Killarney, ON, CA
On the leg from Byng Inlet to Killarney - which is our next stop, the weather was nice and the smoke was very light, although it did cloud up later in the day. We made a one hour detour through a unique channel called Collins Inlet. It had some narrow but deep channels between vertical cliffs, with beautiful lush green pines on both sides of the water and was worth the time. We’ve included a couple of photos of the Byng Inlet Lighthouse and Wrights Marina with no smoke so you can see what we missed on the way in, including a large wind farm right off the inlet which was invisible in the smoke.
It was a 53 mile journey to Killarney, which was founded as a fur-traders camp in the 1800’s and has grown into a small resort town and a major stopping place for not only Canadian boaters and tourists on vacation but also Great Loop boaters. While we wouldn’t call it quaint, it had its own character and reminded us a lot of a Colorado mining town.
The town is on the border of an Ontario provincial park and the scenery reflects it, surrounded on two sides by low mountains and beautiful lush pines. In addition, situated at one end of the narrow channel is the very nice, high end Killarney Mountain Lodge, and it’s sister, Sportsman’s Lodge little further down, both which provide marina space and amenities. We had a very nice dinner in the Mountain Lodge restaurant, and really enjoyed just wandering around the Lodge’s pristine grounds stopping here and there to enjoy the scenery and views. Clearly the Mountain Lodge must be a big draw to many locals because there is a heliport on the grounds and there were helicopters landing and taking off every day. We talked to the young grandson of a visitor who proudly told us, “this is my grandfather’s helicopter and this is his pilot.” Lucky little fella and so adorable - we were def looking at a future pilot as he was enamored by the whole experience.
The 180-foot long paddle in one of the pics is one of the sites to see - and was built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Killarney. It’s called The Big Dipper and was quite impressive, having been built by a famous Canadian canoeist.
The Sportsman’s Lodge, which is the section of the marina we stayed in, is a grand, white 1800s hotel from the mining era, that has one long front balcony that extends the length of the building, providing a balcony to each room, and a beautiful view of the water and marina. It also housed a cute restaurant and waterside bar. The local general store in the middle of town also dates from the late 1800s, and provided a really cool look back to the past. Inside it had all types of food and camping gear, had the original counter and shelving inside, and the original store top signage that read “HEAD Quarters for Tourists and Campers Supplies.” One of the things that caught our eye was the Bell phone booth situated on the side of the store. Guess those are considered antiques these days too as who the heck doesn’t have a cell phone, who has change in their pocket to make a phone call - and how much is a phone call anyway?
The Killarney village also had a small museum with fur trading, logging and other artifacts. Some of the artifacts that stood out to us included newspaper clippings from the 1960s that talked about the trouble the community had with transportation during the winter, as the paved road and airport were not there yet. It’s hard to imagine that this little town, as recently as the 60’s was so remote it could only be accessed by boat. We could only image what the cold and snowy winters must have been like as well, with the lake frozen over and no other access in or out. Yikes!
While wandering around we saw a beaver dam and a young beaver swimming around in the water with her mom. We couldn’t remember ever seeing beavers in the wild and they were really fun to watch as they ducked in and out of their underwater dam. Of course, we continue to be surrounded by ducks, geese families and the occasional loon and crane. Canada certainly has its share of free roaming fowl. Maybe we continue to be so amazed by all the wildlife because we live in a DC suburb?
We really enjoyed our visit, met some really nice people and would highly recommend the Killarney Mountain Lodge to anyone visiting the area - a little piece of heaven for sure.
