Parking
Use the Big Pines Trail parking area on Highway 60 at km 40.3.
Overview
About Big Pines Trail
Why go
- Old-growth white pines with an interpretive history angle
- A short, mostly level circuit
Heads up
- Roots and a narrow tread make it rougher than the distance suggests
- The logging-camp remains are easy to miss
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Algonquin map
Full mapElevation433–470 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Big Pines Trail, 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 trailhead
Big Pines Trail0:00 / 0:25
“Big Pines Trail is ahead, a mostly level forest loop among old-growth white pines. Allow an hour and a half to two hours for the two-point-nine-kilometre walk, with roots and a few short rises underfoot.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Algonquin Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lookout Trail's Ridge View
- Spruce Bog Boardwalk
- A Shelter Made of Stream Debris
- Algonquin Visitor Centre
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Big Pines Trail
A short loop for trees and historyBig Pines Trail is a 2.9 km loop from Highway 60 at km 40.
Big Pines Trail is a 2.9 km loop from Highway 60 at km 40.3, winding through old-growth white pines, across a meadow by Sunday Creek, and past the remains of an 1880s logging camp. It's a good pick for a quiet forest walk with a little Algonquin history; there isn't a summit or big lookout payoff. Allow about 1.5 hours, or closer to the park's two-hour estimate if you stop for the interpretive guide.
What the route feels likeThe trail is mostly level, but the narrow, lightly groomed tread has roots and a few short…
The trail is mostly level, but the narrow, lightly groomed tread has roots and a few short rises and dips. It winds through the woods before reaching the open meadow, then loops back toward the parking area. Numbered tree markers help at the return; pay attention there so you don't follow the circuit around again.
The pines and the campThe trail guide explains white-pine ecology and the park's logging history.
The trail guide explains white-pine ecology and the park's logging history. The camp dates to the 1880s, but its remains are understated: walkers say the fenced site can be hard to distinguish from the surrounding forest. If you can get a copy of the guide, bring it; the numbered stops give the walk more to look for than trees alone.
Before you goUse the Big Pines Trail parking area at Highway 60 km 40.3.
Use the Big Pines Trail parking area at Highway 60 km 40.3. The trailhead lists toilets, and a valid Ontario Parks permit is required. Dogs are allowed on this trail; keep them on a leash no longer than 2 m. The rooty tread can be muddy after rain.
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.
