Ontario Travel: Hiking & Waterfalls on the Lake Superior Circle Route - Thunder Bay to Nipigon, Ontario

Traveling north and east of Thunder Bay, the traveler will pass several Gem Shops and mines offering Amethyst - Ontario's most famous gemstone. You'll find the stones in their natural state, as well as embedded in jewelry and craft items. Our usual first stop is Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park - Sibley Peninsula
The park has some terrific hiking trails, including the 40 km Kabeyun Trail that takes you to around the Giant and along the coast of the peninsula. In total there are over 80 km of trails in the park.

Donna, Jo and I took one of the shorter hikes out to the Sea Lion and back > > >

I had hoped to show more pictures and info here from our 2005 tour, but a last minute change in our itinerary forced us to bypass the Giant on this trip. In 2009, we hope to spend more time here to get more photos and collect more first hand information on its trails and recreational attractions.

Go here for Park Hikng Trails & Facility Information
Campground Map

Quimet Canyon Provincial Park

A few miles down Highway 11-17 towards Nipigon, Ontario and worth a stop and a short hike is Quimet Canyon (500 feet wide and 350 feet deep). The micro-climate of the canyon floor is similar to the alpine tundra in Alaska. BTW, while some pronounce it "Wee-May" my sources say "Wee-Met" is correct!

Red Rock and Nipigon, Ontario

There's a recreational hiking trail system along Nipigon River Bay between Red Rock and Nipigon.

Jo and I hiked a portion of it near Red Rock visiting Lloyd's Lookout and the Nipigon Bay Overlook. > > >

For more info on this trail check with the North of Superior Tourism website or drop me a line (roscoetrails@gmail.com) and I'll send you images of the Trail Map. Or if you've got time now, you can download them here: Nipigon Trail 1--- Nipigon Trail 2

There's also what is reputed to be an impressive waterfall on the SE side of Lake Nipigon. It was a little too much of a time consuming detour off the lakeside route for us to check out on our 2004 circle tour - but one of these days we have to make time to see it. If you are interested, the Cascades waterfall is about 50 km north of where Highway 11 and 17 split, the former going north and the latter east towards Rossport.