🛶 Exploring the Backcountry of Ontario, Canada. 🛶 Wabakimi 🛶

Wabakimi Canoe Routes

Wabakimi Provincial Park

Wild Wabakimi Provincial Park has some of the best backcountry areas in Ontario! The Ontario Park internet site states “World-class wilderness canoeing, including over 2,000 kilometres of lake and river routes and some excellent whitewater” and this is very accurate. Its remoteness and pure vast size cannot be overstated. Just getting there from southern Ontario presented its own unique challenges. To maximize time on the trip and not driving there and back, we flew from Toronto to Thunder Bay. A new set of challenges, as gear and food for 10 to 14 day trips had to be prepared and packed for the plane via Air Canada. Travelling from Thunder Bay to Armstrong in a rental car, as Armstrong was used as our entry into Wabakimi. From Armstrong, we have taken both train or float plane to where we wanted to start or finish our route from within Wabakimi. So yes, the planning to get from Toronto to Thunder Bay by plane, renting a car to get from from Thunder Bay to Armstrong, and finally jumping on a train or float plane to get us into Wabakimi, took just a little planning…. But boy was it worth it! Preparing for the journey is half the excitement!

Wabakimi Canoe Routes

Wabakimi Provincial Park, Ontario,Canada

Wabakimi Canoe

Route #1

Wabakimi Canoe Route

This canoe route provides a bit of everything from white water rapids, lining your canoe down challenging sections of rivers, portages, and beautiful lakes & rivers that provided excellent fishing. We planned on doing this route over 10 days so that we could enjoy some time to explore and to also get some fishing in. The route is below and then I will go into greater detail about preparing and completing this very isolated trip in the remote backcountry of Wabakimi Provincial Park.

Flew from Toronto, Ontario, to Thunder Bay, Ontario
Rented a car in Thunder Bay and made the drive to Armstrong, Ontario
Attended Wabakimi Outfitters for canoe rental and overnight accommodation
Jumped on VIA Train from Armstrong with all our gear and canoe
Travelled west into Wabakimi Provincial Park
The train stopped at the Allan Water Bridge to allow us to start our journey from here
Started our journey paddling North up the Allan Water River
Termite Lake
Brennan Lake
Granite Lake
Lower Wabakimi Lake
Smoothrock Lake
Outlet Bay
North up the Berg River
White Water Lake
Explored the abandoned Ogoki Lodge
Explored Wendell Beckwith cabins
Picked up by float plane back to the Wabakimi Outfitters in Armstrong, Ontario

Total distance covered was 155 km (not including train or float plane)

Wabakimi Provincial Park

Link to Wabakimi Route 1 Photos

The Food Menu

Prior to flying from Toronto to Thunder Bay, the most significant planning and time, after settling on our route, was how to get 10+ days of food and all our gear on the Air Canada flight from Toronto to Thunder Bay. To accomplish this, 10+ days (breakfast, snacks, dinners) were all prepared beforehand and were dehydrated. The meals were then weighed out and vacuum sealed for the trip. Once this was done it all had to fit inside a 30 liter blue canoe barrel.

All of the below had to fit in the 30 liter barrel and be under 50 pounds for the flight.

Here is the dinner menu:

Spaghetti with beef
Chilli Mac
Sheppard’s Pie
Tuna Casserole
Hawaiian Caribbean Rice Gumbo
Hungarian Goulash
Pulled Pork
Beef Stew
Aztec Chicken

Breakfast:

Precooked steel cut oats packed with
Hemp seed
Flax seed
Canadian maple syrup
Coconut
Cinnamon
Dehydrated peanut butter
Fresh fruit dehydrated

Snacks included:

Homemade beef jerky in different flavours
Fresh fruit dehydrated
Homemade soups dehydrated (Split Pea Soup & French Onion)
Mac and cheese precooked and dehydrated
Baked beans with hot sauce dehydrated
Cliff Bars

wabakimi provincial park canoe backcountry quetico killarney david brazier photography

Wabakimi Outfitters

Wabakimi Canoe Outfitters

Wabakimi Outfitters, located in Armstrong, Ontario, provided great assistance with route planning and logistics. If you are considering a backcountry canoe trip in Wabakimi Provincial Park, reach out to them for assistance. The owner, Bruce Hyer, has great knowledge of the park and is very passionate with making sure your trip is well planned. I have provided a link below that takes you to their website that has all the contact information you would require.

Maps, canoe rental, securing float plane and train details was all taken care of by them.

Link to Wabakimi Outfitters

Wendell Beckwith

Wendell Beckwith Story

Wendell Beckwith lived a solitary life on Best Island, Whitewater Lake, in Wabakimi Provincial Park, a remote area in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, from 1961 until his death in 1980. He was known as a master woodworker, inventor, and free-thinking scientist, and his story has become part of local folklore.

Location:
Wendell Beckwith's home was located on Best Island, Whitewater Lake, within Wabakimi Provincial Park, a vast wilderness area north of Armstrong, Ontario.
Legacy:
His legacy includes his cabins, which still attract visitors, and a documentary film, "In Search of Wendell Beckwith," produced by Jim Hyder.
Scientific pursuits:
Beckwith was driven by a need to uncover natural laws and held remarkable scientific theories about the relationship between time and space.
Relationships:
He had relationships with Indigenous peoples in the area, who taught him survival skills and contributed to his collection of artifacts.
Artifacts:
The Thunder Bay Museum holds the records, artifacts, and other materials left behind by Beckwith.
Film:
A documentary film exploring Wendell Beckwith's life and legacy, produced by Jim Hyder, is available. See Link Here…

Film - In Search of Wendell Beckwith

Link to Wabakimi Wendell Beckwith Photos

Link to Wabakimi Route 1 Trip Photos

Wabakimi Canoe

Route #2

Wabakimi Canoe Route

This canoe route provides a more relaxed route from Route #1. There are no white water rapids or lining your canoe required. We planned on doing this route over 10 days so that we could enjoy some time to explore and to also get some fishing in. The route is below and then I will go into greater detail about preparing and completing this very isolated trip in the remote backcountry of Wabakimi Provincial Park.