LaCloche Provincial Park, Massey

Trip Rating: 5/5

Every year, we rent a cottage as a family. We try to find something a little outside the usual “cottage country” orbit, and after a lot of digging, we landed on LaCloche Lake. Most of the bell-shaped lake is unserviced Provincial Park. The northeast side has the only public boat access and fewer than twenty cottages. Exactly the kind of quiet we chase.

The LaCloche Lake Camp and a few of the other cottages on the lake.

The park sits on the west end of the LaCloche Mountain range—the same ridge made famous by the Group of Seven’s paintings in Killarney. Here, the landscape feels untouched. Small streams cut down through the hills, waterfalls hide in the back bays, and the North Channel sits close enough to tempt a mission for another day.

LaCloche Lake

We stayed at LaCloche Lake Camp—a rustic but super comfortable place that I’d happily recommend. More info: laclochelakecamp.com

The rented cabin

Launch Sites

There’s a public boat ramp at the end of LaCloche Lake Road. Parking is limited, so get there early and respect the signage. The park is unserviced—no washrooms—but Massey is only fifteen minutes away.

The launch is to the left of the private dock.

Trip Lengths

1. East Side (16–18 km round trip)
A full day with classic northern Ontario scenery: cliffs, springs, back bays, and old-growth pines. The wind was relentless the week we were there. For a smaller lake, the wave action built quickly and made things spicy. Be ready for weather.

The beach at the boat launch

The storm rolling in

Huge rock faces throughout the park

2. West Side to the Park
This is where the mountains dominate. On our first day, a storm rolled across the ridge—dark clouds dragging over white stone. I paddled the west side twice: once to explore, and once to find the creek that eventually drains into the North Channel. At the top, there’s a narrow chute and a small hiking trail. Two waterfalls hide up there.

Cabin view

Well… that was sudden

Scenery like this is constant

Start of the creek to the North Channel

More rock cliffs

Feeling small beside the dolomite mountains

Heading toward the far side of the Provincial Park

Battling back in a headwind

Cost

$0.

Looking east from Little LaCloche

Difficulty

I don’t know the lake well enough to give an official rating, but for me it was demanding at times. The waves were bigger than expected and the wind was constant. Strong fundamentals made the difference.

A small channel

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This trip is best suited to paddlers with Level 2 skills or higher, depending on conditions.