Trip Report: Haliburton Highlands (Ont, CAN) – October 2025

Hello all!

This year I wanted to plan my first multi-day solo trip over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. My goal was to plan something just north of the GTA (I'm located in Hamilton) and to try and catch the fall colors. I decided to try a modified version of the "Over the Loon" Bikepacking route (~380 km with ~4500 m of elevation) to try and ease into some multi-day bikepacking that wouldn't have killed me lol. The route I ended up riding included most of the "Over the Loon" route, but after staying at the first site in the south of Algonquin (Kingscote Lake), I diverted through the Haliburton Forest, crossed the hydro cut, and stopped at MacDonald Lake. My route can be found on RideWithGPS here, and a full write-up is below! I have not seen this route mentioned here, so I wanted to share my experience with anyone who has ever thought of attempting this and what I learned along the way. There are a ton of little details I most likely missed, so just reach out to me through DMs here, and I can help you plan or try to answer any questions you have about this route. Also, I am not the best when it comes to taking pictures, but most of them are here and on Strava so check the Strava links for more pics.

CliffsNotes:

1. Day 1
   • Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/16110217286
   • 92 km, 1425 m elevation.
   • Camping at Kingscote Lake, Algonquin.
2. Day 2
   • Strava Link: https://www.strava.com/activities/16110217252
   • 60 km, 886 m elevation.
   • Camping at MacDonald Lake, Haliburton Forest.
3. Day 3
   • Strava Link: https://www.strava.com/activities/16121395009
   • 86 km, 1113 m elevation.

General Info:

• Self-sufficiency is key. There are multiple long stretches without service.
• Bring a water filter. There are tons of areas to filter water, so no worries.
• 76% unpaved and 24% paved.
• There are enough stops along the way to restock on food and whatnot. I would just follow the Over the Loon POIs on RideWithGPS. Day 2 in the hydro cut, you are alone, so be prepared.
• Navigation using RideWithGPS was fine, other than the massive discrepancy with elevation.
• Difficulty rating was probably a 6-7/10.
• I saw a moose! Lots of wildlife out there, so just be prepared for wildlife encounters

Bike + Gear Overview:

I rode a stock 2021 Specialized Diverge E5 Comp (Gloss blush is the best color for this bike IMO) with 45 mm Pirelli Cinturato M Gravel tires set up tubeless. Bike setup pic here. This tire is probably on the lower limit of width and tread pattern I’d suggest for this route. These tires crushed it, with maybe a couple of moments where the wheel would slip, but riding the loose bits of sand and dirt would definitely benefit from a wider tire. I’d never attempt this with traditional gravel tires…

Bags

1. The handlebar bag is an older Decathlon harness with a 10L dry sack. This bag weighed ~8 lbs.
2. 2 feed bags, 1 was custom made by my partner to fit my 1L nalgene (God bless her soul <3).
3. ~5L frame bag (waterproof) from Decathlon, I believe the brand is Riverside? Loaded to ~5 lbs.
4. Saddle bag is also a Decathlon branded harness with a dry bag (6-15 L) weighing ~ 8 lbs.
5. Tent poles, a compact hand saw, and some other small gizmos were strapped to the top tube above the frame bag.

Highlights

They call Haliburton the Highlands for a reason lol. I was obviously prepared for some elevation, but in this part of Ontario, there are a lot of short, punchy sections of climbing with category 2-3 gravel with more rugged/remote areas containing cat 4 or just straight up boulders. The bulk of the climbing consisted of 4-6% average grade, with anywhere between 8% up to over 15% in some areas. I got lucky with the weather. This time of the year can be either freezing temperatures overnight with tons of rain or sunny and unseasonably warm. Daytime temps hovered around 15, and at night were around 5, so my layering system was pretty important. I could go on for quite a bit on how I dialed in my clothing for this weather but all I will say is that Merino wool (long sleeve 1/4 zip, base layer pants, neck gator, socks) is game changing.

Now being my first solo trip, I had a lot of time to myself which resulted in a lot of internal reflection and dialogue. Near the end of day 1 this really got to me and I broke down at the 80 km mark. We're talking bawling my eyes out for a hot minute. Physically, I was doing okay, all things considered (I really learned how to listen to my body's fueling, stretching, and break requirements), but the mental game was quite challenging when you're out there on your own. Throughout my trip there were moments of emotional vulnerability and challenging riding/situations that proved to be really humbling.

It really is true what everyone says about how your body adjusts to multi day riding that consists of long distances and elevation. Day 1, you're feeling confident and maybe a bit overzealous. Day 2 is as rough as it gets with soreness and fueling struggles. Day 3 and onwards, your body adjusts and just knows what it has to do.

Day 1 riding up to Algonquin was insanely beautiful with tons of cottage road gravel with small bits of pavement when crossing over to more gravel roads. There seems to be a lot of climbing on the first day with a mix of terrain, here are some pictures of what I rode on the first day. Being my first solo trip, I was a little nervous trekking out into bear/moose country by myself in October.

Day 2 was beautiful yet so brutal in terms of technical riding. I wish I had taken more pictures of the section between Kingscote and the hydro cut because this section of the Haliburton Forest was beautiful. I ran into a fellow bikepacker on my way out of Kingscote who spotted 2 moose on the roads earlier in the morning, so I didn't take as many pictures here. This section gave me huge Opeth vibes, as their music contains tons of references to autumn in general (Shoutout to any Opeth fans, long time fan here). The hydro cut was absolutely brutal. I did a trip in the North Frontenac area last year, another hilly boy, with some sections of powerline corridors, but this was different. Some sections of this stretch were more loose style dirt and the majority were awesome chunkiness as seen here. When the trail would deviate into the forest, the chunkiness did not end but now there was an added layer of fallen leaves, making it impossible to choose a line to ride. Halfway through my suffering, I ran into a female moose! We both got spooked, and she ran off after we exchanged a brief moment of glances.

In the Haliburton Forest Camping main base, there is a smokehouse that I highly suggest you check out if you're doing this route or similar. Because it was Thanksgiving weekend, they were having an all you can eat event for $75. This was the best meal I have ever had while camping and was the pick me up I needed after a bunch of hike a bike sections. Also added bonus of live music from a trio playing classic country tunes and pop hits in a country style!

Day 3 ended the trip on such a high note. I felt great, was crushing km all day, clear skies and 18 C. I felt invincible. This section had the most amount of paved sections and honestly I have never been happier to see pavement while on my bike before. Here are some pictures of the third day.

Lessons Learned

• I really, REALLY, want to ditch the saddle bag for a rack. I am kind of over the saddle bag for multiple reasons and would love the versatility of a rack. I'm thinking of getting the Old Man Mountain Divide based on some quick searching. My only hesitancy is that I kind of like how the bike handles with a saddle bag, oddly enough.
• RideWithGPS kind of sucks for route planning in terms of elevation estimates. The elevation was totally off for days 1 and 3.
• Some things I thought of while on my trip that I didn’t bring, but might be a good idea for the next one:
  • Extra cleats for my shoes. I thought about this while hiking through the really rocky bits. I know a lot of people ride with flats and solid shoes, but honestly, my SPD gravel shoes are really comfortable and work best for me.
  • An extra rear derailleur hanger. I even thought of this before I left and still forgot one.
  • A few extra spokes. While I was unpacking my handlebar bag, the aluminum hooks were hanging down beside my front wheel and without thinking, I tried to walk my bike forward close to my tent. The hook got caught on one of my spokes and stopped the bike before I could push any further. Honestly, I am shocked the spoke didn't snap or bend but maybe this was the intention, to send a message.