Hi all! I came across this community recently and couldn't resist joining. I, like many of you, have a passion for Algonquin Park & the great outdoors... Hopefully I can contribute to the wealth of info already available here. I moved to Ottawa last fall from London and am very excited about being closer to the park. Hopefully I'll get more trips in this year!

I'm headed to access 17 for a short Friday to Sunday trip this weekend (probably in a rain suit ).

I have far from mastered the elusive (when I'm around anyway) lake trout, but would certainly welcome any info about Shirley & surrounding lakes.

Cheers!
Rick

Hey Rick, glad to have you on board! This is a terrific site, and you'll find all sorts of great info about the park, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Shirley Lake is my favourite lake in the park, as it never seems crowded, has some terrific camp sites,good fishing, and very scenic. It's about a 45 minute paddle from the access point, a relatively easy 1 km portage and you're on the lake. Like I said, there are some great campsites on this lake, starting at the site just south of the island, (all sites are on the east side of the lake), my favourite site is the next one that is located just off the north easter point of the island on the mainland. Don't bother even looking at the island site, as it is not very good. Use is as your last resort only if you are stuck. The next two or three sites are located at the end of the lake in Ancona bay, and they are pretty good sites as well. It takes a little over an hour paddling time to get to these sites.
You'll find oak for your camp fire if you walk up one of the hills on the west side, and of course, you'll find plenty of softwood on the East side.
As for fishing, I believe it's as good as most lakes in the park. You can take a day trip into Ryan lake, which is stocked with Splake, but is usually full of campers,and is a small lake.
good Luck, and have fun
Knots....formerly Skeeter

Thanks for the info! We'll be arriving late and your campsite tips will save us some valuable time.

Cheers,
Rick

I'm planning a trout trip to Shirley/Ryan this May (early may). How did you make out on your fishing at Shirley?

Ryan L is stocked with splake as indicated. They're not too big though -- I think i pulled out a 2lb'er though. The campsites stink -- best one being on the island. You can get lots of wood on the shore opposites the one with all the campsites (I can't recall what direction it is). In fact, there's a bit of a clearing on the shoreline that leads to a logging road. We found a lot of scraps around there, but it can make for a tippy canoe ride back to shore. In other words, be careful

Hellooo

And welcome to the greatest site on the web!!!!