Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Part 2: Orphan Lake Trail
Orphan Lake is an 8km trail through boreal forest that provides fantastic overlooks of both Orphan Lake and Lake Superior before descending several hundred feet to the mouth of the Baldhead River. The trail then loops back along the river, circles the inland Orphan Lake, and ascends to the trailhead. The morning we hiked was extremely overcast and the black flies were out but we covered up, put on the bug nets, and headed off.
We reached the two overlooks to Orphan Lake and the Big Lake within an hour and were able to view the scene below despite the darkening clouds but by the time we had descended to the shore of Lake Superior the fog had rolled in, and starting the loop back along the Baldhead River it began to drizzle. We crossed the river anyway to take a spur down to the other side of the river mouth but decided to return to the trailhead once the rain got heavier. On the loop back we were able to see a waterfall and then – excitingly! – a gaggle of baby ducks that I was unfortunately unable to get my camera lens to focus on due to the rain drops.
Orphan Lake overlook, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Along the shore, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Overlook over Lake Superior, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Tom standing at overlook of Lake Superior, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Beach in fog, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Lake Superior, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Shoals at mouth of Baldhead River, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Rocks, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Looking back at mouth of Baldhead River, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Crossing the Baldhead River, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Waterfall on Baldhead River, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
North side of mouth of Baldhead River, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Blurry shot of baby ducks, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Looking up, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Drizzle while circling Orphan Lake, Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Orphan Lake Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Beautiful pics!
Thank you, Michael! Hope life is treating you well!