Special Insider Offers

Use your FREE Canadian Geographic Trans Canada Eco Tour guide (Value $14.95) to discover the natural wonders of the area.

Save $40 on a combination package of learning how to sea kayak and touring the spectacular shoreline of Lake Superior with Caribou Expeditions.  Enjoy a delicious lake trout or whitefish dinner (buy one, get one half price) at the famous Voyageurs’ Lodge & Cookhouse.

Get 2 for 1 admission (Value $10.50) at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, an RV-friendly attraction in nearby Sault Ste. Marie.  See classic bushplanes like the de Havilland Beaver and Otter or the Republic SeaBee and learn about the “new voyageurs of the air”.

Click here for more details on these exciting Insider offers.

Ask an Expert

Scott Adams is a noted kayak instructor turned RV owner. Sounds silly, but according to his wife, four-year old daughter and him, change is good.  So, rather then spend their holidays this summer paddling Superior the family went on their first RV trip, which happened to include Pancake Bay Provincial Park. On his return he made a long list of tips and tricks he learned along the way. Here’s what he noted when driving the scenic, but very hilly section of Superior’s Trans Canada Highway:

• After using your brakes a fair amount all day they’re definitely going to be hot, which isn’t the best. But even worse is that when they do eventually cool down while camped along Superior for the night the brakes attract moisture from the air. With the moisture sitting on the metal surface of the brakes a thin film of rust will form and definitely cause problems on your next day’s drive. Avoiding the problem is easy, however. Just start your drive through the campground by gently pressing the brake pedal or activate the brake controller as you drive along slowly. This will scrape the rust off the brake shoes or discs.
• Use the same gear to descend a hill that you would going up. And make sure you’re in low gear before you start down a hill. This action uses the transmission  to slow you down at first and save wear and tear on your brakes.
• If you do need to use your brakes a fair amount while going downhill, don’t keep your foot on the pedal all the way. Brake harder, but less frequently to allow the brake discs to cool down. If you smell them burning it may mean trouble later on.

Did You Know

Immortalized by Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald which sank off nearby Whitefish Point in 1975 with its 29 crewmen, is now one of the most memorable shipwrecks in the world.

When christened in 1958, the Big Fitz was claimed by the press as “the largest man-made object ever to be dropped into fresh water.”  It was considered a symbol of progress and what some mariners even labelled “our unstoppable future.”

How ironic. The year it sank the same ship was ticketed by the crew as a bruised and ailing vessel that continuously took on water. Some have even alleged it was slowly sinking well before the storm hit and tossed thousands of tonnes of water onto its deck. After diving to the wreck, famed ocean explorer, Jacques Cousteau, made the claim that the large ore carrier cracked apart on the surface.  The U.S. Coast Guard believed the ship took a nose dive between a massive wave and broke apart when it hit bottom. Whatever the cause may have been, of all of the ships on Lake Superior that stormy day, only the Big Fitz sank.

The only thing that’s known for sure about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald is what Lightfoot’s song brings to mind in his verse “And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters"

Paddle for Superior

Joanie and Gary McGuffin have spent a good portion of their lives paddling, protecting and promoting the wonders of Lake Superior.  When asked what would be the best way to share in these experiences, they suggested camping at Pancake Bay Provincial Park and participating in Paddle for Superior.

On Saturday, August 25, this special day long event, organized by the Lake Superior Conservancy and Watershed Council, will see you paddling in Voyageur canoes from Pancake Bay to Batchawana Bay. The event also includes a pancake breakfast, a visit with Batchawana First Nations, and dinner and live music at the Voyageurs' Lodge and Cookhouse.

Recipe - Bannock Pancakes

What more fitting recipe for Pancake Bay Provincial Park then pancakes. But not just pancakes - pancakes made from bannock - just how the voyageurs would have them.

Ingredients:
½ cup white flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbs. powdered milk
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients. Add water SLOWLY to make batter. Fry in oiled pan at moderate heat. Serve with syrup.

Nearby and Interesting

Beach it for the day at Batchawana Bay Provincial Park

Dine at the Voyageurs' Cookhouse Restaurant

Shop 'till you drop at Agawa Indian Crafts and Canadian Carver

Train ride through the Agawa Canyon

Visit the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre

Visit the Sault Canal National Historic Site

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!

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