After months of being stuck at home and future out of country travel plans in limbo, my roommate and I decided we needed a real vacation. One that allowed us to really distance ourselves from work since our offices were now our bedrooms. 850 sq feet seemed big a few months ago but now it's our entire world. With COVID cases decreasing throughout Ontario, we decided it was safe enough to plan a camping roadtrip through Northern Ontario. We found 3 eager friends who wanted to join us and started planning!
This post will cover our itinerary from a high level. Each section will link to a more detailed post about a specific park. We squeezed a lot in but it was all worth it!
Full Itinerary Map Can be Found Here
Our trip started with a 7 hour drive from downtown Toronto to the Quattro Hotel in Sault Ste. Marie. We stopped in Parry Sound, just over 2 hours into our drive, for dinner and a quick leg stretch. Although it was already pretty late at night we had to make one last stop, 20 minutes from our hotel, to see the Giant Loonie in Echo Bay. Mr. Robert R. Carmichael, the artist responsible for the Loon design, is a resident of the town and the Giant Loonie was constructed in his honour.
Pancake Bay Lookout: ~50 minute drive from Sault Ste. Marie to the start of the 7km return lookout trail.
Agawa Rock Pictographs: 800m return hike to an indigenous archaeological site to view the Ojibway people's 17th or 18th rock paintings
Gargantuan Bay, Backcountry Camping: 30 minute drive down a windy gravel road to a secluded Bay where we backcountry camped on the beach.
❤️ My favourite park from our trip! ❤️
Manito Miikana Trail: 2km return hike to a couple lookout points on Lake Superior with beautiful views of forested islands in the distance.
oTENTik Frontcountry Camping: A mix between a rustic cabin and a tent, we had a very comfortable sleep this night with a delicious barbequed meal.
Coastal Trail to the White Water Suspension Bridge: A challenging 18 km return hike through dense forest to a picturesque suspension bridge overlooking the white water rapids below.
Beach Trail: After a long hike, we were ready to lounge at the beach and watch the sunset. This easy 1.2km return trail was worth the extra steps after a long day.
Hattie Cove, Frontcountry Camping: Although this campsite was entirely first come first serve, we were shocked to find that it was half empty and had very private sites. Don't miss out on this underrated National Park.
Terrace Bay, Aguasabon waterfall:
Sea Lion Trail:
Tee Harbour Trail:
Tee Harbour, Backcountry Camping:
Head of The Sleeping Giant Trail:
Eagle Canyon Suspension Bridge:
Ouimet Canyon:
Red Rock Inn:
Nipigon Recreation Trail:
Secret Waterfall:
Rabbit Blanket Campground, Lake Superior Provincial Park:
Elliot Lake:
Chutes Provincial Park:
Township of Little Current:
Cup And Saucer Trail:
Manitoulin Island Resort & Campground:
Chi-Cheemaun Ferry:
The Bruce Trail:
Stormhaven Backcountry Camping:
Stormhaven Backcountry Camping:
The Grotto:
And after a 4 hour drive home, we were back in Toronto.