Out of the hundreds of hiking possibilities in Northern Ontario, the trail going to the White River suspension bridge is the one you won’t want to miss. If you like hiking, you love nature, and suspension bridges, then this is the trail you must have on your list.
Being on the road already for few days, on our West to Northwest Road Trip, we planned carefully a full day on this rather difficult trail.
One of the largest living history attractions in North America, Fort William offers a vivid image of the fur trade life. Re-enactment of the old days was our main reason we chose to visit the fort, as we very much enjoyed the cheerful animators from Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. Although the park staff was very limited after the big lockdown from the beginning of the year, we considered lucky to be able to visit it, as the park re-opened mid-summer.
The story of the North West Company and its rendezvous place at Fort William covers but a brief span of history. Between the American Revolution (1776-1783), the war of 1812, and later the Pemmican War, then until its own absorption by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821, the North West Company exercised a virtual monopoly of all trade into the northwest directed from Montreal. As the company’s inland headquarters, Fort William became the pivotal point in a vast fur trading empire, in a peaceful time before the several changes of what will later become Canada, such as 1869 when Hudson Bay Company turned over the governance to the new nation of Canada who decided the future of the North West territories. Anyway, Fort William remains an eloquent proof of peaceful trading times, frozen in time at the height of the fur trade in North America, as it was in 1816.
Hope you will enjoy the little movie, and the cheerful animators of Fort William!
Tip(s) of the day:
~ visited in August 2021
The summer was upon us when I realized there was still a lot I wanted to do before experiencing a new season.
Our love for long road trips started many years ago. We find joy preparing a road trip, and get excitement to the max with every new adventure on the road. Having our own schedule leaves us the flexibility to adjust the plans on the go, giving us a certain freedom, especially in these pandemic times.
The story began on August 24th, 1914, when a small black bear cub was orphaned by a hunter, and brought to the Canadian Pacific Railway Train Station in White River, Ontario.
Located 95 km west of Sudbury, the town of Massey is known today for its little provincial park, named Chutes, after the chutes that used to bypass the rapids on the Aux Sables River.
We have always been fascinated by rural roads, always eager to jump in a car and go on a road trip. Even close to our home, or in a new country, I feel amazing since the moment I start planning one. This time the final destination was Manitoulin Island, with a couple of stops in Killarney Provincial Park, and French River Provincial Park.
If you have found yourself reading this post, you might be planning a road trip to Manitoulin Island. Or wanting to go after you finish reading it, as I will try to summarize what some of you might already know, plus a touch of a little bit more.
Continue readingConsidered by the locals The Beach, Providence Bay is famous for an obvious reason.
About 6 hours north from Toronto, located on a picturesque, southern side of Manitoulin Island, Providence Bay is the perfect place for a getaway. Looking upon Huron Lake, one of the Great Lakes of North America, the bay offers one of the longest sandy beaches I’ve ever seen in Ontario. Early natives, Ojibwe people called the place Bebikodawangog, which translates as ‘where the sands curve around the bay’.
First time we visited Manitoulin Island was back in 2017, when we did a road trip around Huron Lake, one of the five Great Lakes of North America. This time we decided to take more time and do a road trip around Manitoulin Island itself, searching for the island lighthouses.
Manitoulin Island is the world’s largest freshwater island, and it is considered by natives The Heart and Spirit of the Great Lakes of Canada. Home to three distinct cultures – First Nations, Francophone and Anglophone – this region has a diverse culture and a rich history. The island itself is considered sacred by the Native Anishinaabe people, who identify themselves as the People of the Three Fires.
With fond memories of our first visit to Manitoulin Island still fresh in our mind, we were not so lucky this time to book a reservation with MS Chi-Cheemaun Ferry Service, as due to Covid-19 restrictions, the passenger capacity could not exceed 50% of the vessel’s certified capacity hence we could not find spots available for our August trip.
Continue readingTrying to outsmart the rain, we left Sudbury, where we’ve had our base for four nights, quite late in the morning. Getting to French River park was an easy one-hour drive South from Sudbury (or 3.5 hrs North from Toronto).
The Visitor centre is near the highway and was closed due to covid situation, but the bridge we’ve seen from Hwy was right there, a two-minute walk, never mind the light drizzle that has just started. The lonely bridge was waiting for us: it is the best outlook point where one can admire the canyon that French river forms here.
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1000 Places and Memories 