Train Stop

Cache Lake was once the hub of Algonquin and during its heyday was the location of Park Headquarters, the Highland Inn and Algonquin Park railway station. The last train to stop here was in 1959, to collect youth campers from Camp Tanamakoon, and the railway ties lifted in the fall of that year. The right of way is still discernable, flanked by forest, the hustle and bustle of a bygone era now replaced by stillness and silence on this winter afternoon. Established as a historic site, a series of five interpretive panels commemorate the past and the role the railway has played in the area and for tourism in the park.

A Perfect Storm

Every autumn for one or more weekends, a combination of conditions: peak colours, beautiful weather and weekend daytrippers, converge to form a perfect storm. Traffic is chaotic, often backed up at the West Gate entrance and along the corridor drivers have to negotiate gauntlets of parked vehicles and distracted pedestrians, and every scenic trail is packed with people, jockeying for time and space at the summits for photo ops. The best place to escape these aggravations is out on the water as I was when I took this photograph, of Camp Northway's cabin with the vantage point at Post 7 from the Track and Tower Trail above it, crowded with people.