May 27, 2026
This has been a wonderful week to be on holidays! The sun is a welcome change to the miserable spring we had been having, and not yet too hot to complain about, perfect for a hike. My son and I headed north, as I vaguely recalled a sign for a hiking area somewhere on highway 118 heading to Bracebridge. I could have done an online search, but where is the fun in that! Instead my son and I drove around, enjoying conversation and the lovely day, and after a few missed turns here we are at the entrance to the Huckleberry Rock Lookout Trail.
There is ample parking, with no fees, and a beautiful grand structure to begin your journey. The wooden open-aired building stands tall, brown wood beams and bright red roof sheltering a massive boulder, inscribed with information on the natural formations found in this area. It is hard to comprehend that these are the oldest surface rocks on earth, formed over a billion years ago. For perspective, the first animals only crawled out of the sea 500 million years ago. I reached out and touched that cold stone, filled with awe and feeling a bit miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps a bit of humility on both mine and humanities part is not a bad thing, as I take note of the tossed plastic bottle. I tucked the litter in my day pack to throw out in the garbage on our way out and we off we went.
The well maintained trail begins with a gradual ascent through forests of junipers, pines and beech. It was once a paved trail, though some of the asphalt has eroded away with the rains, and some areas are wet and muddy even in this dry spell. A little mud was a small price to pay for what is described by local as the best place for a scenic view of the surrounding area. Donations from local land owners have expanded this park to a total of 120 magnificent acres, with this short 2.5 km loop trail being the highlight for visitors. The paved trail gave way to the steep rock of the Canadian Shield, grey granite and Gneiss, and the darker grey basalt. Trees became short and stunted, and junipers filled in the underbrush, while out on the rocks, pale green and grey lichens cling to the exposed surface.
Up here the sun is hot, and the welcoming breeze off of the local lakes brings relief to our shiny foreheads. There are several benches spread out along the trail for weary walkers, placed in the perfect spot to look out and over the scenery. We followed the white blazes that mark the trail across the rocky terrain. However a faded blaze had us confused, as it indicated an abrupt about face. With a bit of searching we found a trail that led back into the forest. Down we went, into the coolness under the new leaves opening on the trees, and into a swarm of mosquitos. Fallen trees crossed the trail and in places the dark mud was deep, requiring us to make some short detours. We began to suspect that we had taken a wrong detour, and as the forest opened up to homes and a parking lot we knew we had gone astray. I guess that is why we had seen no familiar blazes on this section of trail. Back up we went, up out of the forest and onto the rocky trail, leaving the ravenous blood suckers behind.
The trail does indeed do an abrupt turn, and if you actually follow the blazes and avoid detours, you will take a parallel trail for a short distance before the routes spread out. We found ourselves on the southwest face of the rocky high land, looking out to blue lakes crisscrossed with the wake from boats. The mature trees blocked most of the view, until we came upon two colorful Muskoka chairs placed in the perfect place to admire the view. We each took a chair, smiled at each other and leaned our heads back, taking a moment to enjoy the warm sun and solitude in this special place. I am not one for sitting still for long, and soon we were back on the trail to finish our hike.
The return trip was a gentle downward stroll, and we admired the cedar and pine trees twisted into contorted shapes by the weather, and marveled at a gnarled old tree growing on top of a large boulder, roots exposed and buried deep in the rocks crevices. Some of the beech trunks were scarred with hearts and initials, and I had to wonder how old some of the markings were, as this trail had been in use for over a hundred years. My over active imagination had me picturing young couples dressed in styles long gone, meeting here secretly for a stolen kiss. I was quickly brought back to reality by the roar of traffic on the local highway. Our trek ended back at the parking area, happy with our short but beautiful hike along the Huckleberry Rock Lookout Trial.