September 1 – 5, 2022

Killarney (population 397) was founded in 1820 by French fur traders and lies on the north shore of Georgian Bay, north of the east end of Manitoulin Island, in the lee of George Island. Killarney has been a center for fishing, canoeing, camping, and hiking for more than 100 years and is now a base for exploring the nearby 120,000-acre Killarney Provincial Park, established in 1964.

It was once a busy commercial fishing village and not until 1962 was the village even accessible by road.

Killarney now relies mostly on tourism, and for many boaters it is the gateway to the North Channel. The harbour, formed by Killarney Channel, provides excellent shelter in all winds, and is a pretty and very popular boating destination. It is a logical stop for provisioning before heading into the North Channel or going to Georgian Bay, where the next providing port is Britt. Britt was our last provisioning stop.

Throughout the summer, members of many organizations, yacht clubs, and marinas make Killarney a rendezvous destination; as a result, docking space often is scarce. Once again, we were fortunate. We couldn’t decide which marina to stop in – the Killarney Sportsman Resort or the Killarney Mountain Lodge. We secured the last spot at the Mountain Lodge, and we were so happy with our stay there. We later discovered both have the same owners.

The lodge had the biggest Canadian flag ever.

At the end of each dock were two red Adirondack chairs begging for you to take a seat and chill.

There were lots of Canadian geese. One evening we had dinner at the Lodge, outside, and watched this cutest little boy chasing the geese! He was relentless.

The lodge had the typical log cabin, rustic look.

The views from the waterfront marinas are spectacular.

We always help other boaters depart the dock, as they return the favorite to us, and I am always most grateful for any docking help! Here is Pat helping the sailboat next to us depart. The little doggie – Daisy Jane -below is on that boat – “True North”! I wonder if she’s named after the song by America.

Outside the Lodge is a conference center and wedding venue. There is the entrance to hiking trails. At the foothill of the trail is this beautiful tribute to the canoe, “one of Canada’s richest tradition of transport that transcends both commercial and recreational purposes. It is as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago.”

This paddle, known as the Big Dipper, was built by one of Canada’s most famous and ardent canoeists, Mike Ranta. Mike has already crossed solo in his canoe from British Columbia to Nova Scotia twice, with each journey over six thousand kilometers.

In 2017 Mike chose Killarney as his home and built this, the world’s largest paddle, in commemoration of Killarney’s 200th anniversary in 2020. A time capsule is in the shaft of the paddle to be opened 200 years from now.

One of the highlights of our stay at the Lodge was hiking to the Lighthouse. It was a steeper hike than anticipated. But we made it! We met some interesting people along the way, who helped us with photo ops. We made it home just before the clouds opened up with rain.

In our next blog we will show you other sites from our visit to the town of Killarney.