Heated huts cut chill of winter camping

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This article was published 18/01/2003 (8385 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK, Ont. — The seven yurts at the Mew Lake campground here offer visitors an opportunity to appreciate winter in toasty comfort at Ontario’s most visited wilderness area.

The yurts — named for a shelter used by Mongolian nomads — are hard-sided structures, with raised floors, big enough to sleep six people, high enough to stand in, and powered with a generator that provides heat and light through the long winter nights.

At Mew Lake, which has 131 campsites, the seven with yurts are in high demand. “At this time of year, they’re all booked almost every weekend,” says park naturalist Brad Steinberg. “Also, during the Christmas holidays and March break.”

The yurts have been at the campground off Highway 60 for several years. They are especially favoured by people who might not otherwise appreciate the rigours of camping, at any time of year.

“Women really like them,” says Brad Matchung, president of the company that made them, Design Shelter Inc., which has operations in Ontario and British Columbia. “People who don’t enjoy roughing it — sleeping on the ground — can still enjoy the smells and sounds of living outdoors.”

Many of Canada’s national and provincial parks have backcountry shelters or cabins. But Ontario has been steadily adding yurts at its most popular campgrounds in recent years.

There are now yurts at the Pinery and MacGregor Point, both off Lake Huron; Silent Lake, just south of Algonquin; Pancake Bay, off the east shore of Lake Superior, and Quetico, west of Thunder Bay.

The yurts in Ontario parks rent for $60 a night, or $350 per week. They are equipped with two single beds and two double beds, electric heat, fluorescent lighting, broom, snow shovel and smoke-detector — there’s no smoking or cooking allowed inside.

On a recent weekend, all the yurts in Algonquin were full. But there were also a few dozen people pitching camp in trailers and tents.

“If you have the right equipment — a four-season tent and sub-zero sleeping bag — winter camping can be quite comfortable,” says Steinberg. “And winter can be a special time in the park.”

The Highway 60 corridor — which can be reached in about two hours by road from Toronto or Ottawa — is a busy place in summer. The action doesn’t stop until the last autumn leaves disappear.

Once the weather turns cold, it’s considerably quieter and seems more remote from civilization. Along the highway, a pristine white wilderness opens up in every direction.

Those seeking to venture farther afield can ski groomed cross-country trails, hike hard-packed paths, or sign up with one of several companies running dog-sled expeditions.

In winter, birders get to see such rare visitors to the park as grey jays, boreal chickadees and spruce grouse. Wildlife watchers usually get a good look at some of the Algonquin’s estimated 3,000 moose, which gravitate to the roadside to lick the salt scattered to de-ice the highway.

“Last winter,” says Steinberg, “we even saw wolves from right here on the deck at the visitors centre.”

— Canadian Press

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See www.algonquinpark.on.ca