Kingsmere Lake By Canoe
Our own take on the Bagwa and Grey Owl canoe routes in Prince Albert National Park. (http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/sk/princealbert/activ/activ5.aspx).
An easy, 2 day paddle, with 2 small portages - depending on the time of year and water level, good waterproof hiking boots are good to have.
We started at about 6PM, probably an hour later than we should have, and reached Southern Campground for our first night stay.
Following the southwest shore of the lake, we reached the first portage, which had around 6 inches of water lying in it; not quite enough to paddle or drag the canoe through, just enough to make things interesting.
Clare Lake was small, calm, and nice, enjoyable paddle. I have a staunch record of never seeing wildlife; I'm either blind, or too breathe too noisily...
After following the north shoreline of Clare Lake, we arrived at another short portage, this one was on higher ground, and allowed us to shoulder the canoe properly.
Lily Lake was another easy drift/paddle, again no wildlife, but it was just begging to be seen amongst the shorelines.
We stopped at the campground on the south-eastern tip of Bagwa Lake for lunch. Were I to do it over, I'd start the trip mid morning, so I could arrive at this campground for the first evening's stay. Just enough trees, and plenty of shelter would have made for a more picturesque morning photoshoot.
After lunch, we followed the eastern shoreline of Bagwa Lake, into Bagwa Channel, eventually getting spit back out into Kingsmere Lake.
We followed the western shoreline onto the northern shore - be careful not to get too far away, and get sucked into the middle of the lake - weather can change quickly, and the lake is a lot wider across than it seems.
We skipped Grey Owls' cabin, due to time constraints, but ideally, a stay at North End Campground, and a hike or paddle into Ajawaan Lake would have been nice. We instead paddled onto Sandy Beach Campground, which is actually on the hiking trail that leads to Grey Owl's cabin. This was another fantasic place to stay - swimming is possible off of the beach, which also has a fantastic view of the north-western shore, especially at sunset.
Our last day, we struck out early, following the eastern shoreline of Kingsmere Lake (which, when paddling, seems to go on for roughly eternity), ending up back near Southend Campground, and the creek leading back to the parking lot.
Overall, a really nice 2-day paddle, easily extended to 3 with more sightseeing. I generally prefer smaller lakes, like Bawga and Lily; I find more serenity and relaxing on those types of lakes, but that's just me :)