Sort permits before you go
The office operates seasonally, from early May through late October. Buy day-use permits and camping reservations online or by phone ahead of time. The listed facilities include first aid and accessible flush toilets.
Overview
About Sand Lake Gate
Why stop
- Practical permit and information stop for Algonquin’s East Side.
Heads up
- A service stop rather than a separate sightseeing destination.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Algonquin map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Sort permits before you go
4 active Algonquin alerts
- ClosureProvoking Falls Bridge ClosedThe Provoking Falls bridge on the Highland Backpacking Trail is closed because of safety concerns; the bridge has been removed. - Use the posted reroute, which adds 2.5 km.Official details
- CautionLow Water on Backcountry Canoe RoutesOntario Parks currently lists low-water alerts for six backcountry canoe-route sections: - Varley Lake from Carl Wilson Lake - Latour Creek north of Rosebary Lake - Carcajou Creek north towards…Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Algonquin Tour Guide
Your drive to Sand Lake Gate, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Algonquin Provincial Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Algonquin audio tourRecorded for this place
Sand Lake Gate0:00 / 0:20
“You're coming up on Sand Lake Gate, the permit and information stop for the park's eastern access roads. It's separate from East Gate on Highway sixty.”
Plays as you drive up to Sand Lake Gate in the Parkwolf Algonquin Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Park with Logging in the Plan
- Grain Trains Through Algonquin
- The Life on the Bark
- Before the Wings
- 107 audio storiesacross Algonquin’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Eastern Wolf, Black Bear, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 39 trails, 66 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Sand Lake Gate
A service stop for Algonquin's East SideSand Lake Gate is a permit and information office at the start of the park's eastern road…
Sand Lake Gate is a permit and information office at the start of the park's eastern road network. It serves visitors heading to Achray Campground, the Barron Canyon Trail, Lake Travers and other east-side access points. This is a practical stop before a longer drive, not a separate scenic attraction. It's distinct from the park's East Gate on Highway 60.
Take Barron Canyon Road inFrom Highway 17, turn onto County Road 26 (Doran Road), then County Road 28 (Barron Canyon…
From Highway 17, turn onto County Road 26 (Doran Road), then County Road 28 (Barron Canyon Road). It's about 26 km from that turn to the gate; the road starts paved and becomes gravel. Factor in that gravel stretch when planning a day trip to the east side.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Algonquin
1,237 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
245 sightingsEastern WolfMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
331 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
604 sightingsLoonMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
110 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
192 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Algonquin. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
