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The Alpine Club of Canada

Bon Echo Hut – Toronto Section

Bon Echo Hut – Toronto Section

At A Glance

General: 300 km NE of Toronto on Mazinaw Lake
Map and Grid Reference: 31C/14 (Mazinaw Lake). Grid ref 271759
Hut Elevation: 260 m (860 ft)
GPS: –
Lat / Long: –
Open: Summer only
Rates: $30 members only

The Hut Experience

Staying in a backcountry hut is a shared, rustic experience. Sleeping, kitchen and living areas are communal. Guests area expected to bring their own sleeping bags, food and personal items.

All of our huts are user-maintained, meaning that the custodial work of keeping the hut clean, chopping firewood and shovelling snow is done by the guests. The ACC provides major service and renovations to all of our huts each year to ensure they are in good repair.

There are no transition days between bookings. Guests are responsible to sanitize before and after use of the huts.

Download our hut cleaning and sanitation guidelines here.

ADVENTURE CLIMBING AT MAZINAW LAKE

Update: please see the ACC Toronto Section’s Bon Echo website for more information, including Covid-19 protocols and updates.

The rock climbing at Mazinaw Lake is some of the finest in Ontario. The area boasts quartzite cliffs up to 100m high that rise vertically out of the lake. The routes are all traditional and range in grades from 5.0 to 5.11, with the most popular routes in the 5.4 to 5.9 range. The exposure and length of the routes make for an adventure unlike any other in the province.

The Bon Echo Hut on the lake is operated by the Toronto Section which also operates a boat to ferry climbers to and from the climbs. The hut is comfortable and an excellent place to meet other climbers and get information on the climbs. The area also offers excellent swimming and hiking.

The hut is a single-room wooden structure with a fireplace and kitchen equipped with propane stoves and a large dining table. There is a sauna located near the lake. The hut is not used for sleeping, but is a day hut and cook shelter for those staying at the campsites immediately adjacent to the hut.

Bon Echo is located approximately 300 km north east of Toronto on the east side of Mazinaw Lake, a mile north of the Mazinaw Rock and Bon Echo Provincial Park.

The drive to the public dock takes three to four hours from Toronto or one and a half hours from Ottawa. The hut can be reached by hiking overland, but this would take an entire day. Boating to the hut is much more convenient.

More info on the Bon Echo Hut on the Toronto Section website

MEMBER RATES

Pricing is subject to change without notice.

  • Standard rates $30

    Per night rates

NON-MEMBER RATES

Pricing is subject to change without notice.

  • Standard rates $30

    Per night rates

FACILITIES

Bathroom: Outhouse

Lighting: No lights

Heat: Wood stove – firewood is provided

Water Source: Wood-fired sauna

RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Summer

  • Trail Hiking
  • Rock Climbing

To reach the public dock, travel north on Highway 41, turn right onto Mazinaw Heights Road North (the first right turn after passing the main gate for Bon Echo Provincial Park) and follow it to the dock. Climbers wishing to use the hut can arrange for the boat to meet them at the dock by calling the custodian ahead of time.

Quick Description: A 3-hour drive from Toronto (1.5 hours from Ottawa) and a lake crossing by boat.

Note: The Bon Echo Hut is maintained and operated by the Toronto Section of the ACC.

For more information on the hut, see the Bon Echo page on the Toronto Section website or email the hut co-ordinator.

Consider cancellation and/or appropriate emergency medical insurance for your trip (link below):

We encourage all of our hut guests to purchase or renew their ACC membership prior to reserving their hut stay, this will save both of us some time!

We continue to monitor, and ask all of our hut users to abide by, all provincial health regulations. We do this in support of our government agencies, our health care system, local businesses and the collective health of our community.

We thank you for doing your part.

References And Links