Featured Park - Pigeon River

Ontario Parks Insider

Pigeon River’s Middle and High Falls are an absolute must see while travelling the north shore of Lake Superior, not only for their splendour – High Falls plunges over 30 metres - but also for their historic significance. This is where you can walk the very same path that voyageurs and fur traders used over 200 years ago.

For a number of years, the boundary between Canada and the United States was disputed by both sides. Both countries agreed that the line would be drawn along the main travel route. The problem was, no one could decide on the main travel route. The Americans claimed it was the Kaministikwia River, along Pickerel and Sturgeon Lakes and down the Maligne River to Lac la Croix and then to Lake of the Woods. The Canadians stated it was the Grand Portage route, along the Pigeon River to Lac la Croix and then Lake of the Woods. It’s true that the Kaministikwia route was the first to be used by the French fur traders. But the Grand Portage quickly became the more popular route because it was easier. And the only reason the Kaministikwia route was “re-discovered” later on was that the Grand Portage itself became American owned and the French and English had to use the alternate route.

David Thompson’s maps of 1823-24 settled the argument. He remarked that the voyageurs had to be “coaxed and bribed” to use the more difficult Kaministikwia route and that the Grand Portage and Pigeon River was the “customary waterway” because it had more navigable water. The interesting part, however, was that the Grand Portage route only had more water when Thompson went through because of unusually high water levels. If he had travelled through later on in the season, Quetico country may well have been part of the United States, not Pigeon River.

Getting There
Located near the Minnesota border, just west of Lake Superior; 68 km west of Thunder Bay along Highway 593. While there is no camping at Pigeon River, you can stay nearby at Kakabeka Falls.


Nearby and Natural



How to - Family camping at its best

Ontario Parks Insider

Ontario Parks offers an incredible variety of experiences in some of the most spectacular landscapes. Many of these places are a short hike from the campground and can easily be enjoyed by all. However, if you are like Paul Plant, a family man and avid park user, you know that many of the crown jewels lie in the backcountry. The young and adventurous might just grab some hot dogs and a canoe, but if you are like Paul and your family is involved, making the leap from car to wilderness camping is a strategic process. Ontario Parks sat down with Paul to discuss how he and his wife successfully planned and survived a wilderness family vacation with their teenage daughters.

OP: How did you get started?

Paul: “We have two daughters and we started car camping at Silent Lake with friends of ours who have three daughters around the same age. We started with short trips and slowly stayed longer as the kids grew older and gained more camping experience. Eventually we progressed to a five-day canoe trip in Killarney and then an eleven day trip down the Spanish River.”

OP: How did you get to the point where you knew you could do a backcountry family trip?

Paul: “It was really just a matter of time. Both families knew the value of going on a wilderness trip and the more we camped together the closer we got to planning a bigger trip. It helped that the kids were out of diapers.”

OP: Any convincing needed to get the kids along?

Paul: “No. The kids were keen to go. It was like one big sleepover for them. They all slept in one big tent. We also involved them in the planning process. Talked about what kinds of things they want to see and do as we went over the maps.”

OP: Any special considerations that you needed to take?

Paul: “Not really. We began stressing the need to be a minimalist while we were still car camping. Packing less and less gear and clothing helped practice light weight camping.”

OP: Any words of wisdom for someone looking to make the leap with their family?

Paul: “Make it fun and comfortable for the kids. If you do that then they will want to keep doing it. Be prepared and don’t try to push long days. Our kids had just as much fun playing cards and goofing around the campsite. Give them time to enjoy what they want and as they get older they will appreciate the other aspects of being in the wilderness.”

View images of the trip
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Inside Ontario Parks - A fiery friend

Ontario Parks Insider

The ideas behind forest fire suppression in Ontario Parks have altered greatly throughout the last century. They have gone from absolute prevention to allowing sections of a park to burn within safe parameters.

Early in the 20th century, catastrophic fires, many of them caused by human activities, escalated the public’s concern about the threat of wildfire. Efforts to detect and suppress wildfires increased greatly in 1917, after the Forest Fire Prevention Act was created. Fire lookout towers were established, followed by aerial patrols. It was even considered by some local politicians that more roads were necessary in some parks to prevent forest fires.

Times have changed. It’s now known that fire has many beneficial effects. Many forest communities are initiated by fire or depend on fire to maintain them. Snuffing out fires in parks can cause these forest types to disappear and be replaced by other species. Quetico’s old growth pine forests are a good example. Patches of red and white pine, some trees aging 400 years old, can be found throughout this wilderness park. With thick bark and branches positioned higher up on the trunk, an old-growth pine still stands after a surface fire. The wake of the fire opens up the forest floor and enriches the soil and releases seeds to allow for the species to regenerate.

In an effort to turn back the clock, fire managers in some Ontario Parks are currently igniting controlled fires (prescribed burns) to restore and maintain threatened ecosystems, such as the tallgrass prairie and oak savannah in southern Ontario. These areas, which include Ojibway Prairie, Pinery, Turkey Point, and Rondeau, provide important habitat for over 30 species at risk. The use of these prescribed burns is critical in removing non-native plant species that are threatening or choking off the natural order of the ecosystems.

Initially there was much public apprehension about allowing forest fires to burn in a beloved park. However this apprehension has largely been replaced by widespread support following the success of these programs in restoring the natural ecosystems.

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Ontario Parks Insider

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