The most popular canoe routes in Algonquin are those in the band connecting Canoe Lake to Cedar Lake, roughly following the Petawawa River through Big Trout Lake, Burntroot Lake and Catfish Lake. Although some backtracking is inevitable for trips in this area, several partial loops are possible. These include travelling through Tepee Lake and Tom Thomson Lake to McIntosh Lake, down McIntosh Creek to Trout Lake and Big Trout Lake, and then back to Canoe Lake via Otterslide Creek, the Otterslide Lakes and Burnt Island Lake. Further north side loops are possible through Lake La Muir and Hogan Lake.
A classic circle trip near the center of the park involves crossing Opeongo Lake to Proulx Lake, paddling down the Crow river to Lac LaVielle, continuing south to Dixon Lake, and then returning to Opeongo via the 5.3 km Dixon-Bonfield portage. Although a 5.3 km portage sounds intimidating, the trail is in good condition and generally level. This trip offers abundant wildlife along the Crow River, spectacular scenery, and fewer neighbours than the Canoe Lake - Cedar Lake belt to the west.
South of Highway 60, several loops threading through beautiful Lake Louisa are possible. For example, one could start at Smoke Lake, head south and then east through Louisa, and then follow the Madawaska River through Rock Lake, Lake of Two Rivers and Cache Lake back to Smoke Lake. The main drawbacks of this route are the campgrounds, cottages and crowding along the sections near Highway 60.
In the north, loops through Kioshkokwi Lake, Manitou Lake, North Tea Lake, Biggar Lake, Three Mile Lake and Maple Lake are possible, starting at either Kiosk or Kawawaymog Lake.
On the western side of the park major rivers such as the Tim and Nipissing might appear to offer opportunities for long trips with minimal portaging. However, canoeing on these shallow, winding oxbow rivers can leave the impression of being stuck in a bug-filled maze, particularly at mid-summer water levels. In a dry year water levels can fall to the point where it is not possible to float a loaded canoe on some sections of the rivers. When this happens progress can only be made by dragging the canoe along the river bed while wading through the mud.
The ultimate Algonquin trip would surely be a west-to-east traverse of the park along the Petawawa from, say, Rain Lake to McManus Lake. (Starting in the west is recommended because this makes the majority of the trip downhill, downstream and downwind). Such an expedition requires friends kind enough to complete a shuttle requiring half a day's driving. The trip would be appreciated most by canoeists with good whitewater paddling skills, for the Petawawa from Cedar Lake to McManus Lake has over 10 km of runnable rapids with difficulty levels ranging from fairly easy to extremely challenging.
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