Click here to 
White Lake Provincial Park
American Angler magazine has rated White Lake Provincial Park one of the top ten fishing locations in Ontario “offering some of the best walleye and pike fishing in the North”. Fishing hot spots are accessible right from the campground.
But White Lake is more than just fishing. Other outdoor opportunities abound in this provincial park. The beach offers a large swimming area with shallow waters ideal for children. The region’s vast Boreal Forest may be explored on day use hiking trails. Boaters and paddlers may choose from the park’s smaller interior lakes accessible by trail, White Lake’s large northern basin and smaller southern one (total size is 6,500 hectares), to the challenges of the White River canoe route. This river is the only one flowing into Lake Superior with good water levels throughout the summer season making it the perfect canoeing experience.
There’s more. Through evening programs, guided hikes, guest speakers and special events, visitors are introduced to the park’s natural features, Aboriginal and fur trade history and logging heritage. You’ll test your skills in sawing and nail driving during “Log Drive Days”. Not to be missed is the spirit campfire with ghost’s from White Lake’s past.
As you head towards White Lake, be sure to allow plenty of time to experience the Canadian side of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. Along the way, you can explore other parks such as Pancake Bay, Lake Superior and Obatanga as well as other area attractions. It’s a vacation with a lifetime of memories and photos everyone will envy.
Special Insider Offers
To enhance your Lake Superior Circle Tour trip, you will receive a FREE Trans Canada Highway Ecotour Guide from Sault Ste Marie to Pigeon River (value $14.95). The guide uncovers the secrets of the many special places and native plant and animal species en route. To help you explore White Lake Provincial Park and its surrounding area, you will also receive a FREE copy of The Adventure Map of White River and area by Chrismar (value $12.95).
Click here for details on these special offers.
Ask an Expert
Knowing how to tie a perfect knot may come as second nature to some people. But to most, the ability seems almost hopeless. According to paddling expert, Kevin Callan, the Bowline is the most useful of all the non-slip loop knots. Use the catchy “rabbit and the hole” chant to help you remember how to tie it - "the rabbit comes out of the hole, round the tree, and back down the hole again." The hole is a small loop formed by twisting the rope; the rabbit is the free end of the rope; and, the tree is the other standing part of the rope. For added security, complete the knot with a figure-eight or two half hitches.
More specific to White Lake and still under the Ask The Expert category, be sure to speak to staff about the White River canoe route. As mentioned, it is considered the best all-around river for canoeing in the entire Lake Superior watershed.
Did You Know?
The Ojibwa people named White Lake, ‘Natamasagami’, meaning “first lake from Lake Superior”. However, a map from 1832 based on a survey of Lake Superior by the famous explorer David Thompson, notes “Wabista Sipi or White River, navigable by small canoes”. The Ojibwa word for white is “Waabishki”. While we often attribute many place names in Canada to European explorers, it seems that more often than not, the true roots are in Aboriginal languages. There’s no better example than Canada itself.
Follow in Famous Footsteps
In the broader paddling community Verlen Kruger is a widely known and respected. Before the 45,000 kilometer canoe journey around and through North America which made him world famous, Kruger paddled the White River to Lake Superior and hiked to Tip Top Mountain, the highest peak along the coast at almost 700 Meters.
Verlen Kruger passed away in 2004. By then he had paddled some 160,000 kilometers, earning him 11 Guinness World Records and the American Canoe Association’s “Legends of Paddling Award.”
Better known to Canadians is Bill Mason. This region of Lake Superior was favored by this modern day voyageur, who paddled many of its rivers. In fact, the superintendent of White Lake Provincial Park, Bryan Loop, met Bill one September morning in the 1980s as he prepared for a trip down the White River. Bill Mason’s writings and photographs celebrate both the landscape and canoeing as an art form. www.canoemuseum.net
Winnie the Pooh
The nearby town of White River is the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh. That’s right. As the story goes, during the First World War a train full of troops from western Canada stopped at the town on their way east eventually to be transported to England. While there, Lieutenant Harry Colebourn purchased an orphaned black bear cub for $20. The bear soon became the troop’s mascot and Colebourn named her 'Winnipeg', after his hometown, or 'Winnie' for short.
When Colebourn went to battle in France he gave the bear to the London Zoo on loan. Winnie soon became all the rage and became especially popular with a young boy named Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne. Which of us has not read the book, been given a Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear, watched the animated shows or seen the 2004 movie? Winnie’s story is known world-wide.
In addition to a statue of Winnie at White River, the town hosts an annual Winnie the Pooh festival the third week in August. And, be sure to take home some Winnie memorabilia from the very place in all started.
Recipe - Sante Fe Fish Cakes
Ingredients:
1 lb walleye (pickerel) or pike
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups dried potato flakes
2 tbs. cilantro
1 tsp. dehydrated jalapeno pepper
1/2 tsp. dried onion
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 egg white or 1/2 cup powdered egg
1 cup dehydrated salsa
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Directions:
In a small pot, combine reconstituted potatoes flakes, fish pieces, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, salt and pepper. Divide the contents into small bundles and shape them into round cakes. Dredge in flour. Dip them in egg white (or reconstituted powdered egg). Dredge them again in cornmeal. Bake in deep frying pan. Reconstitute salsa sauce in 1/4 cup boiling water and serve on top of fish cakes.
Nearby and Interesting
The area west of the town of White River and visible from Highway 17, are the gold mines of Hemlo. In the early 1980s, this area experienced a staking rush not seen in Canada since the Klondike gold rush of the late 1800s. To date, some 6 million ounces of gold have come from the mines of Hemlo.
Day hike in Pukaskawa National Park and walk across the White River suspension bridge.
Visit Pooh Park and Heritage Museum
Pooh Festival in White River
Other interesting places and activities can be found at North of Superior Travel and Lake Superior Circle Tour.
Share a Tale or Say It with Photos
The above photo was submitted by Martin of Kingston, Ontario. Martin writes, "I took this photo while staying at Presqui'le Provincial Park. The Dragon Fly is noticeably the more highly evolved in the insect world."
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!
