Hiking
Get outside and start exploring the beautiful property of Kenauk Nature. Kenauk offers a network of trails for all levels of experience. Hiking at Kenauk is a great activity for families and the perfect way to enjoy our breathtaking scenery. Please stop at the front gate or Whitefish Lake for directions and maps. Trails are identified with yellow plastic markers (10cm x 15cm) that are labelled with an arrow or trail number and a symbol indicating the level of difficulty.
Green circles identify easier trails, blue squares identify intermediate trails and black diamonds indicate difficult trails.
All trails can be accessed for free by chalet guests.
(Day passes are available for walk-in customers, starting at $40)
TRAIL 1 – SKYMOUNT (INTERMEDIATE)
Distance: 2.1km each way (1.3 miles)
Duration: 2 hours
Starting Point: On the right side of the main road, between the 1st and 2nd kilometer points there is a small beige shelter at the trailhead. If you’ve crossed the green bridge you’ve gone too far!
Description: This trail climbs steadily, eventually ending at a the top of Mount Skymount . Along the way you’ll walk up the rocky bed of a springtime river and later you must traverse a beaver dam. You can also admire the Ottawa River that borders the property and on a clear day the Adirondack Mountains are visible to the south.
TRAIL 4 – FERN TRAIL (INTERMEDIATE)
Distance: 3.6km round trip (2.3 miles)
Duration: 2 hours
Starting Point: On the right side of the main road, between kilometers 4 and 5, there is a small beige shelter at the trailhead.
Description: This trail descends slowly through a young hardwood forest, then turns right and follows the Kinonge River downstream. When you reach an old bridge you must turn around and return on the same trail. The return hike can seem steeper on the way back up!
TRAIL 5 – THE KINONGE (EASY)
Distance: 4.6km round trip (2.9 miles)
Duration: 2.5 hours
Starting Point: On the right side of the main road, between kilometers 4 and 5, there is a small beige shelter at the trailhead.
Description: This trail descends towards the Kinonge River on the same trail as #4, but when you reach the river you turn left and walk upstream. Near the mid-point is a short side trail that leads to a footbridge over the river used by the Canadian Ski Marathon in the winter. This is a nice spot to take a break.
TRAIL 9 – HEMLOCK TRAIL (EASY)
Distance: 3.0km loop (1.9 miles)
Duration: 1.45 hours for trail #9 only (or 2 hours if combined with trail #8)
Starting Point: On the right side of the main road, at kilometer 9.
Description: This is a great family hike! It weaves through many forest types, including a century old Hemlock forest, and then follows the Kinonge River. You will be taken aback by the beautiful aquatic plants as well as being given ample opportunity to view magnificent marsh wildlife including great blue herons, ducks, muskrats, otters, beavers and deer.
TRAIL 10 – BALDY (DIFFICULT)
Distance: 8.5km total (5.4 miles)
Duration: 4 hours
Starting Point: On the main road, at kilometer 12, take a right turn onto Black Bay road which crosses the Kinonge River. 1 km past the turnoff for Makwa Chalet there will be a small wooden sign marker for trail #10 on your right.
Description: The trail veers away from the road as you start climbing Baldy Mountain. Hike up following the markers until you come to the first lookout point with breathtaking views of Papineau Lake and you can even catch a hint of Mont-Tremblant on the horizon. On the exposed rocky parts of the trail, where there aren’t many trees, we have used cairns (piles of rock) to mark the trail in combination with the yellow markers. At this point you can keep going for another 1.5 km towards the second point of view (the trail descends into a saddle before climbing back up to the rock plateau).
TREKKING – LONG DISTANCE
Kenauk Nature has a unique long distance hiking trail on the property. Sections of the trail can be hiked on multi-day backpacking trips. Self-reliant trekkers can discover the beauty of the property with one or two night stays. Campsites can only be used by hikers and are not accessible by car. Camping sites cannot be used for more than one night in a row, hikers have to keep moving along the trail. Hikers will be expected to be self-sufficient, and come with the ethics of “no trace left behind”.
