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Ontario has some amazing Provincial Parks! We headed out to Charleston Lake Provincial Park in Lansdowne, ON recently to hike the Tallow Rock Bay Trail and thought it was great. Charleston Lake also has a few shorter trails, and paddle in campsites. We’re definitely going to have to make a weekend of it soon.

Getting There

We live a little bit south of Ottawa, so for us the drive to Charleston Lake was actually pretty short- just over an hour! We took the 416 out to the 401 and headed west for a bit, hopping off the highway at Mallorytown. Then, we zigged and zagged through small towns and farmer’s fields before arriving at the entrance to the park. There was a huge Charleston Lake Provincial Park sign at the final turn that we had to make, and then another at the park entrance. It would have been hard to miss! You can use these coordinates to get there: 44.497218, -76.043645.

The main office for Charleston Lake is pretty small, but impossible to miss once you start driving into the park. We stopped there to get our day pass (which was $14.50). We were also able to grab a trail map from the office (which we later forgot in the car!). Looking at the map, we sorted out that the trailhead for the Tallow Rock Bay Trail started near the Discovery Centre, so we drove the short distance in that direction.

The Trailhead

We turned left into a small parking lot near the trailhead, pulling in and grabbing the last spot! There was room for about twenty cars in the lot. Despite it not being pictured on the map, there were outhouses available there. There was also a bike rack, which would make it super convenient for anyone camping there to bike over and start the trail. There were a few picnic tables available, and the Discovery Centre was just a few steps away from the parking lot. We didn’t stop to check it out though. We thought we’d save it for when we came out to the park for a whole weekend.

There was a big bulletin board with a map at the entrance to the trails. A few trails shared the same trailhead, and we set out on a really wide trail made up of hard packed stone dust.

The first 0.5 kilometres of the trail took us over two boardwalks, and were intended to be wheelchair accessible. I’m always hesitant to say that an area WOULD be wheelchair accessible, because I’ve never had the experience of being in one and don’t feel that I can actually predict the challenges. But, after we stepped off the second boardwalk there was a sign saying “wheelchair travel” was not recommended beyond this point on the trail. So Ontario Parks seems to think the first half kilometre was accessible.

The Route

We came to the first split in the trail after hiking only 600 metres. To our right was the Quiddity Rock Lookout, a kilometre from where we stood. We decided that we would save that for another day, and kept to our left to stick with the Tallow Rock Bay Trail.

We crossed over a portage trail shortly after. This trail connected Killenbeck Lake with Charleston Lake. Taking a few steps to our left got us some great views of the lake.

After hiking 1.2 kilometres, we reached the spot on the trail where it split to form the looped section. There was a big sign there, and we turned to our left to complete the western section of the loop first. There were a few little ups and downs as we hiked along, but for the most part, it was pretty easy hiking on our way to Tallow Rock Bay.

After hiking 3 kilometres, we found ourselves on top of a small hill in the forest, with a cabin and privy down the hill on our right hand side. There wasn’t a trail leading down to the cabin, although if we had been really desperate for a bathroom break we could have accessed it.

One of the cool things about this trail was the distance markers. I think this is actually the first trail I’ve been on that had a marker every kilometre. The markers were nestled up high in the trees, so they didn’t take away from the natural feel of the trail. But they were also super handy to come across and know how far we had gone without having to stop and check our route on our electronics. The trail markers were also well spread out along the trail. There were enough to help us feel confident we were still on the right path, but not too many.

Tallow Rock Bay

The trail alternated between being worn down to the dirt, and grassier sections as we hiked along. It was pretty easy hiking so far though.

Just before Tallow Rock Bay, there was a newly constructed outhouse beside the trail. It really was a beautiful little bathroom. BUT, it was crazy small inside. I highly recommend checking for spiders on the inside of the door before you close it, because your nose will basically be touching the door the whole time you’re in there. There was a roll of toilet paper available, but no hand sanitizer.

We walked another 100 metres down to Tallow Rock Bay. In order to reach this point, we had hiked 4.3 kilometres in total.

There was a picnic table at the Bay, in the middle of a nice grassy spot right beside the shoreline. We were not impressed with ourselves that we hadn’t brought our swimsuits. It would have been super easy to walk into the nice, clean water in the bay to cool off and relax. Tallow Rock Bay also seemed to be popular among boaters. When we got there, three boats had pulled up to the shoreline and there was a bunch of people in the water enjoying the day.

We hung out for a bit and ate our lunch. While we were there, a few hikers that stopped by to check out the Bay, or let their dogs hop in to cool off.

Back on the Trail

After a bit of a break, we headed back up to the trail. We turned to our left when we met the trail in order to complete the loop. The trail had a few more hills beyond the Bay, and some of them were fairly rocky. They were still pretty easy to navigate though.

A kilometre past the Bay, we came to a split in the trail for the Coveys Gap and Captains Gap Campsites. Since we weren’t spending the night, we carried on.

Originally, we had decided to complete the loop clockwise because we thought this section of the loop would get us more views lakeside. That wasn’t really the case, but this side of the loop was still nice! It had a rockier, more forest-ey feel compared to the western side which had taken us through a few more grassy sections and overgrown parts of the trail.

At the 7 kilometre mark, we reached another split in the trail, this one with the potential to lead us to the Hidden Cove Campsites.

We got our first views of Charleston Lake after hiking for 7.4 kilometres. Not long after, we crossed over a long bridge that connected Slim Bay to Charleston Lake. The bridge was kind of cool because it was made out of some sort of plastic interlocking blocks. I had never seen a bridge like that before, so even though it was a little wobbly, it was still cool to walk across. We climbed up onto a wooden bridge that had been built to allow paddlers to cross between the Bay and the Lake, and then headed back into the forest.

At the 8 kilometre mark, there was a split in the trail for the Bob’s Cove Campsite. The rest of the trail was fairly nondescript as we headed back the way we had come. There was a bit of a lookout over Slim Bay at the 8.5 kilometre mark, but it wasn’t anything special.

Finishing the Route

Gradually, we headed downhill until we reached the spot where the trail had originally split to form the loop. By this point, we had been hiking 9.8 kilometres. We headed back over the boardwalks and towards the parking lot.

By the time we finished the trail, we had hiked a total of 10.96 kilometres. It had taken us four hours and thirteen minutes. We were hiking at a really casual pace the whole time though, AND we had stopped for a good long break at Tallow Rock Bay.

Final Thoughts

The Tallow Rock Bay Trail made for a lovely day out in the woods. If I were to do it again, I think I might hike it in a counter clockwise direction. And I would DEFINITELY bring a swim suit so that I could stop for a swim at Tallow Rock Bay on the way back.

There aren’t too many points of interest along the trail. But for a nice, low key day in the forest, this trail is just the ticket. Plus, the length of the loop makes it a great spot for anyone who wants to try their hand at backpacking. We didn’t take the time to stop off and check out the different campsites, but there were quite a few choices. A trip could be modified to almost anyone’s comfort level. Beginners might feel more confident hiking out only 3 kilometres to the Bob’s Cove campsite for their first trip. Or, other sites could be chosen, if someone wanted a longer trek in.

We will definitely be back to Charleston Lake Provincial Park to check out the rest of the trails, and to paddle Charleston Lake itself!

I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!

Map and Elevation Gain

Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.

Gear We Brought

Gear We Forgot