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For a Backcountry Adventure we recommend Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater
Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is a wilderness preserve like no other. At almost three times the size of Perth, Australia with 72,400 hectares, this expansive park is representative of Ontario’s rugged Canadian Shield the roots of ancient mountains and the transition area between the vast northern Boreal Forest and the southern deciduous forest. Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater comprises a continuum of parks that offer backcountry enthusiasts great paddling and hiking adventures. Lady Evely-Smoothwater is ideal for both the novice or experienced backcountry traveller. Choose to develop new skills or test your finely tuned capabilities.
Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater provides outdoor adventure amongst outstanding landscape features. From its high ridges such as Maple Mountain and Ishpatina Ridge to the impressive Helen Falls; this unsurpassed wilderness park promises an unparalleled experience with every visit.
For the backcountry wilderness enthusiast, Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater offers the rugged terrain of Ontario’s old growth forests, sheer rock cliffs and outcroppings of the Canadian Shield. It holds some of the most interesting and dramatic geography in Northern Ontario.
With too many lakes and portages to mention everyday offers a different experience. With more than 600 km of canoe routes, you can plan an excursion that will challenge you like no other and will take you back hundreds of years in time. The jumping off point for the park is the town of Temagami, on Highway 11 one hour from North Bay.
More about Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park
Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park reservations
Ask an Expert: Backcountry Etiquette
Be prepared to walk on the wild side.
Careful planning is where any trip to a wilderness park begins and the proper gear isn’t the only thing to bring with you. Understanding each park’s rules and having backcountry awareness is as equally important to a safe and enjoyable trip.
- Always have the appropriate maps and a compass
- A permit is necessary for all interior/backcountry camping and you must stay on a designated site
- Using a portable stove is preferable to an open fire
- Cans and bottles are prohibited and always pack-out your garbage
- Don’t leave food on an unattended campsite and bury human waste far from the campsite and water’s edge
Northern Ontario boasts demanding wilderness conditions, so enjoy it safely while preserving the natural integrity of the area.
Did you Know? - Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater
Choose your own adventure! Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Provincial Park allows you to choose where your journey will take you. For example, it is connected by water and portage to four other parks, thus creating a virtual paddling network.
Makobe-Grays River Provincial Park
A small, bedrock-controlled river which flows northwards from headwaters within Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater. This route is best done early in the season while water levels are higher.
Obabika River Provincial Park
The upper basin of Lady Evelyn Lake lies within the waterway park and includes a number of private recreation camps and cottages, commercial tourist lodges and moderate motor boat traffic. Most canoeists use this route to Maple Mountain.
Solace Provincial Park
Dominated by Jack pine and mixed forest, the park's lakes provide habitat for both Lake and Brook trout. This chain of lakes can only be accessed by paddling other routes of by floatplane.
Sturgeon Provincial Park
3,912 hectares, this park extends for 56 km along the Sturgeon River, encompassing 200 metres from high water shoreline on either bank. This is a remote and white-water filled route.
Ishpatina Ridge
Imagine taking a photograph from the highest point of Ontario.
Ishpatina Ridge, located in Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Provincial Park and 90 km north of Sudbury, is impressive to say the least. The numbers speak for themselves:
· The Ridge is a striking 693 metres above sea level
· Consisting of Precambrian rock, this dome rises roughly 300 metres above the surrounding terrain
· It is the result of geo-physical change other thousands of years
Follow in Famous Footsteps: Grey Owl
Walk in the footsteps of Grey Owl.
The Englishman Archie Belaney, known as “Grey Owl”, was one of Canada's first conservationists. He was a true outdoor enthusiast, friend of the beaver, and brother to natives.
In the early 1900's, while living in the wilderness with the Ojibway people in the Temagami area, Archie began a journey which would make him a legend. Presenting himself as an Aboriginal person, Archie became Grey Owl, an advocate for conservation and a revolutionary author – his writings focused on wilderness preservation.
You can trace his footsteps across a great deal of Northern Ontario, starting in Temagami.
More about Grey Owl
Backcountry Recipes
Smoothwater Outfitters & Ecolodge
Temagami Blueberry Bannock
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached white flour to 1/2 cup other flour (try buckwheat, hemp or combo of each)
1 tbsp. oil or melted butter
1 egg
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Blueberries
Cooking instructions
Add enough liquid so it's the consistency of a drop cake. If you're canoe camping or backpacking, milk powder, dehydrated eggs and even left over soup work beautifully.
Drop your batter into hot oil or butter. When first side begins to bubble, drop in blueberries and flip. Your bannock is cooked when golden brown on both sides.
Share a Tale or Say It with Photos
Sure, we'll give you a glimpse of what you can expect on your northern adventure, but the best stories and photos are always first hand.
It might be a story of the lake trout which got away, a picture of the incredible Northern Lights, or even a poem about that first time you heard the call of a loon!
For a chance to have your story or photo featured in an upcoming issue of the Insider, email us your story or photos today! Everyone who makes a submission will also be entered into a monthly draw for great parks gear!
WIN The Great Ontario Outdoor Adventure of a Lifetime
Experience Ontario's spectacular scenery in ways you've never imagined. Take three guests on a five-day tour of warm hospitality and guided adventure through one of the most beautiful, natural regions on the planet - Temagami.
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