Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: July 2021
Mikisew Provincial Park is located on Eagle Lake near South River. It was named after the Ojibwe word for eagle. It offers a slew of outdoor recreational activities including some usual ones like fishing, swimming and hiking, and some unusual ones like disc golf and paddleboarding.
After spending the last couple of nights at Restoule, it was time to move on. We woke up bright and early and arrived at Mikisew at 9:45a.m. We were eager to hit the trails.
Mikisew offers five hiking trails, all of which can be combined to form a longer 5.4km continuous loop. We parked at the beach area in the Hardwood Campground and found the trailhead for the Lakeview Trail (300m one-way) at the southern edge of the beach. The trail hugs the shoreline of Eagle Lake and leads to a point jutting out along the water.
The trail connects with the Point Trail (300m one-way) and continues to follow the shore of the lake, ending at another beach area. From here we walked along the road for a short stretch to reach the Old Dog Trail (800m one-way). The path winds into the forest and meets up with the Maple Canyon Trail. Alternatively you could turn right to access the Beaver Meadow Trail and the road back to the Park Office. There were a few muddy patches and hordes of mosquitoes along the way. Good thing we came prepared with insect repellent.
The Maple Canyon Trail (2.3km loop) continues to weave deeper through the forest and is marked with blue posts. The trail showcases two rocky outcrops and a changing forest.
The trail leads to the Beaver Meadow Trail (2km loop) and the junction is signed with a post with a red and blue marker. This time we followed the red posts through the forest. Alternatively there’s a short connector path that leads back to the main road and Park Office for those who have had enough hiking.
Much of the path winds through the woods, but there are a couple of scenic lookouts of the marsh, including a small boardwalk.
The final stretch of the trail runs through the disc golf area. Mikisew offers two courses, a smaller 9-hole course, which is meant for beginners or a warm-up, and a larger 18-hole course. Discs are for sale or rental at the Park Office across the road from the courses.
The trail comes out to the road, which we walked along this for a short stretch into the campground and back to the beach area where we parked. We then hopped back in our car and continued driving south towards Huntsville.
L
My progress on the Ontario Parks Challenge can be found here
This looks like a lovely park to hike in! The name doesn’t ring a bell and I can’t remember seeing it on our trip north, so I’ll have to look it up. Thanks for sharing!
We were pleasantly surprised at how much there is to do at this park besides hiking. The campgrounds looked decent and the facilities were clean. It’s located just south of North Bay, so it’s not too far of a trek from the city. I would definitely return and perhaps check out the disc golf courses!
We had to Google what disc golf is….never heard of it before! We obviously need to get out more!
I’ve seen it in a few parks here in Ontario, but have never actually played it before. It looked quite popular given how many people were playing along the two courses. It seems like it would be interesting to try.
I love the image of the giant Eagle next to the sign. Is it carved of wood or rock or something else? How awesome that someone would take the time to do that.
The eagle next to the park sign looked like it was carved of wood. Some parks add their own unique design to their entrance sign, which I’ve always enjoyed. This one is definitely one of the better designs.
This park has disc golf! Such a fun game.
I’ve only ever seen disc golf offered at one other provincial park in Ontario. This park offered two courses. This looked like a popular activity given how many people were playing.
The landscape of the area looks particularly great, the woodland and the lush greens.
It was nice to hike along the entire trail system to explore the landscape and all the greenery in the park. It’s a lovely area and there’s a bit of something here for everyone at this park.
That’s quite a trail! How long did it take for you to cover it?
It’s nice that the trails connect and can form a longer loop depending on whether you’re up for a longer hike. It took us just under two hours to complete the entire trail system, which was about 5.4km in length. It was a nice way to explore the different habitats in the park.
That’s pretty good, I assume that under two hours is one way!
It was actually a loop, so it was just under two hours round trip 🙂
That seems like fun, not too strenuous I guess!
For sure! The trails were all relatively flat, so it wasn’t particularly challenging or anything.
How interesting to learn that there is a frisbee golf course there. We discovered the game a few years back in Finland and enjoyed playing so much that we bought our own set to take home. We have a few courses where we can play about 10 miles from.our home but haven’t used our equipment as much as we would have liked.
I’ve never actually played disc golf before. Considering how many people were playing, it looked like it was pretty popular. Maybe we should give this a whirl next summer. That’s awesome that you have your own set and that there’s a course nearby. Now that the pandemic is more under control (fingers crossed it stays that way), hopefully you can get out and play more.
I hope so too. The disc set wasn’t very expensive and the courses are all free to play on. We just have to remember to keep the set in the car boot on the off chance we find a course!
That’s nice that the courses are free to play on. That’s a good idea to just leave it your car then. I tend to do the same with certain things too, like bug spray or an extra pair of running shoes. Just in case.
I’m also surprised to hear that the park has disc golf on offer! I would love to play that while hiking 😁. And again, what a lovely walk through the forest – looks like an enjoyable hike!
I haven’t been to many parks that offer disc golf. Considering how many people were playing, I’d say it was more popular than the hiking trails or beaches. I guess we should return sometime to test out the courses and our hand-eye coordination. Perhaps after a glass of wine.
Now, that will be fun 😅
For sure 🙂
With all that water around, I can see why the mosquitoes love it. Looks like some very walkable trails there, none the less. We have a First Nation group in Alberta named the Mikisew Cree. I would think the word means the same in Cree. Cheers. Allan
Marshes are a mosquito’s paradise afterall. Thankfully we came well prepared and had sprayed ourselves with copious amounts of buy spray beforehand. The trail system was very well designed and it’s nice how the trails are connected to form a longer (or shorter) loop. It’s a good way to explore more of the park. Have a good weekend. Linda
I’ve never heard of disc golf before, so I had to look it up. Very interesting!
The park looks lovely with a nice water area, clean trails and I’m always a sucker for a nicely maintained boardwalk.
Way to go for scoring another patch!
I’ve never played disc golf before either and I had no idea it was so popular. We saw more people playing disc golf than we did on the trails or beach areas. Mikisew has a relatively small campground, but sure packs a punch in terms of activities. I’m glad we visited earlier in the summer while patches were still in stock.
Another nice park for a walk. It’s funny to find the same names over and over again, beaver, maple, lakeview, I guess it’s due to the consistency of the scenery.
Not to mention that those names sound very Canadian! We’ve hiked a few trails that have all been named Beaver Pond Trail this year. I guess they ran out of creative ideas for names.
That’s a very pretty park and the eagle at the gate is gorgeous!
This is one of the nicest park entrance signs that we’ve seen. It’s always neat when parks add something special to to it. I also liked that their park patch also featured an eagle.
Another great hike guys. I also had to Google Disc Golf! You learn something new every day, what a curious activity.
I’ve never actually played disc golf before, but it looks interesting. It seemed pretty popular considering how many people were playing. I guess it’s a nice activity to do as a family.
One can virtually walk thru your serene, scenic, marvelous photography. Thanks for the tour!
Thanks for your kind words and lovely comment. It’s always enjoyable to spend time in nature. Oh how I miss those warm summer days and all that greenery now that we’re approaching winter.
You’re welcome. Noticeably missing, here in Michigan, this year has been the “second summer” that typically arrives following fall’s first frost. I, too, miss the warmth; don’t look forward to, what the Mamas and the Papas refer to as the, “leaves of brown” and “sky of gray”.
We were lucky and had really nice weather this fall. Things are finally starting to cool off though. It’s only a matter of time until we get some snow. I am not looking forward to those skies of gray either.
Considering the climate change issues, I suppose we should be savoring our fall and winter moments more; while they last.
For sure. The weather seems to be more extreme these days. Growing up we used to have snow on the ground every December, now it’s hit or miss.
I hear ya. Predicting weather is getting tougher, at times with each passing hour.
No kidding! But hey, at least we’re not up in the mountains where the weather is predictably unpredictable. Despite that, it would be lovely to live near the mountains someday.
My kind of park–looks like a lot to see without a lot of hiking. 😊 About disc golf: we have them around here in a couple of parks. I’ve tried and tried, and just can’t make the discs go anywhere near where they should go!
It’s sometimes nice to get all the good views without having to put in much effort. I’ve only ever seen disc golf in a few parks and have yet to try it. I don’t have the best hand-eye coordination either, so it should be … interesting.
I love the eagle at the gate, and that view over the bridge in to the trees. Another beautiful walk 🙂
It’s neat how some parks add their own unique design to their entrance sign. The eagle was beautiful and I like that they incorporated it into their park badge as well. The trail system at this park was easy to navigate and it was a nice way to spend our morning. Thanks for reading. Linda
Calmness and Serenity. Thanks.
It’s amazing just how refreshed and relaxed I feel after spending the day outside enjoying nature and the wilderness around me. It definitely brings me much calmness in this crazy world. Enjoy the rest of your week.
It touches my heart when the original native (First Nations in your land) names are used and their meanings are respected. The images of the eagle makes the name come alive. I like the bridge through the marsh.
I completely agree. It’s great to see some parks, places or trails whose names originate from the words or phrases of Indigenous peoples. The eagle at the park entrance sign was very beautifully designed and helps capture the meaning behind the name Mikisew.