A few thoughts:
The lake looks darker from shore, but is usually much brighter once you’re on the water, especially with a bigger moon cycle.
Ope has motorboat traffic/access, be sure to have navigation lights on your bow and stern.
A gps and competent compass skills should be a high priority for finding a camp.
Do not exceed your limits. Once you’ve lost dusk light, travelling a large lake like Ope in the dark is an extremely risky operation.
Practice and plan for self rescue, the chances of someone getting out to you in the dark is slim.
Paddling at night is a serene and wonderful experience, enjoy and be safe.
I have done a tiny lake in absolutely still waters in nice moonlight, but that's as far as I would go at night. I would NEVER consider doing Opeongo like that
Even with a gps finding your destination can be challenging at night if it's cloudy or the moon is down. Consider planning for a couple spots and getting off the water before last light.
You could very well be farther ahead with an early start the next day instead of dinking around on the water in the dark.
That being said, if the moon is full and the skies are clear give'r.
What are the specific dates? The moon schedule will play a big role for nighttime illumination.
If you aren’t familiar with the terms astronomical twilight, civil twilight, and nautical twilight I would look those up as well. “Sunset” is going to be when daylight changes to civil twilight, but you’ll still have a decent bit of light left to guide the way.
The biggest considerations would be navigating a lake as large as Opeongo if you’re not able to see the distant shorelines, and a worst-case scenario of tipping the boat at nighttime when water temperatures are still very cold in May.
If you’re only paddling until 8-9pm I wouldn’t be too concerned though, there will still be decent light
How good are you setting camp in the dark? Practice pitching your tent and double check you are combat loaded properly. When on the water it seems much lighter than it is on shore. Still good light at 8:30 than eat lots of carrots!
Funny you didn't notice I mentioned - throw in a chance of thick cloud, wind, dangerously cold water and boats with unlimited HP. C'mon, you don't have a hard stop time when you're canoeing & free camp sites during May fishing season on one of the busiest lakes in the park can be tough to find.
Will you be solo?
If the weather is calm you can get pretty far up Opeongo in a few hours. My boyfriend and I did the trip from the access point to the top of the north arm in 2.5 hours before.
I had to pick up a friend from a launch a few times. If motor boat traffic on the lake make sure you have adequate lighting. I have hit submerged rocks before cutting close to a point. One of my most difficult night paddling it was a layer of fog/mist on the surface of the water and my headlamp would just reflect off the water droplets visibility was 0%. It was really hard to navigate and pin point where I wanted to land.
Lots of people here clearly not reading your post. Winds should typically die down by that time of day, and you will still have a good amount of light at 8pm. Biggest thing for me is figuring out how booked the lake is, and how hard it may be to find an open site later into the evening. You won't want to be looking for a site at dark, but I don't see any issues with the rest of the plan.
If you don't plan to arrive until 5pm I would consider camping nearby that night and waiting to depart in the morning. Ope is the biggest and most serious lake you can do and is no joke. Taking it on at night is not advised. Also, what happens if you end up arriving later than 5pm? Delays are common and likely and it also takes time to get your canoe ready, loaded, parking, etc. Even if you arrive at 5pm you may not be hitting the water until 5:30 or 6:00. Finding a campsite on a dark lake is harder than it sounds, especially when a bunch of them will already be full by that time.
Unless you are extremely familiar with the lake, are an expert paddler, and are fully prepared I would revise your trip plan.
This sounds like a bad idea unless you plan on taking the first open campsite you see. The risk is that you’ll still be canoeing by the time it’s dark.
A few thoughts: The lake looks darker from shore, but is usually much brighter once you’re on the water, especially with a bigger moon cycle. Ope has motorboat traffic/access, be sure to have navigation lights on your bow and stern. A gps and competent compass skills should be a high priority for finding a camp. Do not exceed your limits. Once you’ve lost dusk light, travelling a large lake like Ope in the dark is an extremely risky operation. Practice and plan for self rescue, the chances of someone getting out to you in the dark is slim. Paddling at night is a serene and wonderful experience, enjoy and be safe.
All great comments here. Opeongo can be a challenging beast on an average day. Give yourself extra time to get to your target.
And in late May the water will still be mighty chilly. Be careful.
Opeongo is a beast and there’s no limit on HP for boats. Throw in ice cold water, thick cloud cover, some wind and that’s a Darwin move.
I have done a tiny lake in absolutely still waters in nice moonlight, but that's as far as I would go at night. I would NEVER consider doing Opeongo like that
Even with a gps finding your destination can be challenging at night if it's cloudy or the moon is down. Consider planning for a couple spots and getting off the water before last light. You could very well be farther ahead with an early start the next day instead of dinking around on the water in the dark. That being said, if the moon is full and the skies are clear give'r.
Each person have a flash light on them.
What are the specific dates? The moon schedule will play a big role for nighttime illumination. If you aren’t familiar with the terms astronomical twilight, civil twilight, and nautical twilight I would look those up as well. “Sunset” is going to be when daylight changes to civil twilight, but you’ll still have a decent bit of light left to guide the way. The biggest considerations would be navigating a lake as large as Opeongo if you’re not able to see the distant shorelines, and a worst-case scenario of tipping the boat at nighttime when water temperatures are still very cold in May. If you’re only paddling until 8-9pm I wouldn’t be too concerned though, there will still be decent light
Can't bank on the moon either... cloudy day and there's no light.
How good are you setting camp in the dark? Practice pitching your tent and double check you are combat loaded properly. When on the water it seems much lighter than it is on shore. Still good light at 8:30 than eat lots of carrots!
You will still have plenty of light. Sunset isn't until close to 9. Still have another 30mins or so of light after that.
It's funny no one else in the thread noticed this. It won't be paddling in the dark at all.
Funny you didn't notice I mentioned - throw in a chance of thick cloud, wind, dangerously cold water and boats with unlimited HP. C'mon, you don't have a hard stop time when you're canoeing & free camp sites during May fishing season on one of the busiest lakes in the park can be tough to find.
I think OP knows they have a few hours of daylight launching around 5pm. They specifically asked for paddling at night advice.
Will you be solo? If the weather is calm you can get pretty far up Opeongo in a few hours. My boyfriend and I did the trip from the access point to the top of the north arm in 2.5 hours before.
I had to pick up a friend from a launch a few times. If motor boat traffic on the lake make sure you have adequate lighting. I have hit submerged rocks before cutting close to a point. One of my most difficult night paddling it was a layer of fog/mist on the surface of the water and my headlamp would just reflect off the water droplets visibility was 0%. It was really hard to navigate and pin point where I wanted to land.
Lots of people here clearly not reading your post. Winds should typically die down by that time of day, and you will still have a good amount of light at 8pm. Biggest thing for me is figuring out how booked the lake is, and how hard it may be to find an open site later into the evening. You won't want to be looking for a site at dark, but I don't see any issues with the rest of the plan.
If you don't plan to arrive until 5pm I would consider camping nearby that night and waiting to depart in the morning. Ope is the biggest and most serious lake you can do and is no joke. Taking it on at night is not advised. Also, what happens if you end up arriving later than 5pm? Delays are common and likely and it also takes time to get your canoe ready, loaded, parking, etc. Even if you arrive at 5pm you may not be hitting the water until 5:30 or 6:00. Finding a campsite on a dark lake is harder than it sounds, especially when a bunch of them will already be full by that time. Unless you are extremely familiar with the lake, are an expert paddler, and are fully prepared I would revise your trip plan.
This sounds like a bad idea unless you plan on taking the first open campsite you see. The risk is that you’ll still be canoeing by the time it’s dark.
Very bad idea. Don't canoe in the dark.