Ontario Highway 60

Highway 60 and Algonquin Park are renowned for their autumn displays.

Highway 60 begins at an interchange with Highway 11 in Huntsville. It crosses through central Ontario in a generally east–west orientation. The triangle-shaped area bounded by Highways 11, 17 and 60 is largely uninhabited wilderness dotted with lakes and muskeg.[3]

East of Huntsville, Highway 60 meanders east then south through the northeastern corner of Muskoka District, meeting Highway 35 at Dwight. It travels northeast from there, briefly passing through Haliburton County before crossing into Nipissing District and entering Algonquin Park.[3] An Ontario Parks visitor's permit is not required to drive through Algonquin Park. However, one is required for the use of any trails, campgrounds, the Visitor Centre, or similar facilities within the park boundary. Moose and deer are very common through Algonquin, especially at night and in the morning, and present a major driving hazard.[4] The 56-kilometre (35 mi) journey through Algonquin Park offers some of the most famous scenery in Canada, including vistas of numerous lakes and geological formations that have been captured in the arts of Group of Seven painter Tom Thomson among others. The park is considered the most important place in Canada for biological and environmental research.[5][6]

Highway 60 between Barry's Bay and Whitney.

Highway 60 exits the park in the Township of South Algonquin travelling south into Whitney, curving east and intersecting Highway 127. Beyond Highway 127, it passes through the Madawaska Highlands, following the historic Opeongo Line. It passes through Madawaska, encountering Secondary Highway 523, then curves southeast into Renfrew County. The route enters Barry's Bay, where it turns east and meets the southern leg of former Highway 62, where a concurrency with it began prior to 1998. After passing through Wilno, the route curves northeast around Killaloe, intersecting the northern leg of former Highway 62 and Highway 512.[3]

Continuing around Golden Lake and through the village of the same name, Highway 60 travels southeast into the Ottawa Valley towards Eganville, where it has a 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) concurrency with Highway 41. For the remainder of the route, the highway travels near the Bonnechere River. It continues east then south to Douglas, where drivers must turn northeast to continue along the highway. Highway 60 slowly curves southeast before entering the town of Renfrew, where it is known as Stewart Street, Bridge Street, Raglan Street South, Veterans Memorial Boulevard and O'Brien Road. It encounters the eastern terminus of Highway 132 before curving east to end at Highway 17 on the outskirts of the town.[3]

Highway 60 through Algonquin Park circa 1950

Highway 60 was established in 1937, when the Department of Northern Development was amalgamated by the Department of Highways (DHO). The section of the route through Nipissing District (through Algonquin Park) was assumed by the DHO on September 22, followed by the section through Renfrew County on September 29, and finally the section through Muskoka District on October 6.[2] At that time, the highway ended in Lake Dore, north of Eganville and was 218.2 km (135.6 mi) long. Highway 41 travelled along the portion of what is now Highway 60 between Eganville and Golden Lake.[7] The route was shortened by 16.9 kilometres (10.5 mi) to create a shared terminus with Highway 41 between 1942 and 1949.[8][9]

On April 11, 1957, the Eganville–Pembroke Road was assumed as an extension of Highway 41, with the former portion of the route between Eganville and Golden Lake being renumbered as part of Highway 60.[10] Highway 60 was extended to Highway 17 near Rosebank, north of Renfrew, circa 1961.[11][12] With the construction of the Renfrew Bypass, which began in June 1974,[13] and was completed in 1977,[14] the section of Highway 17 between O'Brien Road east of Renfrew and Haley Road north of Haley Station was renumbered as an extension of Highway 60, establishing the current route of the highway.[15]

In 1976, the section through Algonquin Park was dedicated in honour of the 35 years of service by Frank Archibald MacDougall: ten years as park superintendent and 25 as Deputy Minister of Lands and Forests. It is signed as the Frank MacDougall Parkway.[16]

The following table lists the major junctions along Highway 60, as noted by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.[1] 

Division	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Muskoka	Huntsville	0.0	0.0	Highway 11 – Toronto, North Bay	Huntsville Bypass; Exit 223
		1.4	0.87	Hanes Road
		2.5	1.6	District Road 3 (Main Street)
		6.7	4.2	District Road 23 (Canal Road)
	Lake of Bays	12.7	7.9	District Road 8 (Limberlost Road)
	Dwight	23.6	14.7	Highway 35 – Minden
Nipissing	Algonquin Provincial Park	43.6	27.1	Algonquin Park West Gate[17]
		58.4	36.3	Smoke Lake Road
		91.7	57.0	Opeongo Lake Road
		99.4	61.8	Algonquin Park East Gate[18]
	Whitney	109.6	68.1	Highway 127 south – Maynooth
	Madawaska	128.5	79.8	Highway 523 south	Formerly Highway 523
Renfrew	Barry's Bay	156.3	97.1		Beginning of Barry's Bay Connecting Link Agreement
		156.8	97.4	County Road 62 – Maynooth	Beginning of former Highway 62 south
		157.6	97.9	Old Barry's Bay Road	End of Barry's Bay Connecting Link Agreement
	Wilno	166.9	103.7	County Road 66 (Wilno Road South)	Polish Kashub Heritage Museum
	Killaloe	180.9	112.4	County Road 58 north (Round Lake Road) – Pembroke  County Road 512 (Queen Street) – Killaloe, Brudenell	Formerly Highway 62 north; formerly Highway 512 south
	Golden Lake	199.6	124.0	County Road 30 (Lake Dore Road) – Germanicus  County Road 70 (Kokomis Inamo)
	Algona Wilberforce	209.7	130.3	Highway 41 north – Pembroke	Beginning of Highway 41 concurrency
	Eganville	212.8	132.2		Beginning of Eganville Connecting Link Agreement
		213.6	132.7	Highway 41 south (Bridge Street) – Denbigh, Kaladar	End of Highway 41 concurrency
		214.9	133.5		End of Eganville Connecting Link Agreement
	Admaston Bromley	222.2	138.1	County Road 8 east (Cobden Road) – Cobden  County Road 9 north (Bulger Road) – Lake Dore	Westbound traffic must turn left to remain on Highway 60
	Douglas	229.7	142.7	County Road 5 south (Stone Road)
	Rosebank	242.6	150.7	County Road 61 south (Haley Road)	Former routing of Highway 17
	Renfrew	250.0	155.3		Beginning of Renfrew Connecting Link Agreement
		255.1	158.5		End of Renfrew Connecting Link Agreement
	Horton	255.8	158.9	Highway 17 – Ottawa, Pembroke	Trans-Canada Highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Media related to Ontario Highway 60 at Wikimedia Commons