Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: August 2020
We had such a wonderful time in Pancake Bay Provincial Park earlier in the summer during our first Northern Ontario road trip that we decided to return. It’s located on the northern shores of Lake Superior and is known for its beautiful sandy beach. It’s also conveniently located right off the Trans-Canada Highway just north of Sault Ste. Marie.
We had spent the previous two nights at Windy Lake Provincial Park just north of Sudbury. After making a few detours to get more groceries, go for a hike along the A.Y. Jackson Lookout Trail and visit the Big Nickel, the world’s largest coin, we set off for Pancake Bay.
The weather forecast was calling for a severe thunderstorm warning in the afternoon. When we were about 30 minutes from the park the storm rolled in with heavy rain. We luckily dodged most of the rain as by the time we arrived at the park, it was starting to clear. We picked up our park permit and some firewood and headed to our site. After eating some dinner, we walked to the beach. The clouds were starting to clear and the sun was starting to set. We then headed back to our site and got ready to go to bed.
The temperature dropped to 13°C overnight and it was still quite chilly when I woke up. I took a walk down to the beach to warm-up and get some pictures of the sunrise while K continued sleeping.
By the time I returned to our site, K was up. We decided to go for a hike along the Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout Trail while we waited for things to warm-up. The trail consists of three routes, so you can scale up or down depending on how much time you went to spend hiking.
The trail was named after the shipwreck, SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in Lake Superior during a storm in 1975. There is a scenic lookout along the trail, which provides a nice view of Lake Superior. From here you can see across to Whitefish Point, which is known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes”, which is a resting place for many ships.
We actually hiked this trail before when we visited Pancake Bay earlier in the summer. Flashbacks of mud, mosquitoes and fear immediately came flooding back. But it was later in the season, so it couldn’t possibly get any worse. But just to make sure, we decided just to hike to Pancake Falls (8.5km, rated moderate) and cut out the swampy area we hiked through last time.
The trailhead is located across Highway 17 from the campground. The first 1.6km is relatively flat with minimal elevation gain. The trail is well-marked by a series of blue markers with a hiker symbol. There is also a map of the trail at each junction.
When we reached the first junction we veered right towards Pancake Falls. The trail continues to weave through the forest, crosses a gravel road and winds back through the forest. Similar to last time, there was still a massive puddle on the road to hop over (more like wade through). The mosquitoes were also still very aggressive. Probably even more so because everything was still damp from the thunderstorm the day before.
The path then leads out to a wide gravel road, which we followed to the next junction. From here it’s another 530m down (key word being down) to the falls.
We turned around and hiked back the way we came to the parking lot. By this time it was starting to warm up outside. We drove back into the campground and headed to the covered picnic area to make breakfast. There are plenty of picnic tables here, creating a perfect spot to eat while overlooking the beach.
There is also a “Moments of Algoma” installation entitled Boxcar Artists in Wild Algoma locates here. The sign indicates that at the end of World War 1, before Highway 17 was built, a group of artists came to the Algoma wilderness. They stayed in a red boxcar along the side of the Algoma Central Railway. After two trips along this railway in the hills behind Pancake Bay Provincial Park, they started calling themselves the Group of Seven.
After finishing up a late breakfast, we set off to hike along the Pancake Bay Nature Trail, which is located near the Hilltop Campground. There were a few signs in the parking lot and at the trailhead to indicate that the area was closed. There was another couple there who called the park office and told us that apparently the boardwalk through the fen was closed, but we could hike along the other sections of the trail. Since the boardwalk is easily the highlight of the trail, we decided to return to our site and pack-up. We left the park around 11:30a.m.
We then headed to the next stop on our road trip: White Lake Provincial Park
L
I’m a sucker for cotton candy sunset skies, even more beautiful over a lake. Gott love rain when you are tenting, but it can make for pretty skies. Thanks for sharing. Stay well. Allan
For sure, sunsets in general are amazing, but even more so after a storm. And you know what they say, red skies at night, sailor’s delight. Take care.
Nice that you got to do the trail again with better results! Loved the sunset and sunrise photos. I just realized that I skipped ahead in my posts, so after the Chutes we will need to circle back to the Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout Trail 🙂
We were hesitant to hike the Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout Trail again after having to navigate through a swamp when we attempted this back in June. Glad the conditions were a lot better. I’m curious to hear about your experience hiking it (and visiting Chutes).
This place looks so calm and peaceful. And I always love a good sunset pic!
There’s nothing better than watching a nice sunset after a big storm. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Ah I love the photos! And the name, you have to have pancakes in pancake bay right?
How can you go wrong with a name like Pancake Bay? At yes, in retrospect we totally should have made pancakes for breakfast! Talk about a missed opportunity. Ha.
Another interesting connection with the Group of Seven.
One of the highlights of our Northern Ontario road trip was learning more about the history of the Group of Seven and seeing many of the landscapes that inspired their work. It became a bit of a scavenger hunt for us to try to find as many of these “Moments of Algoma” signs that provided some fun facts about the Group of Seven.
It’s a good idea, Moments of Algoma is a great way to add something to landscapes, if the artists have chosen them, it’s for good reasons.
For sure. It’s a neat way to showcase both the landscape and the Group of Seven. It also made me want to go visit the National Gallery of Canada or Art Gallery of Ontario to see more of the Group of Seven’s work.
I would also recommend a visit to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, where I saw the most complete collection on the Group of Seven.
I’ll have to check this out. I’ve never been there before. Thanks for the tip!
Pancake Bay had been recommended by a colleague. We only made a one hour stop on our way back from Thunder Bay end route to Sudbury. I only wish we had stayed longer. It was beautiful and the beach looked so inviting.
Those sunrise pictures are beautiful. I’m always too lazy to bother getting up for them. Despite always saying I would one day!
Definitely adding Pancake Bay on the itinerary for a long exploration next trip!
I highly recommend visiting Pancake Bay. The beach is really nice and there are some decent hiking trails. Not all the campsites are great though, but the ones parallel to the beach are really nice.
So serene and tranquil. Beautiful.
It’s amazing how calm it was after the storm. It was the perfect time to take pictures of the water.
That is a stunning beach and your photos at sunset are sensational. Those colours, the beach grass and the incredibly calm water paint a picture of pure peace. It’s great that you guys got to explore this area in so much depth over two trips.
It’s hard to believe that there are some really nice beaches along Lake Superior. Pancake Bay was easily one of my favourites. It sure made for some great photos of the sunset and sunrise. Thanks for reading.
You visit and bring some wondeful place in Canada to us. Thank you
Thanks for your kind words. We usually spend our vacation days outside of our home province of Ontario, but this year has certainly been different. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much there is to see and do in my own backyard. Thanks for reading and commenting.
It was my pleasure to read of some places I must get to