So I went and checked out these roads. They were awesome! I started in Wilberforce, made my way around Harburn, Kennisis Lake and then met up with another V-Strommer in Huntsville. We went up to the east side of the 518, across Chetwynd Road and then up to Magnetawan, down Old Nipissing Road to the 518 and across to Sprucedale and down Ravenscliffe. Then we took a few of then Huntsville backroads to the good part of the 35 to Dorset and then up Livingstone Road (#12), Bear Lake Road, and then back to the 35. Then I showed the other rider the loop around Kennisis Lake and then went straight back to Wilberforce.
The points marked "B,C,D and E" are all fantastic roads/areas to hit up if you have never been before. Some of them are dead end roads that take 30 minutes to get out to the end and it's all hills and twists getting there. Sometimes it was sand/gravel though always hard-packed and not too soft. Incredible scenery on some of the roads too with almost zero traffic. They were such a welcome change from the usual common motorcycling roads. Google Maps says it took 13 hours to do the run, but in reality we were able to get it done in around 12 and that included stops and even going twice up and back along the Kennisis Lake Road loop.... because it was just that much fun.
Here's the route that I took on Saturday.
A few things...
Like Wheelieboy said, Google maps, or my GPS are not to be trusted - which I knew anyways and this was just sort of an exploring trip.
Like Invictus said, some of the roads start out paved but move between hard-packed gravel and dirt. Nothing was too soft or freshly laid, but some of these roads are not for everyone. If you are not scared of non-paved roads, these roads are boatloads of fun and so much more technical than riding on the typical Muskoka or Haliburton roads I am accustomed to.
Harburn Road ("B" on the map) was awesome and was waaaayyy better than I expected it to be - even when it was really cold out and a bit wet there was lots of grip... Paved all the way through.
Kennisis Lake Road ("C" on the map) was great but, very slippery at 8am. When I rode it again in the afternoon, it was incredible fun with tons of grip and even better was Watts Trail - which is a loop off the Kennisis Lake Road. That road is like a better version of Southwood#13 that's much more technical, so speeding is not really an option with the endless hills leading to blind corners. They are paved with that chip-seal stuff.
Bear Lake Road ("D" on the map) was a mix of sand and gravel, and where the gravel was, it was more recently laid down and required a bit of slowing down to navigate the turns, whereas the sandy sections was really hard-packed stuff and awesome fun in the turns. The road off the #35 to get out to Bear Lake Road is #12 (also called Livingstone Road) and it's smooth pavement with fast sweepers.
The east side of the 518 is okay but nothing like the west side. Chetwynd Road ("E" on the map) was really awesome and hard packed sand. Very hilly with nice twists and turns. All of the above mentioned roads are very seldom travelled so there was no traffic.
The #520 is a nice road if you have never been on it and it's smooth pavement with fast sweepers. Old Nipissing Road from Magnetawan running south to the 518 is a mixture of paved, gravel then sand and it's all kinds of technical awesomeness.
They are repaving parts of #35 which didn't make much sense to me because it's smooth as glass as it is.
As a final note and worthy plug, I tented at Riverbank RV & Cottages which is situated in Wilberforce and is a great place to stay. It's point "A" on the map and sits on the small river that connects Grace Lake and Dark Lake. They have cabins if you don't want to tent it. Super friendly people there and a great launching pad for exploring some great roads. It was really nice to be able to sleep beside the river and hear the water all night and wake up to an awesome view of the fall colours, all the while having a super soft ground of grass and white pine needles to pitch my tent on. Grocery store, liquor store and gas station all within 2 minutes ride. Very welcoming of respectful motorcyclists too:
http://riverbankrvandcottages.com/index.html
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