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During our recent Ontario Tour, we were camping at Lake
Superior Provincial Park and we were trying to decide whether we should
extend our tour as far as the Sleeping Giant.
The alternative would be to head back south and camp at campgrounds
closer to our home town. At the last moment we decided to take
on the adventure and head to the Giant. It was definitely the right
choice. The Sleeping Giant was well worth the extra time and travel.
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The first thing we noticed about the park was the
abundance of fauna. Out of all the parks we've visited, other than
Algonquin, Sleeping Giant seems to have the most wildlife.
White-tailed deer were everywhere (which was especially nice for us as
almost all the deer in our local provincial park, Presqu'ile, have
been killed by the MNR).
We seen many fox and even had a black fox visit our campsite each
night. He was shy, yet curious.
Other wildlife we seen included a variety of waterfowl, bald eagles,
grouse, porcupines, skunks and, of course, plenty of chipmunks and
red squirrels.
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We must admit there was one
disappointment about the park. We visited the park during the second
week of September, and although the campground was open, there were no
other facilities available except for the comfort station. The Park
store was closed, the park office was abandoned, and no fire wood
available, no maps, no ice, and the visitor’s centre closed with the
gift shop shelves cleared out.
I was able to grab an employee who was nice enough to go down to the
office basement and get me a copy of the essential Sleeping Giant
Trail Map.
We were very disappointed not to be able to buy a commemorative
T-Shirt. When we arrived back home, we tried to contact the Friends of
the Sleeping Giant and see if we could get a T-Shirt. No luck, as they
explained, the gift shop has been closed “For the Winter” and all the
merchandise is away in storage until next season. Winter? It was
September 18th. My calendar still said Summer! |
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The park is famous for its fantastic
trail system. There are 8 short nature trails ranging from 0.5km to
2.4km. For the adventurers, there are long-distance interior trails
included many overnight campsites and breathtaking views and lookouts.
The park is on peninsula and the trails lead to a diversity of
landscapes like secluded coves, towering cliffs, young and old forests
and interior lakes.
A rough road can be used to access
the Thunder Bay Lookout as well as two picnic areas and two nature
trails. The Thunder Bay lookout took us by surprise as I didn’t
realize how high it was until I was out on the lookout deck. Very
scary!
A great side trip is the historical Silver Islet.
The town was once a rich silver mine. It is now a well preserved
community of summer cottages, art galleries and the original town
store complete with a tea room. |
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Marie Louise Lake
Campground has 200 sites (85 with hydro), including some nice water
front sites. Naturally, this park is very busy in the summer being
less than 60 minutes from Thunder Bay and reservations would be wise.
The lake has a beach and offers canoe and kayaking opportunities.
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