A woman canoes in Algonquin Provincial Park. Algonquin Outfitters has everything a visitor will need to survive -- from food to tents -- on a canoe trip through the park.

Do you cherish a secret dream of someday canoe-tripping through pristine Ontario wilderness, packing everything you need on your back and sleeping under the stars?

To find out if it's possible, perhaps you should drop in to the big Algonquin Outfitters base on Oxtongue Lake, just off Hwy. 60 about 17 km west of Algonquin Park and 250 km north of Toronto.

Here they say, half-jokingly, that if a wannabe canoe tripper showed up naked and carrying only a valid credit card, they could outfit him with everything he'd need for a wilderness adventure, from clothes to canoe, camp gear and food.

For a novice, however, manager Rich Swift and assistant manager Gord Baker would probably recommend an afternoon starter trip by canoe up the Oxtongue River to Ragged Falls with a stop for a snack at the riverside Paddle Inn restaurant. It would cost you $18 to rent the canoe.

Since it started 44 years ago, Algonquin Outfitters has outfitted thousands of modern-day voyageurs.

Two men, Bill "Swifty" Swift and Paul Wainman, a former Algonquin Park chief ranger, began the business with about 40 canoes to rent. It has since grown into the biggest operation of its kind in Ontario with four locations: At Oxtongue Lake, a store in Huntsville, a base on Lake Opeongo in Algonquin Park and a branch in Brent in an old railway station in the park. Another offshoot in South River, near North Bay, is a factory making Swift canoes and kayaks that are sold provincewide.

At this time of year, some 80 employees, many of them students, are kept busy at the four locations, assisting couples, families and groups to plan and prepare for adventures. Planning for most parties usually starts months ahead.

When I was at Oxtongue Lake a couple of weeks ago, a group of British Royal Air Force personnel from a base in Wales had just arrived for a holiday trip in the park. They first contacted Algonquin Outfitters in January.

In contrast, Gord Baker, in charge at Oxtongue Lake, told me about a couple who recently called by cellphone from a U.S. border crossing. They wanted to arrive that day to start a canoe trip the next morning. His staff was able to accommodate them.

The Oxtongue base is a fascinating place. Semi-permanent tents, or "tabins" line the shore. These provide emergency overnight accommodation for customers who arrive late in the day.

Hundreds of canoes are stacked in orderly racks underneath the pine trees. Outgoing parties tour food and equipment sections to sign out provisions and equipment. Returning trippers turn in rental outfits at separate depots. A huge retail store is stocked with everything from trout flies to tents.

To avoid overuse of Algonquin, park officials limit the number of parties travelling the interior. You have to obtain a permit, file a route plan for any trip and may have to go on a waiting list. Algonquin Outfitters staff explain permit procedures and try to help customers with them.

At the Oxtongue Lake base, you can get a list of prices for everything: Canoe rentals, daily rates for equipment, food menus per person per day.

Discover Algonquin packages go from $395 per person, plus taxes for a long-weekend trip to $595 per person for a four-day guided group canoe trip. For information, call 1-800-469-4948 or visit algonquinoutfitters.com.