BACK ROADS BILL: A road trip through history, nature and culture

There are no bugs yet!

When was the last time you took an extended northern Ontario road trip on the main or the back roads?

So, I borrowed the lead from the three-part story on the trek to Hudson Bay a few weeks back.

“This is what happens when you don’t take a winter vacation to the Gulf of America.” (If we were to become a US state, it would be the 4th largest, after Alaska, Texas, and California by land area.)

Never mind that.

It is now spring, headed towards summer, and we should consider travelling closer to home for patriotic reasons.

This story will have two parts. This week, a northern Ontario “pop quiz” challenge, an educational primer of what we should or need to know about this vast and magnificent land. And an overall summary of the destinations – pan northern Ontario – that you can easily visit on or near the main roads, and then tell others about.

Next week, the Back Roads Bill ‘Seven Heritage Wonders of Northern Ontario’ on the Back Roads.’

Quiz challenge

Get to know your backyard.

Let’s get started with some background.

If you have followed me over the years, you will be able to answer these from story knowledge or your own sleuthing.

The answers will be at the bottom of this story.

1. How many First Nations’ communities are there in northern Ontario? We will use the imaginary Mattawa River, Lake Nipissing, French River, north of boundary between the north and the rest of the province at approximately North 46 degrees latitude. (The District Municipality of Muskoka is included.)

2. Taking into account the entire shape and perimeter of the province, what is the geographic centre of the province? It is a place in northern Ontario and hint, visualize N-S (vertical lines of longitude and the E-W lines of longitude).

3. Districts are different and way bigger than southern Ontario counties. How many do we have in the north? It is those large blue signs we see on the side of the road…’District of…’

4. North Bay is now celebrating its 100th anniversary as an incorporated city, but it is not the oldest one in the north.

5. What is the most northern community in Ontario-northern Ontario?

6. Where was Bill Barilko born, the infamous Toronto Maple Leaf immortalized in the Tragically Hip song? And as a bonus, what is this place’s slogan?

7. The Ottawa River is 1,271 km (790 mi) long, but it is shared by two provinces, and the confluence with the St. Lawrence is in eastern Ontario. What are northern Ontario’s two longest rivers, both have the same length?

8. What is the unofficial anthem of northern Ontario? (Hint: our annoying friends will be here soon.)

9. What is the population of northern Ontario?

10. What is the land mass of northern Ontario in square kilometres or square miles? Bonus, where does it rank in size when compared to the other provinces?

Things we maybe, kind of should know, eh?

Highways 11 and 17

It is a big area – the north – but there are two main highways to get you to your destinations.

When you look at your paper road map or digital the main highways 11/17 join the east and west extremities of the north.

The highways are like an irregular-shaped, horizontal figure eight, also known as an infinity symbol - North Bay, Nipigon, Shabaqua (NW of Thunder Bay) and Kenora become intersecting/joining points on the Trans Canada Highway system. It has a SE to NW orientation, between the Great Lakes and the border of the Canadian Shield and the James/Hudson Bay lowlands. This was because of surficial water orientation and the original railway routes chosen.

Much of the highway construction was initially undertaken in the relief years of the 1930s. Road building was a challenge.

Highway 17 from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay, which is part of the Trans-Canada Highway, was officially completed and opened to traffic on Sept. 17, 1960, at Wawa.

The highway was first designated in 1920, extending from Toronto to North Bay. The route was extended to Hearst in 1937 and to Nipigon by 1943, with the final extension to Rainy River, bringing it to its maximum length, completed in 1965.

It takes time, but there are so many destinations near and afar, and these two highways are the conduits for the well-known “places/things to see.”

Look at the map there is a few paved secondary highways that connect the divergent 11/17 highways, like Highway # 622 between Atikokan and near Ignace, #502 – near Fort Frances to Dryden and #631 from White River to near Hearst. Highway 144 from Sudbury to Timmins and then #655 to near Smooth Rock Falls also connect.

Locations

The challenge then is how to do this, give a primer on tourism across the northern part of the province on a macro to micro scale, so here goes nothing.

First thing, provincial parks are great for camping and day trips, and most of them have themes - through natural and cultural assets like waterfalls (Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park in Englehart) and vistas (like the Ouimet Canyon) and fishing opportunities for the family. There are 24 operating parks in the NE and 22 in the NW.

You have the “biggies” like Lake Superior, Sleeping Giant and Quetico and Killarney Provincial Parks.

Besides camping sites, they have washrooms and picnic shelters, trails and beaches, boat launches, interpretative centres and pavilions. There are many non-operating parks (Wabakimi, Woodland Caribou and Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater) which are often canoe routes, and protected areas for ecological reasons. See the Ontario Parks website for the non-operating parks.

The best options to use the parks is a day, or, even better, a seasonal park pass. There are seven reasons for this choice. Treat it like a gym membership.

There is one national park in Northern Ontario, Pukaskwa National Park near Marathon, take the trek out to the White River suspension bridge for a breathtaking view and experience.

Five Conservation Authorities are operating in Northern Ontario (Lakehead Region, Mattagami Region, Sudbury, North Bay-Mattawa, and Sault Ste. Marie Region). They have green space properties as well.

One of the best communities to tour in Northern Ontario is Wawa with its heritage door program.

Get to know the Casque Isles & Rossport coastal trails. They are part of the Voyageur Trail System that spans a good chunk of the Great Lakes. Also see the Trans Canada Trail for hiking/walking opportunities. The Coastal Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park can be accessed along Highway 17 at many locations.

Atractions

The biggest attractions are Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay, one of North America’s largest living history sites. If you want to know about northern Ontario rocks, there is Dynamic Earth in Sudbury and Science North with an IMAX theatre – everything neat about science you may have forgotten from high school. Not forgotten is the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.

The five big cities (Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins) in Northern Ontario have tourism departments so their websites are a go to for information, especially for waterfront walks and bikeways, museums, marinas, water parks, art galleries and commercial attractions. Kenora, Elliot Lake, Dryden and Temiskaming Shores are also cities. You can see cities are spread out across the landscape, most located on the Trans Canada Highways except for Timmins (Highway 101) and Elliot Lake (#108).

Northern Ontario features a variety of festivals, with music, arts, and culinary events being particularly prominent, see the cities and town websites, and local radio is a good resource when travelling. There’s a list of radio stations in Ontario. My favourite is Al Creswell – CFNO – 93.1 FM in Marathon. It covers the north shore of Lake Superior (“Your Hometown Sound” for the North Superior Region) and most of north-central Ontario communities between Highways 11 and 17.

Municipalities have lots of green space to, like Centennial Park in Thunder Bay, it covers approximately 147 acres (60 ha) along the shores of the beautiful Current River in the heart of the City's north side – so much to see and do there.

Within the cities and outside are private attractions as well. Good examples are the amethyst mines (Panorama is a favourite) east of Thunder Bay and the longest suspension bridge and zipline in Canada at Eagle Canyon Adventures near Dorion. If you want to see and sleep with wolves find Cedar Meadows in Timmins.

Smaller is good

Don’t forget the smaller communities, most have museums, and if you stop, you will find historic gems from the bygone days. Here is a map for all the museums in Ontario Which museum.com with a search function.

First Nations

For example you would never know the best curated Indigenous artifact collection in northern Ontario is within the library at Iroquois Falls https://www.baytoday.ca/columns/back-roads-bill/back-roads-bill-artifact-collection-to-be-repatriated-5784567 . Another good one is in Blind River.

And in Kenora and Red Lake, you can see original Norval Morrisseau paintings (Google: Back Roads Bill Village Media Morrisseau). Stop at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, which was established in 1974, in M'Chigeeng on Manitoulin Island.

Find out more about First Peoples. Taking a guided tour through the Sheguiandah Archaeological Site is unlike any other guided experience. Tours must be booked through Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah on Manitoulin.

Northern Ontario is home to several powwows, with many held on Manitoulin and in other First Nation communities. Go to their community websites for the dates.

More

For logging, go to the Timber Village Museum located at the marina in Blind River, the Massey Area Museum and the Loggers Hall of Fame in Latchford (while there, drive across the shortest covered bridge in the world for bragging rights). There’s a great outdoor exhibit at Wakami P.P. near Chapleau.

Then there’s all those roadside plaques, Ontario Heritage Trust https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/online-plaque-guide (red and blue plaques. Also, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) and Parks Canada oversee the designation of national historic sites and commemorate them with bronze plaques with the Government of Canada Coat of Arms (sites, persons and events https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historic_places_in_Northern_Ontario ). The Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site is an example.

The oldest historic settlers’ cemeteries are in Wawa and Silver Islet (Google Back Roads Bill cemeteries), all worth a visit.

Along the way there are all those tourism icons like the goose in Wawa, the wolves in Hearst, the space ship in Moonbeam, Husky the Muskie in Kenora and the snowman in Beardmore and many more, see this story https://www.baytoday.ca/columns/back-roads-bill/bears-wolves-a-space-ship-and-their-stories-13-photos-5570788 , see this story for more https://www.baytoday.ca/columns/back-roads-bill/bears-wolves-a-space-ship-and-their-stories-13-photos-5570788 . Keep an eye open for those height-of-land- watershed signs for cell phone opps.

Some other exceptionalities to put on your lists. The closest we get to a zoo is the Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane. Also, the Agawa Rock pictographs within Lake Superior P.P. And the Sudbury to White River train ride through the Canadian Shield (Google Back Roads Bill train trips). Another breath taking view is Sleeping Giant Provincial Park’s Thunder Bay Lookout. This lookout features a boardwalk platform that extends over the edge of a cliff, offering a thrilling view of Lake Superior and Thunder Bay from a height of 450 feet. It's accessible by car or bike and is a popular spot for viewing sunsets or the northern lights.

Stop along the way at the Terry Fox monument-lookout that’s as Canadian as you can get.

The best rock collection is the Crull Rock and Mineral Collection at the Municipal Office in Balmertown (Red Lake) featuring more than 2600 specimens from around the world. Commercially it is the Crystal Cave Canada in South River.

There is a list of the usual highway stops: Pijitawabik (Nipigon) palisades, Katherine Cove (Lake Superior), The Cup and Saucer Trail and Bridal Veil Falls on Manitoulin, Chippewa Falls just west of the Soo, and then on to Sand River Falls, Kakabeka Falls NW of Thunder Bay, Augasabon Falls in Terrace Bay, the “Crack” Trail in Killarney, Temagami Fire Tower etc…

There’s too much to see and do, almost overwhelming. I tried not to forget all the tourism nuances.

Answers to the Pop Quiz

I was wondering how my editor was doing with the questions/answers while she reads this week’s submission.

1. There are more than 630 First Nations communities across Canada, representing more than 50 distinct Nations and 50 Indigenous languages. These First Nations, along with Inuit and Métis, are recognized as Indigenous Peoples in Canada. There are 106 First Nations in northern Ontario. Approximately 13 per cent of the population in Northern Ontario identifies as Indigenous. Northern Ontario includes nearly half of Ontario's Aboriginal population, including both on-- and off-reserve residents. There are three regions within the Métis Nation of Ontario, and the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community, which is a separate entity. Google: Back Roads Bill First Nations for a number of stories.

2. Hornepayne. There is a sign about this affixed to the community’s ballfield fence. The actual spot is about 8 km NNE of the community situated on Hwy. 631 between Hearst and White River, located on the CN railway line. (Along this highway, stop at Nagagamisis Provincial Park to see the culturally modified trees; Google that.)

3. Northern Ontario is divided into 10 territorial districts. These districts are: Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming. Google: Back Roads Bill where exactly is northern Ontario. Starting in 1858, districts were created in Northern Ontario for the delivery of judicial and provincial government services within sparsely populated Northern Ontario. This included the surveying of townships, land registration and mining claims. There are 144 municipalities and over 150 unincorporated communities.

4. Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest and was incorporated on April 16, 1912. Before that, it was a village (incorporated on July 29, 1871) and a town (incorporated on April 23, 1887). It is known for being the oldest surviving permanent European settlement in both Ontario and neighbouring Michigan, with its founding dating back to 1668. It is one of the founding Métis communities in Ontario, Google: Back Roads Bill Métis.

5. Waśaho or Fort Severn on Hudson’s Bay. That’s an easy one. You may Google: Back Roads Bill Village Media polar bears or road trips (Wapusk Trail – the longest winter road in the world.) In 2001, the population was 401, consisting of 90 families. The legal name of the reserve is Fort Severn 89.

6. Bill Barilko is a hockey legend, and the most often asked questions by visitors to the city of is: Where was Shania Twain born, and where is Bill Barilko’s grave marker ( Timmins, Ont, 25 May 1927; died in northern Ontario, 26 Aug 1951). The Tragically Hip song is Fifty‐Mission Cap It has these lyrics: “Bill Barilko disappeared that summer. He was on a fishing trip. The last goal he ever scored. Won the Leafs the cup…” Timmins calls itself 'the city with a heart of gold.' Google: Back Roads Bill, Bill Barilko.

7. The Albany River and the Severn River are both 982 kilometres (610 mi) long, making them the longest rivers entirely within Ontario, including northern Ontario. The Albany River flows from Lake St. Joseph in northwestern Ontario to James Bay. The Severn River also flows to James Bay, with its headwaters near the western border of the province. Watersheds are important. Google: Back Roads Bill watersheds.

8. ‘The Blackfly Song.’ A song by Wade Hemsworth, written in 1949, about being tormented by black flies while working in the wilds of northern Ontario on the Abitibi River, north of Smooth Rock Falls. It is an enduring classic of Canadian folk music. Google: Back Roads Bill black fly song.

9. In 2021, it was recorded as 831,984, an increase of 2.8 percent since 2011. Greater Sudbury has 171,446 (2022) residents. It also includes approximately 140,000 of Ontario's Francophone people
   Ontario contains two-thirds of Northern Ontario's Indigenous population. In 2025, the population of Ontario is projected to be around 16.18 million people. As of January 1, 2025, Canada's population was estimated to be 41,528,680.

10. This vast and magnificent land has an area of 806,000 km2 (311,000 sq mi) and constitutes 88 percent of the land area of Ontario, second in size to Quebec. In the early 20th century, northern Ontario was often called "New Ontario", although that name has fallen into disuse because of its colonial connotations. It's larger than the combined land area of all of Atlantic Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick). If it were a country, it would be larger than Spain, France, or the UK. For some purposes, northern Ontario is further subdivided into northeastern and northwestern Ontario.

Prepare

Time to start planning a road or day trip near or far in northern Ontario. Or, when people ask, what’s there to do, you’ll know. There’s a lot when you think about it.

For more information go to Northern Ontario Travel. Northern Ontario is divided into four distinct travel regions: Northeastern Ontario ("The Seven"), Algoma Country, Superior Country, and Sunset Country. Look for their driving tours with all the stops along the way. Like the Lake Superior Circle Tour, The Lake Superior Circle Tour is a 1,300-mile (2,092 km) self-guided tour around the world's largest freshwater lake (minus the American side – question mark).

You don’t need a cottage or a camp, see all the accommodations, outfitters and services within these identified tourism areas and regions.

There’s the ninety-year-old Northern Ontario Outfitters Association (Nature & Outdoor Tourism Ontario) for contacts. Under Plan Your Vacation, there’s a great interactive map (which I like).

Include in your research: “northern Ontario bloggers” for lots of personal views, tips and experiences; along with Tripadvisor for reviews. For all destinations, include their social media platforms in your search.

Next week, from the main roads to the back roads.

Well, I was thinking it might be the ‘Seventeen Heritage Wonders of Northern Ontario’ - too many to leave out.