Length of stay: 2 days
Visited: June 2020
Jutting out along the Sibley Peninsula, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is reputed to offer some of the best views overlooking the sparkling blue waters of Lake Superior and wildlife in northern Ontario. The park gets its name from a great land formation that when viewed from Thunder Bay, resembles a giant lying on its back. With over 100km of hiking trails, there are plenty of opportunities to see all the (non-sleepy) natural wonders in Sleeping Giant.
It was a scenic, but long drive from Pancake Bay to Sleeping Giant. But worth it. We entered the park around 9p.m and as we were nearing the Marie Louise Campground, Sleeping Giant lived up to its reputation for having excellent wildlife viewing as we spotted a coyote, rabbit, deer and a black bear. It was my ideal bear encounter: me inside the safety of a car and bear along the side of the road.
We were a bit worried as the bear was within a few kilometres of the entrance to the campground and we happened to have booked a secluded site. There are 200 campsites at the Marie Louise Campground, ten of which are located on the west shore of the lake, about 12km from the park entrance. And to make matters more interesting, on the drive to the secluded campsites, we spotted another black bear on the road.
When we reached our site (#510), we were overcome by a different type of fear: being eaten alive by mosquitoes. We parked our car and were required to walk about 150m in to get to our campsite down by the lake. Thankfully the mosquitoes weren’t nearly as bad on the actual site. The site was small and there was only really room for one tent, but it came fully equipped with a picnic table, fire pit and a nice view of the lake.
By the time we set up our tent and brought our sleeping bags and sleeping pads down from the car into the tent, it was approaching 10p.m. We also didn’t feel like having dinner with a side of mosquitoes. So we decided to just go to bed.
Day 1: Top of the Giant
We woke up around 7a.m and the mosquitoes were out in full force. In an attempt to escape the bugs, we drove to the beach area to make breakfast out in the open. It was a bit chilly outside and overcast. It even lightly sprinkled on and off while making and eating breakfast.
Afterwards we drove to the park office to register and collect our permit for the park. At this point the clouds were starting to clear and according to the park ranger, it wasn’t supposed to rain for the remainder of the day. We figured we might as well hike along the most popular trail in the park – the Top of the Giant Trail (22.4km round trip, rated difficult).
The trailhead is located just off of Highway 587 near the Silver Islet Township. To get to the trailhead for the Top of the Giant Trail, you have to first hike along the South Kabeyun Trail for about 8km. The trail is relatively flat and some people even bike this part to considerably shorten the hike.Shortly after starting the hike, there’s a mini detour along the Sea Lion Trail (800m round trip, rated moderate) that leads to the edge of a cliff, overlooking an arch on Lake Superior.
We continued along the South Kabeyun Trail and took another short detour along the Tee Harbour Trail (800m round trip). There’s a few backcountry campsites here with a small seating area of logs along the shore of Lake Superior. Seemed like the perfect place to take a break.
From the Tee Harbour Junction, we continued hiking along the Kabeyun Trail to the South Talus Lake Trail Junction. There’s a bike rack here as the terrain becomes progressively more challenging at this point. We hiked along part of the Talus Lake Trail to reach the trailhead for the Top of the Giant Trail (6.6km round trip, rated difficult).
At this point the trail begins the climb up one of the tallest cliffs in Ontario. The “top of the stairs” is easily the most challenging portion of the trail. It’s a gruelling 1.2km vertical ascent up the cliff, but there are a series of wooden and stone steps, which helped with the climb. There are also some pretty spectacular views along the way, which provided great motivation and a good excuse to stop and take a (break and a) picture.
From the top of the stairs, it’s another 1.2km to the Tee Harbour Lookout. The trail is (thankfully) relatively flat, winds through the forest, and leads to a stunningly scenic lookout over Lake Superior.
From there it’s a short push to get to the Gorge Lookout, which marks the end of the trail (and the best view in the park). We took a break here to eat our lunch and admire the views before heading back.
We hiked back the same way we came in, making plenty of stops along the way. We wrapped up our hike at 5p.m. Even though we were hungry, we decided to first go for a swim and wash away all the sweat and bug spray before heading back to our campsite to make dinner. We were a bit concerned about the bug situation based on how active they were in the morning, but there was a nice breeze rolling in off the lake. We roasted some veggies over the fire and made some veggie burgers.
Day 2: Middlebrun Bay
We woke up to another nice day with blues skies and sun. We were able to make breakfast at our site as the mosquitoes weren’t too bad. Afterwards we packed up our gear and headed out to hike.
We drove back to the southern part of the park near Silver Islet, a small community located at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula. This area was once used to mine silver and the town was built along the rocky shore nearby.
We hiked along the Middlebrun Bay Trail (9.8km roundtrip, rated moderate). The trail first leads to Middlebrun Bay, a secluded sandy beach before continuing onward to Finlay Bay. The first part of the path is reasonably flat, but becomes a bit more rugged past Middlebrun Bay. It wasn’t abundantly clear where the trail actually ends, but we followed it to the shore of Finlay Bay just past the lone backcountry campsite. We took a small break at the campsite before hiking back the way we came.
We contemplated going for another hike, but opted to go swimming instead. It was getting hot outside (27°C) and we were still pretty tired from hiking to the Top of the Giant from the day before.
After eating some lunch, we headed out of the park, but first stopped to hike along the Sifting Lake Trail (4.2km round trip, rated easy) on the drive out. This trail was recommended by the park ranger that checked us in, was relatively short and and rated as easy, so we figured why not. The trail passes red and white pine stands before leading to the shores of Sifting Lake. We were spoiled on our previous hikes in Sleeping Giant as there were hardly any bugs around, but that’s probably because they were all at Sifting Lake.
From there it’s about a 3 hour drive to our next destination: Neys Provincial Park.
L
What gorgeous views! And you packed in some very nice hikes as well!
Sleeping Giant was easily one of the highlights from our Northern Ontario road trip. It had great hiking trails, views of Lake Superior, campsites, and wildlife viewing opportunities. What more could you want in a provincial park!?
Those darn skeeters. That is why I say, my favourite summer weather is about +23 with a 20 km wind blowing. The wind howled here all night long. Sounds a lot like win…er fall. Stay well and thanks for sharing. Allan
At least we knew beforehand that the mosquitoes would be terrible so we came prepared and covered ourselves in bug spray. The worst is when hiking later in the summer when you just assume the mosquitoes can’t possibly be so bad. And they are. And then you have regrets about not putting any insect repellent on. Having a nice breeze in the summer is always pleasant. Hopefully we still have a few more weeks of nice weather! Thanks for reading.
North-western Ontario has some of the most beautiful scenery. I was intrigued by Thunder Bay. I lived in Ontario for twenty-five years and there is so much to see. It’s a huge province. I remember travelling to Portage La Prairie in Manitoba from Brampton, Ontario and I thought we’d never get out of the province LOL. Lake Superior is stunning, as is Georgian Bay. Thank you for sharing this as well as your wonderful photographs. Canada is such an immense and beautiful land. Thank you for sharing this small piece of it.
It’s hard for me to believe that if it weren’t for the pandemic, I likely never would have embarked on this Northern Ontario road trip. I’m glad I had the opportunity to explore more around Georgian Bay and Lake Superior as it is such a beautiful area of the province (and country). And yes, it was quite the long drive! Many thanks for reading and commenting.
I am glad for you that you got to see such stellar beauty. And, you’re welcome.
I liked your introduction to the wilderness so close to the tent, it gives another dimension to the hikes. The photos are inspiring. Thanks.
It certainly was a great start to our visit to Sleeping Giant to pass a bunch of wildlife, including two black bears, on the drive into the campground. I’m happy we saw the bears from the safety of our car rather than out on our trail or at our actual campsite. It was a good reminder that we’re in bear country and to be bear aware. Thanks for reading.
Wow! Those are marvellous sights! But the mozzies. Yikes. They have been so bad this year.
The mosquitoes have been terrible. But that’s maybe because I’ve spent more time outside in Ontario this summer than usual. Insect repellent was on sale at Costco this week and I didn’t hesitate to stock up.
I would love to spend a summer in Ontario exploring. I agree with the bear sighting from the car – the BEST way to see one. I’ve had a few too many bear encounters and always hope my luck will not run out.
Having a bear encounter is always a good reminder to keep a bare campsite in bear territory. I’ve only ever seen bears (both black and grizzly) by the side of the road while driving and never on the trail. And I’m okay with that. Northern Ontario is quite lovely. I’m glad I had the opportunity to explore more of it this summer (one of the benefits of the pandemic I guess). Take care.
I am loving this series of posts! The cliffs and rock formations along Lake Superior are amazing.
Despite living in Ontario for my entire life, this is the first time I’ve travelled to Northern Ontario. I still can’t get over that all of this is in my home province and I’m only finding out about it now. The landscape around Lake Superior is just so beautiful, which makes for amazing hikes in the area. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Wow that looks like a wonderful area to go hiking in! Bug spray is always a must on hiking trips when the temperatures are high enough
Some of the best trails we’ve hiked on our Northern Ontario road trip have been in Sleeping Giant. The views of Lake Superior are just incredible and there are fabulous wildlife viewing opportunities. It’s also in the middle of nowhere, so we felt like we had the park all to ourselves. Well, us and the mosquitoes.
Sounds magical
Amazing views!
It was well worth the drive and the hiking to see such great views of Lake Superior and the surrounding area. As an added bonus, there were great views of the wildlife along the way! Thanks for reading.
This looks like such a beautiful provincial park for hikes (minus the mosquitoes)! It has been on my list for so long, maybe one day!
I started planning our Northern Ontario road trip just to visit Sleeping Giant. It was easily one of the best provincial parks I’ve visited and was a highlight of this trip. The campground is small so the park never felt overcrowded, the hiking is incredible, and we had our best wildlife viewing here.
You are truly brave! If I had ever seen a bear on any trip, I’m not sure I could sleep soundly in a tent. But with the scenery you’ve shown here, I can see why you would go multiple times. So gorgeous!
I’m glad we were in the car when we encountered the bears. But yes, it certainly was a bit disconcerting to come across them so close to the campground. Even more so because we booked a site in a very secluded section. We just made such to keep all our food, dishes, and camping stove in the car when not in use. And to not drink a lot of water before bed, because let’s be real, there’s no way I was going to leave my night in the middle of the night when it’s dark outside.
Hiking tomorrow
Kinda nervous about the whole thing
Trying to chunk it down since we are biking in – how long is the trek up? I was wheezing and huffing at centinnial – i bet i will struggle with my breath on this one
We were a bit concerned about the distance too as the trail to the Top of the Giant is 22.4km. But if you’re biking, you can easily knock off 16km round trip. There are a series of switchbacks and stairs that lead up the cliff, but there are some pretty awesome views along the way to provide good motivation to continue upwards and onwards. Just bring plenty of water and snacks and take your time. And even if you don’t make it to the top, there are nice stops along the way that provide lovely views of the shoreline that make it worth hiking even part of the trail.
Breathtaking nature wonder. Miss hiking. It is safer for now to stay home as the air here is unhealthy. Thanks for the adventure. Stay safe.
The views (of Lake Superior and the wildlife) were nothing short of spectacular at Sleeping Giant. We’ve been fortunate that we were still able to get outside and travel around our home province of Ontario this summer. Cases have been rising here and we’re not sure whether parks and many of the hiking trails will close again. Take care. Stay healthy.
Thanks
Sleeping Giant was beautiful. We did the Sea Lion hike and loved it. Top of the Giant was not in the cards with our five year old. But it means we’ll just need to come back another time when he’s older. :$
Yes, the Top of the Giant is definitely not a kid friendly trail. We were only here for two days and I felt like that wasn’t enough time to fully explore Sleeping Giant. Hopefully we’ll return next summer and if so, we’ll have to hit this park up again, along with a few others in the Thunder Bay area. I regret not making a detour to Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, especially since it was along the way.
You’ll definitely have to do Ouimet Canyon. It was amazing. Didn’t expect that at all!
For sure, and Eagle Canyon too. I just read your post about the places you visited in Thunder Bay on your Northern Ontario road trip and have some new places to add to my itinerary for when I return (hopefully next summer).
Eagle Canyon was awesome. I have to say I nearly sh*t my pants crossing that suspension bridge but makes a great story. Haha. Enjoy!
Beautiful area. And how fun to see all of that wildlife (not the mosquitoes). 🙂
We were off to such a great start in Sleeping Giant by spotting all that wildlife by the side of the road, including the two black bears. And it just kept getting better. If travel restrictions remain in place (which they probably will), we’re planning to return next summer. We’ll probably go later in the summer this time in the hopes that the mosquitoes won’t be as aggressive.