Leaving Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, it wasn’t a long drive to our next stop, Nipigon. It is the most northern city on the Great Lakes.
Crossing the Nipigon River that flows from Helen Lake to Nipigon Bay there is an interesting bridge. Aptly named the Nipigon River Bridge it consists of a pair of two lane cable-stayed bridges, the first of its kind in Ontario. It hasn’t been without iis problems as one side heaved apart for a period in 2016. It does look nice and shiny though. We stopped on the far side of the bridge where there is the Nipigon Lookout. Located there is a tower that gives you a great view of both the bridge and looking south towards Nipigon Bay. Interpretive panels located along the walkway off the parking lot reflect on the history of the area.
Continuing west along combined Trans Canada Highways 11/17 we turned south on Hwy 527 heading towards our next campground, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. This is a more remote location on the Sibley Peninsula and quite beautiful. Our campsite was located at Marie Louise Lake. The lake has a large sand beach and the Visitor Centre is located here. It is definitely worth a visit with great displays related to the nature and history of the area.
The park boasts over 100 kilometres of hiking trails, wonderful views of Lake Superior, mountain biking trails and, in the winter, 50 kilometres of groomed trails. During our stay we did two relatively short hikes. The first was the Sibley Creek Nature Trail. It was a quiet and enjoyable hike with lots to observe along the way.
Next morning we went on a hike that leads to the site named The Sea Lion. it was more demanding physically but had wonderful views of the lake and led to the rock structure the trail is named after. We learned that the head of this Sea Lion structure had fallen off. It looked less like a sea lion, to me, personally, and fellow hikers were offering a variety of suggestions of what they thought it resembled.
Another place we wanted to visit was Silver Islet, at the southern tip of the SIbley Peninsula. In 1868 silver was discovered on a small island offshore. Between 1870 and 1884 the mine, which eventually ran deep under Lake Superior, produced over $3 million worth of silver ore. A small town, associated with the mine, developed on the mainland and both were known, collectively, as Silver Islet. We stopped at the renovated General Store which was quite pleasant. The Tea Room was not open, unfortunately, but we took the time to look around the store and President Sibley’s Pool room, named after the head of the mining company. A marina is located behind the store.
A drive along the narrow road takes you past a variety cottages, some of which are the original miners homes, either well preserved or renovated after over 100 years. We were also able to hike into the Silver Islet Cemetery which was quite interesting. The graves are surrounded by picket fences, mostly falling down, and some headstones can still be seen. Most were wooden, however, and they are deteriorating. Over 60 men, women and children were buried at the site between the years 1870 and 1837.
The combination of the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park and the historic village of Silver Islet make this area of Northern Ontario a fabulous area to camp in and explore. We were so glad to have had put it on our list.
