Fork Lake Trail

The Fork Lake Trail is the newest hiking trail in Algonquin Provincial Park, by a long shot. Before it opened - on June 28, 2025 - the latest new trail to be unveiled in the park was 20 years previous!

Apparently it took 10 years to build the trail... which sounds like a lot, but makes a whole lot more sense once you’ve been on it.

The logistics of this one had to be wild, especially with all of the boardwalk sections - and the terrain to get to them. We’re assuming the air dropping of supplies was involved.

Anyway, the trailhead is conveniently located, in the parking lot of the Algonquin Provincial Park Visitor Centre.

Porter did this trail by himself soon after it opened, then revisited it in August of 2026.

Here’s what he had to say about it:

The Basics:

Name: Fork Lake Trail
Algonquin Park Section: Highway 60 Corridor
Kilometre Marker: km 43
Season: Year-round.
Trail Length: 2.4 km
Difficulty: Difficult
Suggested Completion Time: 1.5 hours

Logistics

Some basic information to help you plan your hike on the Fork Lake Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park:

Registration and Check In

All hiking trails in Algonquin Provincial Park require a valid permit to be within the park in the first place. There are a few different ways you can do this, depending on how you’re visiting the trail.

1. If you’re currently camping in Algonquin

If you have a current, valid camping permit for a campground in Algonquin Provincial Park - you just show up to the trail. Your license plate number is already registered with the park, and you’re good to go.

2. If you’re currently camping in a DIFFERENT Provincial Park

If you’re driving in for a day trip from somewhere like nearby Arrowhead Provincial Park, Bonnechere Provincial Park, Lake St Peter Provincial Park, or Silent Lake Provincial Park - you can take advantage of the reciprocal program.

With a few exceptions, a current and valid camping permit from one Ontario Provincial Park will act as a daily vehicle permit at another.

You just need to show up at one of the gates on the way in (East Gate and West Gate are the ones on either end of Highway 60), and show proof of that permit - a paper permit if your campground has it, or your email confirmation.

They will register your license plate number and you’re free to go - no additional fees required!

3. If you have an annual Ontario Parks Pass

Generally speaking, all you have to do is show up at one of the gates, present your pass, and have your license plate noted.

Note: Sometimes you’ll need to reserve a daily vehicle permit ahead of time. This is usually during peak fall colours season, when certain areas of the park reach capacity.

4. If you don’t have any sort of camping permit or Parks Pass in place

You can book your Daily Vehicle Permit online at Ontario Parks Reservations - up to 5 days in advance of your visit.

If you’re planning your visit for October... you might want to be ready to do so right when that 5 day window opens up, to ensure availability!

Otherwise, you can pay for a DVP at any one of the Algonquin Provincial Park gates.

Note: Some of the trailheads have QR codes for booking your DVP, but with such spotty internet throughout the park ... I really recommend doing it ahead of time.

Parking

The Fork Lake Trail is located right in the parking lot for the Visitor Centre, which is HUGE.

There is generally plenty of room for RVs and trailers to park.

Even if the parking lot was absolutely full, you’ll be able to drive around the outside and out of the lot, without worry about getting stuck.

Washrooms

There are no washrooms at the trailhead or along the trail itself, but there are indoor washrooms at the Visitor Centre - with flush toilets!

These are obviously subject to the Visitor Centre hours, though.

If you need to go - outside of the open hours - the Spruce Bog Boardwalk trail is very close, less than a km west of the Visitor Centre.

There’s an outhouse in the parking lot there, and it’s open year-round.

Maps and Signage

There is a rough map at the trail head, more of a general overview than anything.

There are no trail segment distances marked, though this one actually has an elevation chart. It’s also black and white - between this and the elevation changes, it’s a marked improvement over the other Algonquin Provincial Park trail head maps.

Usually we direct people to pick up a trail guide for a better map than what you’ll find at the trailhead.

Not only is that recommendation rendered somewhat moot by this particular trailhead signage, it’s ... not an option.

Apparently during the ten years of planning and building of this trail, they didn’t bother planning ahead for the trail guides. More than a year after opening, the trail guides are still “coming soon”.

Frustrating!

Anyway, in terms of trail signage, it’s very clear and easy to navigate.

The standard Algonquin blue blazes show you the forward path, and you'll see white blazes if you get turned around.

I noticed one of the blazes had fallen off and the tree had a painted blue blaze on the tree. I peeked behind the next blaze and saw it was painted behind it.

It seems they've planned ahead for some of the blazes to fall off and painted the blaze on the tree first, before placing the nice reflective blaze on top. I love it!

There's clear signage indicating the trail direction at the split for the loop.

At many of the boardwalk and stair sections, if you turn around at the end you'll see signs indicating you're going the wrong way.

There are directional arrows at some of the tight curves. In addition to this, the trail is well worn, especially considering how new the trail is. You won't get lost on this trail.

Accessibility

Not only is this trail not wheelchair accessible, it’s ABSOLUTELY not one that anyone with any kind of mobility impairment should attempt.

There are incredibly steep sections with very loose ground cover - that even very fit and able bodied people are calling treacherous and even dangerous.

Once you get past the extended steep sections, there’s a ton of stairs to deal with.

There are nine opportunities to sit at a bench along the trail, including at the top and bottom of the extreme elevation change at the trailhead.

Technically you will pass eleven benches, but two of them are sets of two benches that realistically count as one sitting opportunity.

Pets

Dogs are allowed on the Fork Lake Trail, but smaller dogs may have a rough time with the steep sections and such.

If you do bring your dog, remember that all the standard Ontario Provincial Parks rules apply.

Dogs must be leashed at all times, and aren’t allowed to harass other hikers, wildlife, or plants.

They can’t be left unsupervised, and aren’t allowed to make excessive noise.

Owners must pick up after their dogs, and properly dispose of the droppings.

On that note, there are no poop baggie dispensers on site, and no garbage can at the trail head. (There are some further into the parking lot, though)

Plan ahead!

Day Use Area

There are no picnic tables along the trail, but - as stated earlier - there are quite a few benches.

I counted nine benches on the trail, but two are sets of two benches and two of them you'll pass twice because you follow the same path to get to the loop on the way back, thus there are nine sitting opportunities along the trail.

Most importantly, there is a bench at the top and bottom of the steep hill at the trailhead. I saw several hikers that were very winded and completely red in the face after climbing the hill, so I imagine that bench sees a lot of use.

I noted the positions of the benches as:

Top of hill (perhaps 50 meters into the trail), 200 meters (bottom of hill), 330m, 400m, 550m, 700m, 1km, 1.18km, 1.8km, 2.3km, and 2.45km.

In terms of picnic tables, there are quite a few located on the medians of the parking lot.

Not the most scenic ever - they’re right in a busy parking lot - but they’re there.

Personally, if I was looking for a spot to picnic after doing the Fork Lake Trail, I’d drive the 10 minutes or so to go to the Costello Creek Day Use Area, on Opeongo Rd.

It’s more quiet and secluded, with a lot of great scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities in the area.

Connectivity

This is a weird one for us. At the time Porter first did the Fork Lake Trail, he had some cell reception along the trail - though it was be spotty in locations. This was on Rogers Wireless.

This was before ... whatever happened in early 2026 happened. Since that point, Rogers Wireless coverage in Algonquin has been much more unreliable than before, when there’s any connectivity to speak of.

The Visitor Centre Parking lot used to be super reliable, with a cell tower nearby. Then - for a few visits - there was absolutely no cell connectivity.

In late spring 2026 and late summer 2026, we had SOME connectivity there, but it definitely wasn’t as reliable as we’d been used to.

This is all apparently exclusive to Rogers Wireless, and whatever companies use the Rogers service. From what we hear, those using Bell - or companies that use Bell’s towers - have good reception there.

Anyway, aside from the cell tower weirdness, how busy the area is, elevation, and the weather all seem to play a part.

We can’t reliably tell you what the cell coverage will be like on this trail, as a result. Our best advice is to assume there will be no cellular coverage, and plan accordingly.

All that said, there is wifi available inside the Visitor Centre itself.

Activities

Some information on the various things you can do, while hiking the Fork Lake Trail at Algonquin Provincial Park:

Hiking

Here’s what Porter had to say about hiking the Fork Lake Trail.

As a note, the photo sets are all done chronologically, but don’t necessarily line up with Porter’s commentary, below. WAY too much effort to try and fit the photos to the text!

Fork Lake Trail starts out from the back corner of the parking lot of the Visitor's Centre.

Immediately there's a moderate but short incline, then a steep decline. This up-and-down section is almost 200 meters - the steep decline itself is 120 metres.

It's a wide, well-groomed gravel trail in this section, but it's steep enough that you can feel the gravel start to move a bit with each step.

It constantly feels like you're about to slide, even with good footwear. Both times, I had to wonder if this is the step where I was going to fall on my butt - apparently a common occurrence there!

Personally, I feel this section is too steep, there should be some steps with gradual slope sections between them. A walking stick - or two - would be really helpful in this area.

At the bottom there's a beautiful boardwalk. It’s over two meters wide, going through a mature forest of tall skinny evergreen trees, with small trees and bushes covering the forest floor.

At 400m into the trail, the boardwalk ends at a split. A sign directs you to the right to follow the loop counter-clockwise.

Here, the trail becomes narrower, and moderate difficulty. There are moderately steep inclines almost right away, and some rocks and roots in the trail.

At 1 km into the trail you're at signpost 5, with a bench at an overlook. The view is a bit obscured by tall trees, but it's a nice place to take a break.

Similarly - at 1.18km - there are two benches facing slightly different directions at an overlook with a nice but somewhat obscured view at signpost 6.

There are actually quite a few benches along the trail in addition to the scenic spots.

At 1.5km you apparently reach the peak on this trail, because suddenly instead of climbing, you're descending a moderately steep decline.

At 2km, you descend a very long set of wooden stairs, with 66 steps.

This area offers great views of rock walls to the left. I love seeing the trees seemingly growing out of the rocks, with their roots clinging tightly to the giant rock faces.

At 2.12km, you find yourself at the end of the loop, at the massive boardwalk.

As you might have guessed at this point, this trail is difficult. Getting back up that last 120 meter incline after doing the trail is really rough!

I clocked the total trail length as 2.50km. The first time I did this trail in 36 minutes on a 28° day, which I don't recommend.

The second time I did this trail in 50 minutes at a much more reasonable pace. Take your time and enjoy the sights!

I only did it quickly the first time because a storm was coming and I wanted to do the trail before it hit.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

I didn't see any large wildlife, but didn't expect to during the late August when it's so popular.

I did see and hear some birds though: Blue Jay, Black-Capped Chickadee, Black-Throated Blue Warbler, Hairy Woodpecker, and Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

Educational & Cultural Opportunities

As with most of the trails in Algonquin Provincial Park, there are no educational signs along the trail, but there ARE numbered sign posts at points of interest along the way.

Right now, those posts are kind of useless.

Eventually, you’ll be able to pick up a Friends of Algonquin trail guide at the trailhead - as of August 2026, they’ve yet to be printed.

When they are, we expect they’ll be similar to the other trail guides - with each of the signposts corresponding to a numbered information section in the booklet.

These trail guides are generally free to use and return, or you can keep one for $0.50.

Alternately, the other guides are available for purchase at the visitor centre, and at the gates.

These guides are amazing educational accompaniments to the trails in Algonquin Provincial Park, teaching about the geology, flora, and fauna you might see on your hike, as well as some of the history of the area.

They also tend to include information about the elevation changes throughout each trail.

All around, they should be a great resource to refer to while you’re on the trail - all the other ones are!

Winter Activities

The Fork Lake Trail is open year-round, and seems to be pretty popular - at least based on what we saw over a few visits in the winter of 2025/2026.

Part of this may be because it was the first winter since the trail opened, part of it may be because of the location.

The Visitor Centre parking lot is one of the areas of focus when it comes to the snow plowing in Algonquin Provincial Park, so it’s almost guaranteed to have some sort of access!

The big thing to know here is that you are DEFINITELY going to want to use ice cleats, if hiking Fork Lake Trail in the winter.

Even with cleats, this would definitely be one for the more adventurous - be careful out there!

Final Thoughts

Don't let the difficulty of this trail scare you , it's a really nice trail with lovely views. Different types of forest, some boreal sections, and lovely outlooks.

The overlook views are nice but not amazing like some of the other Algonquin trails.

I have done this trail twice now, but in general I think there are other trails in the area that offer better payoff for the effort, although most are longer trails.

I'm planning to try this again during Fall colour season to see how it pays off at that time of year.

Definitely worth doing at least once, at the very least!

More Algonquin Provincial Park Trail and Campground Reviews

Want to read some more of what we have to say about the campgrounds and attractions in Algonquin Park?

Check out our Algonquin Provincial Park Mega Post, or any of the links below for even more in-depth info:

Algonquin Provincial Park Campground Guides / Reviews

Achray Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
< a href="https://2nerdsinatruck.com/brent-campground/">Brent Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Canisbay Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Kearney Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Kiosk Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Lake of Two Rivers Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Mew Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Pog Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Raccoon Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Rock Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Tea Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Whitefish Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park

Algonquin Provincial Park Trail Guides / Reviews

Barron Canyon Trail, Algonquin Provincial Park
High Falls on York, Algonquin Provincial Park
Provoking Falls, Algonquin Provincial Park

Interested in exploring campgrounds beyond Algonquin Park? We've got a huge - and ever-growing! - list of them here: 2 Nerds in a Truck Campground Reviews.

We also have posts on Ontario Waterfalls, other Places to See, and a ton of Camping Recipes to cook up, while on your adventures!