June 29 Fort Frances, ON to Quetico Provincial Parrk (Atikokan, ON)

Very foggy this morning when we woke up but no rain, fortunately. We decided to breakfast somewhere along the road and have motel room coffee. Rain has been forecast for the Quetico area in the afternoon. We wanted to get there early enough to enjoy it. It’s about 2 hours from Fort Frances.

Taking Hwy 11 across goes through some remote territory. Nothing of note except a lot of lakes and trees. We pulled off at a viewpoint, which was overgrown, and had a very light breakfast.

We stopped in Atikokan about 30 minutes west of the entrance to Quetico PP and did some food shopping. Atikokan calls itself the canoe capital of the world. Not much else to say about it. Sometimes you have to wonder why these small remote towns still exist.

We arrived in Quetico before lunch. The sun had come out and it’s lovely and warm… and buggy! We put the bug tent up and then had to take it down pending a thunderstorm. We went for an hour long walk on the trail along the lake swatting mosquitoes the whole time. Northern Ontario at its best in late June.

This is a Provincial Park that my husband has been wanting to visit since he was young. It always seemed so remote. The road only goes through the top of it. Most of the campsites are accessible only by boat or on foot.

Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, known for its excellent canoeing and fishing. In 1909, an Order in Council by the Government of Ontario established the Quetico Forest Reserve. The park shares its southern border with Minnesota‘s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is part of the larger Superior National Forest. These large wilderness parks are often collectively referred to as the Boundary Waters or the Quetico-Superior Country.

The origin of the park’s name is obscure. Locals say the park is named after the “Quebec Timber Company”. The name may also be a version of the French words quête de la côte, which means “search for the coast”. It may also be from an Ojibwe name for a benevolent spirit who resides in places of great beauty.

The park has been completely protected from logging since 1971. Motor vehicles, including boats, were banned in the Quetico in 1979. An exception allows members of the Lac La Croix Guides Association, part of the Lac La Croix First Nation, to operate power boats with engines of no more than 10 horsepower.

Quetico Provincial Park is home to many different species of animals. Because of Quetico’s strict regulations for keeping the habitat of these animals unchanged, there are a wide variety of animals that will be seen during a visit to Quetico. A majority of the animals include small mammals. 

More wild flowers:

After a short period of rain, the sun is out for a while and we’ve moved back outside, until the next thunderstorm. Dinner tonight is easy, leftover Walleye from last night, fresh peas and asparagus. We can cook/eat inside if necessary.

Back to Ontario Provincial Parks where designated facilities have washers and dryers. We have one very close to our site so I took advantage of getting a load done.