Review by Nancy Yanaky (Napanee, ON):
My husband and I were in the town Killarney on business and I talked him into doing the Chikanishing Trail before we left. Luckily the parks had opened for day use (and back country camping), so I purchased a day pass from the Visitor Centre. We saw the park signs warning that bears were in the area. I chose the Chikanishing trail because it offered rocky shoreline views of Georgian Bay, and with my husband not being much of a hiker, it was only a 3.5 km loop, taking between 2 and 2 .5 hours. I am a painter and wanted to scope out some good water lookout shots with the iconic windswept pines and this trail didn’t disappoint. It was a sunny, summer-like day, and it felt so wonderful to be outside, smelling the fresh pine scents, hearing all the bird songs and the wind and the water. The trail follows a creek and then ends up on a big rocky lookout over Georgian Bay, that rivals any of the lookout hikes of Algonquin Park. I felt so excited, and couldn’t help but run around and madly snap photos. The trail then descends down rock, to the water , near an island lookout. You could see how clear the water was over the rocky shoals. This is a trail you want to do on a dry sunny day, as walking on the uneven rocks would probably get very slippery if it were rainy out. The trail loop then continues into a wooded area, but since I was searching for water views, we decided to walk back the way we had come. The Chikanishing trail was my third trail in Killarney Provincial Park, and I have to say, with its great water lookouts and gorgeous pine trees growing out of the rocks, I think Chikanishing is now my new favourite.
