Ontario (2) / Great Lakes (2)

It is the third time that we combine Canada and the USA in one big tour. The reason for this is primarily Lake Superior, the second largest inland lake in terms of area and the largest freshwater lake on earth, 600 km long and 290 km wide. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to take a look at the northern side first in Ontario, Canada, and then drive back south on the American side.

In fact, on this extended tour we will also follow Lake Erie along its entire southern shore and visit Lake Michigan and Lake Huron along the way. Finally, we will meet the last of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, at the beginning and at the end of this trip.

We start in Toronto and head north, via Barrie on Lake Simcoe, past the famous Webers Burger Grill and via Gravenhurst on Lake Muskoka to North Bay, Gateway of the North. Here we turn west; we expect 1.800 km through the lonely forests of Ontario, across the Canadian Shield and through the landscape characterized by countless lakes.

A first detour takes us to Sudbury, where we take a look at Canada’s largest mural – a huge former hospital, now painted in rainbow colors. The traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway is noticeably decreasing and the sights are becoming fewer. A quick stop at the red Adirondack and the Loon Dollar Monument in Echo Bay, then we have already reached Sault Ste. Marie. We will explore this beautiful city by bike – a novelty on our journeys through North America.

We follow the shores of Lake Superior, do some hiking in Pancake and Lake Superior Provincial Park and spend the night in Wawa, the first of a few supply stations on this route (3,000 inhabitants is already a lot up here). Via White River, hometown of Winnie the Pooh, and Pukaskwa National Park with its rugged cliffs right on the lake, we reach Terrace Bay with a beautiful lighthouse and the Aguasabon Falls.

Nipigon features two attractions, the modern Nipigon Bridge and the nearby Lookout Tower. Things get really exciting in Eagle Canyon, where the company of the same name operates what is supposed to be Canada’s longest suspension bridge at 597 feet (182 meters). But that’s not true – the inconspicuous suspension bridge in Souris, Manitoba, which we visited a few years ago, is a whole seven feet, or more than two meters, longer!

The next two days we spend in Thunder Bay, largest city in northwestern Ontario. The waterfront at Prince Arthur’s Landing, Fort William and of course Kakabeka Falls, the Niagara Falls of the North just outside the city, are worthwhile destinations. Behind the city, the Trans-Canada Highway splits; we follow the northern route across the Arctic watershed.

In Upsala there is a giant mosquito, otherwise the roadside attractions are limited. Dryden offers supermarkets and hotels for overnight stays, Vermilion Bay a stone Inukshuk near the highway and, what one would hardly expect here, a small coffee roastery. Only in Kenora with Husky the Muskie you get back the feeling of being in a real city again.