Limberlost Forest: The Free 10,000-Acre Wilderness Near Algonquin
Start Here
A hidden gem, hiding in plain sight
Everyone knows Algonquin. Almost nobody knows that just west of it, near Huntsville, there is a privately owned forest that quietly opens its gates to the public for free. It is called Limberlost, and it is the kind of place you cannot believe is not on every list.
The numbers are a little ridiculous. More than ten thousand acres of mixed forest. Twenty private lakes. Over seventy kilometres of trail. Day use is completely free, open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, and the only thing they ask is that you sign a safety waiver online before you arrive. The whole property is kept this way on purpose, funded by the cabins and campsites so the forest can stay open to everyone. It is award winning, sustainably managed, and under three hours from the GTA.
The shape of it
Hikes. Seventy kilometres of groomed trail, from a fifteen minute warmup to a half day loop.
Water. Twenty quiet lakes, with a canoe brought right to your campsite.
Camping. Private, lakefront sites and heated cabins, from fifty three dollars a night.
Winter. The same forest under snow, groomed for skiing and open for snowshoeing.
Tina's rule
Book your campsite the morning the calendar opens. Summer sites are released December 1st at 10 am, and the lakefront ones are gone by lunch. Set the reminder now.
The Hikes
Seventy kilometres of trail, and where to start
Most of the network is groomed and well marked, scattered with walking bridges, boardwalks and lookouts over the water. Here are the four we would send a first timer on.
Clear Lake Trail
Easy warmup · 1.5 km
A gentle loop to shake out the drive. Flat, quick, and lovely with kids or a dog on the leash.
Solitaire Trail
The signature · 6.3 km
The one everyone remembers. An easy to moderate loop that traces Lake Solitaire, all still water and quiet shoreline. If you only do one, do this.
Buck Lake Lookout
Biggest view, least work · 0.7 km
A short, moderate to difficult climb to a lookout that feels like you earned far more than you did. Perfect for golden hour.
Kalonga Wetland Trail
Boardwalks · 5.8 km
Easy to moderate, winding over wetland boardwalks. The most different landscape on the property, and a favourite for photos.
Tina's tip
Dogs are welcome but must stay leashed, and there are no bins on the trails, so pack out everything you bring in. Download the trail map before you leave signal behind.
The Water
Twenty private lakes, and a canoe brought to your door
With twenty lakes spread across the property, you can genuinely end up with a whole quiet bay to yourself. The water is the reason to stay the night here.
Rent a canoe, delivered
Right to your site
You do not need a roof rack or a plan. Limberlost rents canoes and can drop one right at your campsite, so you can be on the lake minutes after you unpack.
Swim off a quiet lakefront
Sandy shallows
Many of the sites and beaches sit right on the water, with sandy, shallow entries that are easy for kids. The lakes are unsupervised and you swim and paddle at your own risk, so bring a life jacket and keep an eye on the little ones.
Tina's tip
These lakes turn to glass first thing in the morning. Get on the water before 9 am for the stillness, the mist, and the whole bay to yourself.
Camping
How to sleep on a private lake
Every site is private, set deep in the forest, and most sit right on the water. Each one comes with a firepit, a picnic table, and its own outhouse. You just pick your comfort level.
Tent sites
From $53 a night
Fifty three dollars plus tax for two adults, sixteen dollars for each extra adult, and children under twelve stay free. Check in is any time after 2 pm. The simplest, cheapest way onto a private Muskoka lake.
Heated camping cabins
From $100 a night
The glamping option. One hundred dollars plus tax for two, with a roof over your head and the firepit still out front. Propane heaters are available from September 1st to the May long weekend, so the shoulder seasons stay cozy.
Cottages, lodges and outposts
For a whole week
Lakefront lodges and family cottages rent by the week in summer, seven nights, Saturday to Saturday for lodges and Sunday to Sunday for cottages. The remote outpost cabins are for going properly off grid, with an all wheel drive vehicle to reach them.
The move
For a first visit, grab a lakefront tent site or a heated cabin. You get the fire, the water, and the quiet without committing to a full week.
Winter
The same forest, under snow
Limberlost is a year round place, and honestly the winter might be the best kept part of the secret. When the snow comes, the trail network turns into something else entirely.
Cross country and skate skiing
Groomed tracks
Most trails are trackset for classic skiing, and the Barlow loop is groomed wide for skate skiing and skijoring, about eight kilometres with a shorter inner loop. Difficulty runs green, blue, black and double black, just like a ski hill.
Snowshoeing
Go anywhere
Strap in and wander. The ungroomed trails are all yours, and the camping cabins keep their propane heaters through winter, so you can even sleep out here in the cold.
Tina's tip
Check the ski report on their site before you drive up, because grooming and lake crossings depend entirely on conditions. Never step onto a lake unless it has been groomed and marked open.
Before You Go
How to do it right
Book direct, and book early.
Reserve at limberlostforest.com. Summer sites are released December 1st at 10 am, with more windows opening April 1st and August 1st, also at 10 am. The lakefront sites go fast.
Sign the safety waiver first.
Every visitor fills out the free waiver online before arriving, day trippers included. No waiver, no entry, and they do enforce it.
Leave the trailer at home.
No RVs, camper vans, pop up or teardrop trailers are allowed, it is a Lake of Bays bylaw. This is tent and cabin country.
Pack a propane stove.
There is no daytime burning from 8 am to 6 pm between April 1st and October 31st, so you will want propane to cook lunch.
Bring it in, take it out.
Pack out all your garbage, there are no bins on the trails. Keep dogs leashed, and clean up after them too.
Mind the roads and the deposit.
The interior roads are rugged and the limit is 20 km an hour, so take it slow. Note that lodges, cottages and outposts take a 30 percent deposit to hold.
One last thing
Leave a morning unplanned. The best thing about this place is having nowhere to be, a canoe on a still lake, and a whole forest that has no idea you are there.
The one nobody tells you about
Ontario is full of famous places you have to line up for. This is not one of them. Ten thousand acres, twenty lakes, and a gate that opens for free. Go before everyone else figures it out, and if you make it up, I would genuinely love to hear which lake you ended up on.
See you in the forest,
Tina · @travelwithtina
