Crown Land on Manitoulin Island

12 crown land sites 8 fishing spots 8 campgrounds

Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world, set in Lake Huron between the North Channel and Georgian Bay — a landscape of alvars, escarpment ridges and more than a hundred inland lakes, reached by the swing bridge at Little Current or the Chi-Cheemaun ferry from Tobermory. Public land here is scarce rather than sprawling: the island is mostly private farmland and First Nations territory, including Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, with small provincial parcels like Blue Jay Creek Provincial Park about 21 km southeast of Mindemoya. The real draws are the water and the walking — Lake Manitou, Lake Mindemoya and Kagawong Lake for fishing, the Cup and Saucer Trail's escarpment lookouts and Bridal Veil Falls at Kagawong. This page rounds up the region's public land, fishing spots, campgrounds and road trips.

Map

Crown Land Nearby

🌲
Lake Manitou, Michael's, Providence and Srigley Bays
General Use Area
15 km
🌲
Lake Huron
General Use Area
17 km
🌲
The Rural Settlements
General Use Area
18 km
🌲
BLUE JAY CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
21 km
🌲
Urban Cores
General Use Area
25 km
🌲
The North Channel
General Use Area
25 km
🌲
STRAWBERRY ISLAND PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
33 km
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Deer Yards
General Use Area
34 km
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Great Lakes Coastal Areas - Sudbury (B)
Enhanced Management Area
38 km
🌲
MAC'S BAY CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
38 km
🌲
MISERY BAY PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
41 km
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LA CLOCHE PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
42 km

Nearest Fishing Spots

🎣
Mindemoya Lake
1 km
🎣
West Bay
3 km
🎣
Oakes Lake
4 km
🎣
Spring Bay
4 km
🎣
Whitefish Lake
6 km
🎣
Monkhouse Bay
6 km
🎣
Sidney Cox Bay
7 km
🎣
Spring Bay
7 km

Nearest Campgrounds

🏕️
Idyll Glen RV Park
Mindemoya
4 km
🏕️
Stanley Park Campgrounds
Spring Bay
5 km
🏕️
Providence Bay Tent & Trailer Park
Providence Bay
13 km
🏕️
Manitoulin Resort Ltd
Manitowaning
25 km
🏕️
Green Acres Manitoulin
, Sheguiandah, Ontario
26 km
🏕️
Batman’s Cottages and Campground
Sheguiandah
27 km
🏕️
Spanish River Resort Camp; Campground
Spanish
48 km
🏕️
Brennan Harbour RV Park
Spanish
49 km

Road Trips Nearby

🚗
Road Trip Manitoulin – Island Loop & Anishinaabe Culture
South Baymouth
300 km
🚗
Road Trip Sudbury to Manitoulin Island – World's Largest Freshwater Island
Manitoulin Island
180 km

Crown land by city on Manitoulin Island

Espanola Sudbury North Bay Temiskaming Shores Timmins Cochrane Kapuskasing Hearst

Explore the region

Killarney Spanish River French River Lake Nipissing Marten River Temagami

Frequently Asked Questions

Very little — the island is largely private farmland and First Nations territory, including Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory in the east. Public land is limited to small parcels like Blue Jay Creek Provincial Park and scattered shoreline blocks, so don't plan a free-camping trip around it.

Realistically no — Ontario's crown land rule (free for Canadian residents, up to 21 days at one site) applies to almost nothing here. Plan on the island's campgrounds instead: about ten sit within an hour of Mindemoya, from Providence Bay's beachfront park to sites at Spring Bay and Manitowaning.

Lake Manitou — the largest lake on a freshwater island anywhere — holds lake trout; Lake Mindemoya gives up walleye, smallmouth and perch; Kagawong Lake adds rainbow trout; and the North Channel produces salmon and big rainbow. All of it requires a valid Ontario fishing licence.

Year-round via Highway 6 and the one-lane swing bridge at Little Current, or spring through fall aboard the Chi-Cheemaun ferry from Tobermory to South Baymouth — the classic circle tour links the two with stops at Bridal Veil Falls and the Cup and Saucer Trail.

Offline maps around Manitoulin Island

Public land near Manitoulin Island runs well past the last cell tower. Export the area as a geo-referenced PDF and read it in BorealMaps to keep your GPS position on the map when the signal drops.

Try PDF Export How geo-referenced PDF maps work

Regulations

A valid Ontario fishing licence (with an Outdoors Card) is required on every lake — Manitoulin's inland waters fall under Zone 10, several lakes carry lake trout seasons and limits, and the surrounding Lake Huron and North Channel waters have their own Great Lakes rules. There is almost no crown land on the island, so the free-camping rule for Canadian residents rarely applies — use the campgrounds, and never camp, launch or wander onto private or First Nations land without permission. The Cup and Saucer Trail crosses conservancy land: stay on the marked route.

Explore the interactive map

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