Road Trip Sudbury to Killarney – La Cloche Mountains
Sudbury
Killarney Provincial Park
110
km
1h30
drive
Summer
season
The Itinerary
Killarney Provincial Park is often called the jewel of the Ontario park system, and the reason is geological. The La Cloche Mountains that run through it are made of quartzite, a metamorphosed sandstone so hard and so pale that the ridges read as white against the surrounding forest. These were once a very high range and have been worn down over roughly two billion years to the rounded backbone that survives. Between the ridges sit lakes of unusual clarity.
From Sudbury the route is Highway 69 south to Highway 637, then about 65 km west to the village, roughly 110 km in total. Highway 637 is a dead end: it enters the park, passes George Lake and finishes at Killarney village on the Georgian Bay shore. The Crack is the signature day hike, a scramble of about 6 km return that finishes on a broken quartzite ridge with a long view over the interior lakes. George Lake carries the campground, a beach and the main canoe access.
Killarney village was a fur-trade post from the 1820s and remained reachable only by water until the road arrived in 1962, which is part of why it still feels remote; Herbert Fisheries on the channel has been selling fresh whitefish and chips from the dock for decades. The Group of Seven painted here repeatedly, and lobbying by A. Y. Jackson helped protect the area in 1964. Canoe routes and backcountry sites require reservations, and autumn is the finest season.
From Sudbury the route is Highway 69 south to Highway 637, then about 65 km west to the village, roughly 110 km in total. Highway 637 is a dead end: it enters the park, passes George Lake and finishes at Killarney village on the Georgian Bay shore. The Crack is the signature day hike, a scramble of about 6 km return that finishes on a broken quartzite ridge with a long view over the interior lakes. George Lake carries the campground, a beach and the main canoe access.
Killarney village was a fur-trade post from the 1820s and remained reachable only by water until the road arrived in 1962, which is part of why it still feels remote; Herbert Fisheries on the channel has been selling fresh whitefish and chips from the dock for decades. The Group of Seven painted here repeatedly, and lobbying by A. Y. Jackson helped protect the area in 1964. Canoe routes and backcountry sites require reservations, and autumn is the finest season.
Points of Interest
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✦
The CrackThe park's signature 6 km hike up onto a white quartzite ridge.
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George LakeCanoe-camping access point with a public beach.
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Killarney VillageFormer fishing village, home to Herbert Fisheries and its fresh catch.
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Group of SevenLandscapes painted by Jackson, Carmichael and Casson.
Protected areas along the route
🌿
Urban Areas
General Use Area
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Frazer Bay/Beaverstone Bay
General Use Area
🌿
Killarney Coast and Islands Provincial Park
Recommended Provincial Park
🌿
Moose Mountain / Worthington / Coniston
General Use Area
🌿
Great Lakes Coastal Areas - Sudbury (A)
Enhanced Management Area
🌿
DAISY LAKE UPLANDS PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Rutherford and George Island
General Use Area
🌿
Collins Inlet Headwaters
Enhanced Management Area
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CRATER LAKES WILDERNESS AREA
Wilderness Area
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KILLARNEY PROVINCIAL PARK (WILDERNESS CLASS)
Provincial Park
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TILTON FOREST CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
GARSON FOREST CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
Take this route offline
Cell coverage thins out fast once you leave Sudbury. Export the map as a geo-referenced PDF before you go and open it in BorealMaps — your GPS position shows on the map with no signal at all.
Try PDF Export How geo-referenced PDF maps workPractical info
- Departure Sudbury
- Destination Killarney Provincial Park
- Distance 110 km
- Duration 1h30
- Category Medium (100–250 km)
- Best season Summer
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