Killarneys La Cloche Silhouette Trail
The La Cloche Silhouette trail in Killarney Provincial Park is a grueling 78 km backpacking adventure in the beautiful Ontario wilderness. Each night is spent camping next to crystal clear lakes and the days are spent traversing the striking quartzite ridges of the La Cloche mountain range. While they aren’t the same size as the mountains you see out west, its pretty much the best you can get in Ontario! What they lack in height, they make up for in beauty (and difficulty).
The trail is named after Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichaels painting “The La Cloche Silhouette”. But the name of the mountain range came from Indigenous peoples who inhabited the area for thousands of years. They called the mountains “sinmedweek” meaning “bell rocks” because of the sound the quartzite made when struck. Then French-speaking settlers arrived and translated it to “la cloche” which is “the bell” in French.
You can book your trip on La Cloche 5 months in advance. But reservations fill up fast, so 5 months before your desired start date get online early and book here: Ontario Parks Reservation Service. A few things to decide before booking:
Which direction you’ll hike: The trail is a loop so you can go clockwise or counter-clockwise. The end of the clockwise route (and beginning of the counter-clockwise route) is very technical and has a lot of elevation. We chose to go clockwise so our packs would be lighter when we reached that section. But if you go counter-clockwise you tackle some of the more technical sections first, then its smooth sailing (somewhat) to the end.
How many days you’ll take: People take anywhere from 4-10 days. It’s very challenging terrain, though, so keep in mind while planning that a kilometer here will be much harder than a kilometer on a flat wide trail. We decided on 6 days (5 nights) because an average of 13km/day seemed manageable.
Which site you’ll stay at each night: For each night you’re on La Cloche you have to book one of the 54 sites scattered around the trail. Some sites are way more popular than others, and for good reason. Those sites will be booked up quickly. We lucked out and were able to book some gorgeous campsites: Lake Topaz (H7), Threenarrows Lake (H19), Shigaug Lake (H32), David Lake (H34), and Heaven Lake (H47).
Day 1
After getting our permits from the George Lake park office we parked at the trailhead and everyone got their packs on. Across the bridge we entered the forest and stayed there for most of the day. It was pretty easy terrain with some rolling hills.
There weren’t any fantastic sites thus far in the trail. We crossed paths with a small black bear just before the trail overlaps with the “The Pig” portage. The La Cloche trail follows almost the entirety of the the Pig but to get to our site at Topaz Lake (H7) we turned off after a short climb. Topaz Lake is gorgeous and is a popular swimming spot for day hikers, backpackers, and canoers in the summer. The site is around the far side of the lake all by itself. It’s heavily wooded but there is a nice swimming area, firepit, and views of the white quartzite cliffs that surround the clear waters of Topaz. Archie immediately took advantage of the lake access.
We had some mac and cheese for dinner then got into the tent to hide from the wind. Today we hiked 12 km in 3.5 hours gaining 450 meters in elevation.
Day 2
After some coffee and a nice sunrise we filled up our waters and packed up the site.
The day started with the remainder of the Pig portage. We continued up for few hundred meters then descended almost all the way down to Three Narrows Lake before La Cloche splits from the portage. The next stretch weaved around the marshy southern end of Three Narrows Lake. H8 was in a slightly swampy area but other than that the site looked nice.
The trail weaved through the woods and occasionally peeked out towards Three Narrows Lake. We stopped at site H16 for a break. It was on a nice secluded bay of the lake but it was right near the main trail. H17 and H18 were also decent but not great access to the water. Most sites are well off the main trail which is great for privacy. That also meant some side trails to the sites were long. Like the one leading to our fantastic site on Three Narrows Lake (H19) that was over 700 meters.
The day was capped off sitting by the fire and enjoying some dehydrated chicken and veggie pasta for dinner. Today we hiked 15.2 km in 5 hours, with 388 meters of ascent.
Day 3
There was a thunderstorm overnight that lasted into the morning so we got moving later than usual. Not an ideal start for what’s supposed to be the hardest and longest day on the trail. Luckily nothing was too soaked. After leaving H19 the first 7 kilometers was fairly easy trekking through the woods. H20 wasn’t in a great spot, but H21 is gorgeous (there is a cottage nearby it, though). If you’re staying on Three Narrows Lake you should try to book H19 or H21.
After you pass H21 the trail gets wild. The first climb is intense. Then the descent that follows was a bit sketchy. Finally we reached the bottom and went straight back up the next hill. This climb was hard because it was up a waterfall. It wasn’t a strong flowing one but all the rocks were wet so it was a tricky scramble.
Most of the day was spent ascending steep pitches then going right back down to the start of the next one. Unfortunately most of the climbing was in the woods without any views. Sites H22 and H23 both lacked water access and neither had much flat ground. Try to avoid camping there if possible. There’s a massive descent into Moose Pass, then the steepest and longest climb of the day directly after. But at the top of that climb we finally emerged from the woods to an awesome lookout over Three Narrows Lake and the rest of Killarney. We could see where we camped last night.
We’d made it to the towering white quartzite La Cloche mountains that the park is famous for. Most of the remaining days were spent traversing up and down these exposed ridges. Past the lookout there was a long and more gradual (phew) descent to a creek. After the waterfall earlier there weren’t any water sources until now. Our bottles had been empty for a while. The sun was setting quick, so after rehydrating we made the final push up a steep slope to our site at Shigaug Lake (H32). H31 and H32 are on opposite ends of Shigaug. H31 is really nice but H32 is phenomenal. There’s a long side trail to get around the lake to H32, but it was worth it. It was the best site we stayed at all week.
After a swim and another dehydrated pasta dinner we were toast. Today we travelled 17.3 km in 7.5 hours, with 793 meters of ascent.
Day 4
Since we got in so late last night we spent some time enjoying beautiful Shigaug Lake this morning. The water is crystal clear.
Once we got mobile we were back on the quartzite ridges. There were no flats at all on this section of the trail. We were constantly climbing up and down the white rocky mountains. We passed H33 on Little Mountain Lake. The lake itself is neat. Its surrounded by white cliffs and has a bright turquoise color (you can see it peeking through the trees in the photo on the far left, below). The site is pretty nice, but the swimming area looks a bit marshy.
After an intense but relatively short day we reached the turnoff to our site at David Lake (H34). This is also the turnoff to H35 on Boundary Lake. We didn’t check it out because the side trail to get there, similar to the one to David Lake, was steep and long. But by all accounts H35 is a really nice site. H34 on David was amazing as well. It’s near a portage so we did see a few canoes paddling by but other than that we had no complaints.
After a hot day it was hard to get the 3 of us out of the lake. We did eventually retreat to the fireside to eat some dehydrated chicken fettucine alfredo. Today we hiked 8.9 km in 5 hours, with an elevation gain of 586 meters.
Day 5
There’s not many better ways to start a day than watching the sunrise over a stunning Killarney lake.
This was a really cool day of hiking. Lots of exposed ridges that provided incredible views. When you’re in the woods the trail is marked clearly with blue blazes on the trees. Plus the trail is well-worn so its pretty obvious which way to go. But on the rocky portions there’s no trail, just large piles of rocks called cairns that mark the path. Sometimes they’re spaced pretty far apart though, so we got turned around a couple times. Luckily Archie was able to sniff out the trail even when we couldn’t see it.
We passed the Silver Peak trail. It’s about 4 km out-and-back to the highest point in the park (539 meters). After 5 days in the woods we didn’t have the energy to do it, but we talked to day hikers who were on their way down and they said the views were great. We also passed sites H37 and H38 at Silver Lake which looked really nice. Similarly, sites H45 and H46 on Bunnyrabbit Lake would be awesome spots to stay. Both lakes are small but super clear, surrounded by white cliffs. We trekked past all those sites to H47 at little Heaven Lake.
H47 is right beside the main trail so there were quite a few hikers passing through. But its a really cool little lake right on the edge of a big drop off. It’s actually the highest lake in the park elevation-wise. The top left picture below shows the view from the campsite down towards Kakakise Lake. Walking around the far side of Heaven Lake it looks like the lake is an infinity pool, draining into nothingness. The swimming is also better on this side of the lake compared to around the campsite.
We had some dehydrated beef pasta around the fire before heading to the tent for our last sleep on the trail. Today we trekked 13.9 km in 5 hours, with 686 meters of elevation gain.
Day 6
The fog over Heaven Lake was a bit ominous this morning but it soon burned off as the sun rose.
We got moving early as the thoughts of a warm shower and clean clothes danced in our heads. It was a beautiful morning for hiking.
From Heaven Lake the first stretch is a steep descent until the trail intersects with the portage between Kakakise and Norway lakes. After the portage crossing its straight back up. In terms of views this was definitely the best day. We passed so many awesome lakes and lookouts. First was Shingwak Lake. No campsites on this one but it’s color was so insane.
Up and over a few more rocky ridgelines we arrived at Proulx Lake. Campsite H48 on this lake looked gorgeous. We didn’t get a close look because there a was a group there (likely still sleeping) but it’s on a skinny peninsula with views over the emerald waters and white cliffs of Proulx.
Just around the corner from Proulx is Little Superior Lake. Site H49 is another stunner. Expect phenomenal views and swimming here. It’s actually on the same side trail as H48 to Proulx Lake. Will definitely try to book one of these sites if we come again.
After Little Superior there were a few more significant ridges to traverse before getting to the Crack Lookout. The Crack is a popular day hike known for its lookout over Lake Killarney and OSA Lake, as well as for the crevasse just below the lookout that gives the trail its name. We’d only seen 3 or 4 people over the last week so it was nice seeing large groups of day hikers here. We asked someone to take our picture then headed down into the Crack.
It was all downhill from here! But not an easy downhill. The Crack featured a pretty technical boulder garden.
Because of some nagging injuries that accumulated over the week we opted to stop at the Crack parking lot on Highway 637. Then caught a ride with some day hikers back to George Lake campground to get our car. This cut off about 5 km of hiking through pretty boring wetlands. Today we hiked 12.2 km in 4.5 hours with 500 meters of elevation gain.
Over the 6 days on the trail we totaled 79.5 km, 30.5 hiking hours, 3400 meters of elevation gain, and 155,000 steps. Here’s a look at our full route map.
This trail definitely had some teeth! It was harder than expected, but we’ll be back for sure. We might try exploring Killarney by canoe next, though. If we were to do it again we’d start counter-clockwise and do a 2-3 day out-and-back trip, hitting Silver Peak and staying at Proulx (H48), Little Superior (H49), Silver (H37 & H38) or maybe Bunnyrabbit (H45 & H46). Because that final section for us was definitely the most fun and had the best views and sites. If you haven’t done the full trail though we highly recommend it. ‘Till next time La Cloche…
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4 Responses
Great report. Great photos. I’ve mostly paddled Killarney so it’s fun to read about all these other lakes that you find along the trail. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Chris! Yeah I’d only paddled Killarney before as well. Definitely worth hiking to see some of the high elevation lakes.
Thanks for posting this guys. Love the pics and the description! Makes me almost want to do it. Almost…
Amazing pictures and video! Love these blog entries. You are getting very good at this. Although I wish I had this blog before we did our hike. It would have helped:).
Looks like you had some amazing weather too. The still water against the background of green forests and white rock is just spectacular.
I like your recommendation of the out and back from the east access point.