Audio
Chuck Miller, Superintendent, Killarney Provincial Park
2.00 MB
Topaz Lake is at the tip end of Baie Fine, and Baie Fine is at . . . there are two large quartzite ranges of hills that go out into Georgian Bay. And it’s like a big fjord about seven kilometres long. Baie Fine has always been a popular anchorage for yachts, and it’s been that way for a long, long time. And when people anchor in Baie Fine, as well as the canoeists and hikers, because the hiking trail and the portage all use the same path, which is an old logging trail, actually, people climb up on top of the ridge above Baie Fine, and they come to this little lake called Topaz Lake. And Topaz is an ultra-clear lake, and it just happens on that lake that the rocks are stacked with diving cliffs that go up at regular intervals. And the water’s deep in the lake, and it’s a fun place to spend an afternoon, diving off the cliffs into the ultra-clear water. And I think the other thing interesting about Topaz Lake is that there’s such a mix of people there. There are people from yachts, often dressed in white, there are canoeists that have maybe been out for a few days in coveralls, and there are hikers out with maybe the shorts and the hiking boots, and they’re all up there together and nobody seems to mind each other. And it’s just a fun place to spend an afternoon.