Kids can have the experience of a lifetime in the Algonquin Highlands at Camp Kandalore, the finest overnight camp in Canada! Providing the best of both canoe-tripping and camp activities, their days are filled with friends, laughter, campfires, songs, sunsets, and stars.
Camp Kandalore is a postcard for the rugged beauty of the Algonquin Highlands, close to the town of Minden and 230 km north of Toronto. Secluded on its own private bay on Lake Kabakwa, Kandalore stretches over 80 acres of boreal forest as well as a long and picturesque shoreline.
It’s the stuff of daydreams: the scent of pine, the sparkle of clear water and the dip of the paddle. The Camp Kandalore experience has been building life skills and changing the lives of young people for more than 75 years! Here, campers can challenge themselves, build their self-confidence and find out who they can truly become.
About Camp Kandalore
This all-gender camp offers campers more than 30 different camp activities which vary wildly, from high ropes and pottery to water skiing. However, one of the most famous aspects of Camp Kandalore is its excellent canoe-tripping program. Campers of all ages get the chance to participate, developing skills and independence on either an overnight or up to a 22-day white water river expedition.
Whether it’s on the water, in the forest or in camp, there’s a special place for every camper to excel. The staff and camp counsellors, who are often past campers themselves, encourage and support the camper to develop healthy self-confidence. Since becoming an all gender camp in 1992, they have helped foster the development of countless campers from around the world at their first-class program of summer camp activities.
Activities at Camp Kandalore
With over 30 different activities available at Camp Kandalore, everyone can find an activity they are passionate about! A camper’s day at Camp Kandalore is divided into six activity periods, filled with as much adventure as a day could possibly hold! They emphasize camp skills and encourage campers to take part in core activities plus whatever activities are of interest to them. With the help and support of the exceptional staff, they’ll be feeling the glow of accomplishment before they know it.
Activities include:
- Land Sports — Archery, Basketball, Crossbow, Field Sports, Mountain Biking
- Water Sports — Canoe, Canoe-tripping, K2 Waterslide, Kayaking, Knee Boarding, Plunja (Waterslide & Diving Platform), Sailing, Snorkelling, Paddleboarding, Swimming, Tubing, Wakeboarding, Water Trampoline, Waterskiing
- Arts — Arts & Crafts, Cooking, Dance, Drama, Leatherwork, Pottery, Woodworking, Ukelele
- Outdoor Pursuits — Fishing, Frisbee Golf, Gaga Ball, High Ropes Course, Log Rolling, Nature & Ecology, Rock Climbing, Swing, Yoga
Tripping at Camp Kandalore
As the campers’ skills and confidence grow, they prepare for one of the most memorable parts of their Kandalore experience: the canoe trip! Here, campers can already start canoe-tripping in their first year at camp, and then develop further outdoor skills as the years pass. Participants experience a quintessentially Canadian activity by exploring beautiful lakes and heritage rivers for an adventure they will always remember. Additionally, kids learn new skills, overcome challenges, connect with nature and have fun with lifelong friends.
Kandalore offers campers an unmatched canoe-tripping experience, gradually introducing new skills and challenges as they get older.
Canoe Tripping groups include:
- Preps (ages 6-9) — Overnight trip to a nearby island on Lake Kabakwa or two-day local canoe trip through the lakes around Kandalore
- Juniors (ages 10-11) —Three-day local canoe trip through the lakes around Kandalore or in Algonquin Park
- Intermediates (ages 12-13) — 4-7 day trip on local rivers, such as the Madawaska and the French
- Seniors (ages 14-16) — participation and planning of 5-12 day trips on rivers such as the Spanish, Magnetawan, French, Coulonge, Noire and Petawawa
A Typical Day at Camp Kandalore
The camp facilities include more than 60 camper cabins, with groups of 4-10 sleeping in bunk beds. Younger campers have counsellors living in separate quarters within their cabins, while older campers have counsellors staying in cabins next door or across the path. Everyone has access to indoor showers and flush toilets.
The dining hall is the hub of Kandalore camp culture, where campers always eat with their cabin group and counsellors. Every meal is delicious and has lots of different options to choose from. Further camp buildings include a recreation hall with a stage, a fully-equipped health centre, administration buildings, arts & crafts and ecology buildings, a tripping centre and many activity areas and facilities.
Centre Camp is where morning and afternoon activities and adventures take place, and there are so many options that kids will have a hard time doing it all! Then, after completing three afternoon activities, cabin groups do a fun free-time activity together. After dinner, the busy day ends with an Evening Program where groups do a different activity, such as a giant game of Capture the Flag, a build-your-own raft challenge, a section tubing night or a giant photo scavenger hunt.
Camp Kandalore Sample Daily Schedule:
7:15 – 7:30: Wake up
8:00 – 8:45: Breakfast
8:45 – 9:15: Cabin clean-up
9:15 – 10:10: Activity period 1
10:10 – 11:05: Activity period 2
11:05 – 12:00: Activity period 3
12:00 – 12:30: Free time
12:30 – 1:15: Lunch
1:15 – 2:15: Rest hour
2:15 – 3:10: Activity period 4
3:10 – 4:05: Activity period 5
4:05 – 5:00: Activity period 6
5:00 – 5:45: Free activity/swim
5:45 – 6:30: Dinner
6:30 – 7:15: Free Time
7:15 – 8:30: Evening Program
8:30 – 10:00: Lights Out (Cabin Lights out time depending on age group)
Start your own Kandalore experience… Register here!
Camp Kandalore
Date: Programs run from June 28-August 25, 2025
Session Length: 1, 2 & 4 Week Options
Address: 1143 Camp Kandalore Drive, Algonquin Highlands, Haliburton
Phone: 705-489-2419 (Summer), 416-322 9735 (Winter)
E-mail: camp@kandalore.com
Website: www.kandalore.com
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