seeing so nice and the most attractive view that the giant Nickel Coin 😍🌹👌 great enjoyment place , wonders universe !! Great adventures trip 🤩💝thank you
so much sharing and graceful wishes my lovely friend 🌷🙏🥰🌷
Thanks for your kind words and for leaving a comment. The frozen and snowy landscape looked lovely. It was a bit too cold for hiking though, but I’m glad we had a good back-up plan and were able to spend some time in Sudbury seeing the sights.
Thank you so much for likes my feedback and most welcome with so much
love my lovely friend 💞🌷🙏
Anytime. Enjoy the rest of the week.
Thank you and have a great week ahead my dear friend 💖🙏🌹
Thanks!
Oh wow, I was away from WordPress for almost a year, and then came back to hear that your baby goes to your hikes too! Anyway, it was nice to be back and reading your stories again. 🙂
Welcome back!! It’s nice to hear from you again. Hope all is well with you and your family.
Our little one seems to share our love of the outdoors. She is getting heavy to hike with though! I’m looking forward to when she can hike the trails on her own!
Yeah that’s pretty cold! Looks beautiful in the sunshine despite the bitter wind. Dynamic sounds a good creation and a good place to visit, I always love it when educational places are geared to younger generations to encourage learning through interest, there can’t be too many such places!
I totally agree. These interactive and dynamic museums are such a fun way for kids to learn. We’ll have to return when baby M is a bit older. Maybe not in the winter though.
Looks so cold but lovely at the same time. It is nice to organise some little breaks during winter to break the monotony. The museum looks interesting.
For sure. We tend not to spend as much time outside in the winter so it’s nice to have these weekend winter camping trips to reconnect with nature. The museum was a great activity to escape the cold. We’ll have to return when M is older as it looks like a fun place for kids to learn and explore.
How beautiful (but cold) in the snow. I was very drawn to your pictures of Cranberry Bog – totally made sense when I read it’s actually a fen, given I’m well and truly embedded in England’s fenlands, so must be in my blood 🙂
Ha. I’m such a fan of fens too. Maybe not in the spring when the bugs are out of control. But they are such neat places that play an important role in our environment and ecosystem, and they support such a diverse amount of plants and animals. They are fen-tastic!
How great it is to have baby M. along with you on these adventures. The thought of yurt and Killarney struck me as bone chillingly cold. From your experience heating wasn’t an issue.
She’s such a good little traveller and loves being outside. Even though she won’t remember any of it, it’s still nice to share these experiences with her.
We were a bit concerned that the yurt, especially the floor, would still be chilly given how cold it was outside. It took awhile to warm up, but once it did, we had no issues.
What a great tradition visiting this park. I love the ice on the water and the great street murals around. Seems like a great way to unwind for a couple of days 🙂
For sure. Even though we didn’t spend as much time exploring the park as we would have liked because of the colder weather, it was still nice to get a change of scenery for the weekend.
Glad you were able to get a short hike in, but brrr! Baby M is getting a good education, with all the museums and interesting sites you find.
The weather wasn’t ideal for hiking given how cold it was. I’m glad we managed to get a bit of fresh air though and that we could go into town for some indoor activities to keep us entertained.
Your journey and the pictures are absolutely breathtaking… God’s Blessings to you all as you continue to explore such beautiful places. 🙏
Thanks for your kind words. Even though it was cold, the snowy landscape looked beautiful. And it was nice to have some indoor activities to keep us warm.
Brrrrr, sleeping in a yurt at this time of year is brave. Now the landscapes of the forest and lakes caught in the cold make for beautiful images.
It took a while for the heater to warm up the yurt, but once it did, we stayed toasty warm inside.
You have some of the greatest adventures ever. Thanks for sharing them with us. 😊
You are too kind. It’s always nice to get a change of scenery and to spend some time outdoors, even in the winter.
The yurt looks beautiful, and I am definitely more inspired to try hiking in the winter more next year after reading your post. The museum is very cool, and it looks like Baby M liked it too!
I really enjoy hiking in the winter as the trails are typically quiet and there are no bugs. Plus the landscape looks so pretty covered in snow. We picked up microspikes a few years ago and those have been a total game changer. It makes hiking on the ice or snow so much easier. I’d highly recommend hiking in the winter!
That tunnel and how it’s made is so cool. Matt and I love to visit museums and rare places like that.i like the photo of baby M checking it out, too. Her cute little hand testing the stone piece. Aww 🥰 Sudbury seems like a great adventure minus the cold. I love that you included the picture of the yurt. Those things still fascinate me lol 😆
The underground tunnel was really neat and such a fun way to enter the museum. Baby M was still a bit too young for many of the hands on experiences, but she seemed to enjoy herself. And yah, Sudbury is a neat town, but I don’t think I could handle the cold long winters either!
It doesn’t look like you’ve had a lot of snow at that time, but cold enough to get on long trails.. brrr..
Have a lovely weekend!
Christie
That museum looks awesome.
I’m such a fan of dynamic museums. It’s a great way for kids (and adults) to learn and have fun. We’ll have to return when our little one is a bit older.
Very interesting.
It’s definitely more work to camp in the winter, especially since we have to walk in with all our stuff. But the park is much quieter. It’s too bad it was really cold the weekend we visited Killarney, but thankfully we found some indoor activities to keep us busy in Sudbury.
What an engaging post. You had my attention at -14 degrees and yurt. Then when I saw the inside, and you noted that you forgot the baby’s crib, I was even more intrigued. Your picture of mother and baby are endearing. The fact that baby is reaching out to touch the rock lets the reader know how much you have worked with her.
Thanks for joining us on Story Chat and commenting on Darlene’s story this month. I link to a post for every person who comments, so you will see a pingback. Thanks again for this great post.
Thanks so much for your lovely comment. It’s too bad it was so cold, but we stayed nice and warm inside our yurt. And it gave us a good excuse to visit Sudbury. We’ve driven through this city before but have never stopped to check out the attractions. Our little one is so curious and it’s been fascinating to try to see the world through her eyes.
I enjoyed the concept of your Story Chat and I’m a huge fan of Darlene’s work! I’m glad our paths have crossed. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Linda
Thank you, Linda. I can see that you would be a big fan of Darlene’s. She’s got a new one in me. She’s got talent! 🙂
That she does!!