Sara and I enjoyed a great long run in Frontenac Provincial Park yesterday, and even after the countless miles that we’ve put in the park over the years, we still seem to enjoy the beauty of each run there. The diversity of the landscape is amazing.
We’ve been enjoying thinking of our recent runs as plotting new routes and not just running various full loops, but instead weaving a pattern of trails and partial loops unique to what we feel like running on the day. This has led to some amazing runs and yesterday’s route was probably my favourite so far. It included setting foot on some of our favourite parts of most loops in the park with the exception of Slide and Cedar Lake. In fact, at one point we got a little turned around after realizing that we don’t usually run one of the trails going in the direction we were headed.
The run ended up being amazing. Almost 5 hours of bliss, with only stopping long enough to treat water from a lake to fill our packs.
Here is a taste of what we enjoyed. The bright shades of greens and sweet smell of pine needles were spectacular.
The first of many ponds and lakes
Ridge Run
Sweet pine single track overlooking Whale Island
Little Clear Lake is situated right in the middle of the park and can only be reached by foot traffic or canoe/kayak portage. It takes pretty much an hour of running to reach from any of the trailheads. Beautiful and remote.
Playing along the shoreline of Little Clear Lake
Sara cruising more pine needles
Love this bridge
Having fun plummeting down the scramble
Beavers used part of the old bridge as part of their dam
Endless shades of green
One of the many friends we met
This section always has us thinking of an alpine meadow.
More beaver activity
Rocky Trails
Technical Climbs
More climbing
…what trail running is all about.
Beautiful day there. I never get tired of those trails.
So lucky to have those trails so close.
Great pics, thanks for sharing guys! Hopefully I’ll get to check these out some day.
You got a small sampling during the snowshoe race, but get’s much nicer as you get further into the park. Definitely worth a visit when the snow is off the ground too.
Oh boy I just want to go there right now it is beautiful. Your photos are amazing this is awesome. Except for the running for five hours thing I am so sure I could do this. Enjoy your weekend I hope it cools down a little. B
You can get to some pretty amazing places in the park even without doing a 5 hr run, but within a short hike. You definitely should check it out sometime Buttons… Especially with your eye for taking great photos.
Derrick I think you and Sara take amazing photos and Thank you.
B
Hey about that 5 hour run thing. What do you think 5hour run= 10 hour walk?
Technical trails can equalize the differences between running and hiking significantly…so probably not that much. Plenty of shorter loops too.
Hey Derrick, I canoe camp in the Frontenac Provincial Park quite often. Where can I get reliable info on trails so I can plot out a run? The photos have got me very keen to get out there and run.
..oops. Should have googled before commenting!
http://www.frontenacpark.ca/pages/trails.html
Hey Martin,
Yes, the link gives a decent description of the trails. You’d be better off picking up a copy of the trail map or the brochure at the park has a good map too. We’ve posted quite a few blogs about Frontenac over the years and probably run there at least once per week. Generally the north end of the park is probably the most runnable, though the south end of Big Salmon is very nice too.
If you need any trail recommendations, please let me know.