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Shared itinerary · Lake Superior’s north shore, Ontario

Lake Superior’s north shore in 5 days

Five days on the Trans-Canada around the top of Lake Superior, Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay: the Agawa Rock pictographs and Old Woman Bay, the Wawa goose, Pukaskwa National Park, Aguasabon Falls and Rossport, the canyon at Ouimet, the Sleeping Giant, then the Terry Fox monument and Kakabeka Falls. 18 stops with times and notes. It is 700 km with few towns between, so fuel up at every one, and book Lake Superior Provincial Park’s campgrounds early for summer.

Updated

Distance

775 km

Pancake Bay Provincial Park → Kakabeka Falls

Days

5

Stops

18

Each day of Lake Superior’s north shore in 5 days: route, stops and distance
DayRouteStopsDistance
Day 1Pancake Bay Provincial Park to Wawa Goose5151 km
Day 2Magpie High Falls to Pukaskwa National Park3202 km
Day 3Aguasabon Falls and Gorge to Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park4249 km
Day 4Top of the Giant Trail to Silver Islet278.3 km
Day 5Terry Fox Monument to Kakabeka Falls494.5 km

Day 1: Pancake Bay Provincial Park to Wawa Goose

151 km

Sault Ste. Marie to Wawa, through Lake Superior Provincial Park, about 230 km.

  1. 10:00

    Pancake Bay Provincial Park

    Park & nature

    A 3 km sand beach, an hour north of the Sault.

    58.4 km · 1h drive to next

  2. 12:00

    Agawa Rock Pictographs

    Sight

    Red ochre paintings on a cliff over the lake, reached along a rock ledge. Go only when the water is calm: waves sweep the ledge.

    11.8 km · 15m drive to next

  3. 13:30

    Katherine Cove

    Park & nature

    A sand cove and small islands in the park, good for lunch.

    52.4 km · 40m drive to next

  4. 15:30

    Old Woman Bay

    Park & nature

    A 200 m cliff over a sand beach, where people see a woman’s face in the rock.

    28.7 km · 25m drive to next

  5. 17:00

    Wawa Goose

    Sight

    The 8.5 m steel Canada goose by the highway, a landmark since 1960.

Day 2: Magpie High Falls to Pukaskwa National Park

202 km

Wawa to Pukaskwa National Park by way of White River, about 200 km.

  1. 09:00

    Magpie High Falls

    Park & nature

    A falls on the Magpie River, ten minutes from town.

    102 km · 1h 15m drive to next

  2. 11:30

    White River

    Sight

    Where a Canadian soldier bought the bear cub that became Winnie-the-Pooh, in 1914. The statue is in the park by the highway.

    95.8 km · 1h 15m drive to next

  3. 14:00

    Pukaskwa National Park

    Park & nature

    Hattie Cove, the park’s one road-in campground, and the Southern Headland trail over the rocks to the lake.

Day 3: Aguasabon Falls and Gorge to Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park

249 km

West along the shore to Nipigon, then the canyon.

  1. 10:30

    Aguasabon Falls and Gorge

    Park & nature

    A 30 m falls into a gorge, a short boardwalk off the highway at Terrace Bay.

    38.8 km · 25m drive to next

  2. 12:00

    Rossport

    Food & drink

    A harbour village among islands. Lunch by the water.

    74.3 km · 1h 15m drive to next

  3. 15:00

    Nipigon River Bridge

    Sight

    The Trans-Canada’s cable-stayed crossing of the Nipigon River.

    51.7 km · 40m drive to next

  4. 16:30

    Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park

    Park & nature

    A 100 m deep gorge so shaded that arctic plants grow on its floor, seen from two platforms at the rim.

Day 4: Top of the Giant Trail to Silver Islet

78.3 km

A full day on the Sibley Peninsula and the Sleeping Giant.

  1. 08:30

    Top of the Giant Trail

    Activity

    The Kabeyun and Talus trails to the cliffs on top of the Giant, high over Lake Superior, about 22 km return.

    8.2 km · 15m drive to next

  2. 17:30

    Silver Islet

    Sight

    The 1870s silver-mining village at the end of the road, with a general store open in summer.

Day 5: Terry Fox Monument to Kakabeka Falls

94.5 km

Thunder Bay and the falls west of it.

  1. 09:30

    Terry Fox Monument

    Sight

    Near where Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope ended on September 1, 1980, above the highway east of the city.

    8.7 km · 20m drive to next

  2. 10:30

    Hoito Restaurant

    Food & drink

    Finnish pancakes, a Thunder Bay institution since 1918, now on Red River Road.

    18.7 km · 20m drive to next

  3. 12:30

    Fort William Historical Park

    Sight

    A reconstructed North West Company fur-trade post of 1816, with interpreters in summer.

    27.1 km · 25m drive to next

  4. 15:30

    Kakabeka Falls

    Park & nature

    A 40 m falls on the Kaministiquia River, half an hour west of the city.