Mafois
New member
Hi everyone,
We did a trip on the Old Nipissing Road during the canadian Thanksgiving week-end.
The Old Nipissing Road is an old Ontario settlement road dotted with old abandoned and sometimes destroyed buildings, cemeteries, but mostly mud and swamp.
Sorry if there are English misstakes, I'll try hard not to do some.
This is how it went :
Day 1
We left Montréal, Québec in the early hours in the morning, because we had 600 km of road to do that day. So we took the highway 50 heading west admiring the sunrise in our mirrors. Wild turkeys on the edge and sometimes even on the shoulder road remind us that we are approaching Gatineau. Passed Ottawa, our route takes us through farms on small country roads where the speed never exceeds 80km / h. We even met some '' amish ''. After the farms, it's Algonquin Park's turn to impress us with the colors of autumn.
We finally arrived at Rosseau, official departure of the Old Nipissing Road. Since we do not have a lot of time or a winch equipped vehicle, we decided not to venture too hard on the difficult parts. We follow the detour to Orrville and decide to camp at Oastler Park in Parry Sound. The campsite is not very busy as it is the last weekend that camping is allowed, the weather and trains passing every 45 minutes minimum do not help either ...
Day 2
After a big breakfast, we left camp a little before 11am, heading to Seguin Falls. Seguin Falls is the first '' ghost town '' on the route, There is a red brick school that stills standing, as it was purchased and converted into a private residence and some foundations on the edge of a huge swamp / lake. Arriving from the north following the detour, we decide to go south on the difficult part. The trail is pleasant and easy at first, but the further we go, the tighther it became. The sharp eye of my friend allowed us to discover through the trees the remains of an old house destroyed by a tree probably during a storm.
We left heading north to visit several cemeteries that tells a sad family story carried by diseases with children at a very young age. Our next destination is a '' side trip '' to Screaming heads, a private property filled with mysterious and creepy structures. I spotted a shortcut on Google Earth that could save us a few km. Arrived in front of it, we must cross a swamp. By walking it and testing the bottom, we decide that it is very doable especially after we met an ATV that tells us that the trail is pretty straight forward after the swamp until the main road.
Screaming Heads is very impressive, the sculptures date back to 1996 and have a small creepy side that we like. Back on the Old Nipissing Road, we come across an old building rather well preserved, because it seems to serve as a reception room for events. This is the Orange Hall. We continue to Magnetawan, the gas station of the city was closed and forced us to make a detour of 30 km to the west to fill the trucks. Given the time already advanced in the day and the fact that we had an 1hour drive before the next camp (Kiosk Algonquin Park) We decided to leave the Old Nipissing Road for Highway 11. So we did only half of it, the next part will be for next season. There is so much to see on this road in addition to the '' side trip '' we missed time to fully enjoy it.
Day 3
After my friend saved my drone from my bad flying skill and wind, we headed home. It's raining and we're not the only ones wanting to come home on Thanksgiving, a stop at the Tim Horton at Deep River took us 1 hour. The north sector of Algonquin Park is now in my bucket list of places that I want to explore more deeply, we could see several small paths that seemed very interesting.
Pictures : https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/fr-fr/#B0wGqkRUi9fqGw
Video : Great informations for planning : http://www.nipissingroad.ca/ http://thenipissingroad.com/
We did a trip on the Old Nipissing Road during the canadian Thanksgiving week-end.
The Old Nipissing Road is an old Ontario settlement road dotted with old abandoned and sometimes destroyed buildings, cemeteries, but mostly mud and swamp.
Sorry if there are English misstakes, I'll try hard not to do some.
This is how it went :
Day 1
We left Montréal, Québec in the early hours in the morning, because we had 600 km of road to do that day. So we took the highway 50 heading west admiring the sunrise in our mirrors. Wild turkeys on the edge and sometimes even on the shoulder road remind us that we are approaching Gatineau. Passed Ottawa, our route takes us through farms on small country roads where the speed never exceeds 80km / h. We even met some '' amish ''. After the farms, it's Algonquin Park's turn to impress us with the colors of autumn.
We finally arrived at Rosseau, official departure of the Old Nipissing Road. Since we do not have a lot of time or a winch equipped vehicle, we decided not to venture too hard on the difficult parts. We follow the detour to Orrville and decide to camp at Oastler Park in Parry Sound. The campsite is not very busy as it is the last weekend that camping is allowed, the weather and trains passing every 45 minutes minimum do not help either ...
Day 2
After a big breakfast, we left camp a little before 11am, heading to Seguin Falls. Seguin Falls is the first '' ghost town '' on the route, There is a red brick school that stills standing, as it was purchased and converted into a private residence and some foundations on the edge of a huge swamp / lake. Arriving from the north following the detour, we decide to go south on the difficult part. The trail is pleasant and easy at first, but the further we go, the tighther it became. The sharp eye of my friend allowed us to discover through the trees the remains of an old house destroyed by a tree probably during a storm.
We left heading north to visit several cemeteries that tells a sad family story carried by diseases with children at a very young age. Our next destination is a '' side trip '' to Screaming heads, a private property filled with mysterious and creepy structures. I spotted a shortcut on Google Earth that could save us a few km. Arrived in front of it, we must cross a swamp. By walking it and testing the bottom, we decide that it is very doable especially after we met an ATV that tells us that the trail is pretty straight forward after the swamp until the main road.
Screaming Heads is very impressive, the sculptures date back to 1996 and have a small creepy side that we like. Back on the Old Nipissing Road, we come across an old building rather well preserved, because it seems to serve as a reception room for events. This is the Orange Hall. We continue to Magnetawan, the gas station of the city was closed and forced us to make a detour of 30 km to the west to fill the trucks. Given the time already advanced in the day and the fact that we had an 1hour drive before the next camp (Kiosk Algonquin Park) We decided to leave the Old Nipissing Road for Highway 11. So we did only half of it, the next part will be for next season. There is so much to see on this road in addition to the '' side trip '' we missed time to fully enjoy it.
Day 3
After my friend saved my drone from my bad flying skill and wind, we headed home. It's raining and we're not the only ones wanting to come home on Thanksgiving, a stop at the Tim Horton at Deep River took us 1 hour. The north sector of Algonquin Park is now in my bucket list of places that I want to explore more deeply, we could see several small paths that seemed very interesting.
Pictures : https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/fr-fr/#B0wGqkRUi9fqGw
Video : Great informations for planning : http://www.nipissingroad.ca/ http://thenipissingroad.com/
