Staff Pick

Road Trip Manitoulin – Island Loop & Anishinaabe Culture

Little Current South Baymouth
300
km
5h30
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

Manitoulin Island, the world's largest freshwater island (2,766 km²), is reached via Espanola (Highway 6) or by Chi-Cheemaun ferry from Tobermory. Its 13,000 residents — 40% Anishinaabe (Ojibwe, Odawa, Pottawatomi) — live in six First Nations communities and a dozen villages.

Little Current, the northern hub, has Canada's only remaining manually operated swing bridge — it opens hourly in summer for sailboats. Wikwemikong, Canada's largest unceded reserve, hosts a world-renowned international pow-wow each August. M'Chigeeng's tipi-shaped Immaculate Conception Church blends Catholicism and Anishinaabe spirituality.

Kagawong's Bridal Veil Falls — walkable behind the curtain — plunges into a cave. The Cup and Saucer Trail (2.5 km, 70 m cliff-top panorama over 30 km of lakes) is the signature hike. South Baymouth, the southern terminus, hosts the Chi-Cheemaun ferry (2h30 to Tobermory).

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    Cup and Saucer Trail
    2.5 km trail, 70 m cliff, panorama over 30 km of lakes.
  • ✦
    Bridal Veil Falls (Kagawong)
    Veil waterfall, trail behind the curtain.
  • ✦
    Wikwemikong Pow-Wow
    Annual international pow-wow, Canada's largest unceded reserve.
  • ✦
    Little Current Swing Bridge
    Canada's only manually operated swing bridge still in service.

Fishing Spots Along the Route

🎣
Aird Bay
Lake
🎣
Anderson Lake
Lake
🎣
Andress Lake
Lake
🎣
Apsey Lake
Lake
🎣
Archie's Lake
Lake
🎣
Baker's Bay
Lake
🎣
Bass Bay
Lake
🎣
Bass Creek Bay
Lake

Protected areas along the route

🌿
BLUE JAY CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
STRAWBERRY ISLAND PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Great Lakes Coastal Areas - Sudbury (B)
Enhanced Management Area
🌿
The Rural Settlements
General Use Area
🌿
The North Channel
General Use Area
🌿
Urban Cores
General Use Area
🌿
LA CLOCHE RIDGE CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
Lake Manitou, Michael's, Providence and Srigley Bays
General Use Area
🌿
Great Lakes Coastal Areas - Sudbury (D)
Enhanced Management Area
🌿
Bay of Islands, McGregor Bay
General Use Area
🌿
Lake Huron
General Use Area
🌿
LA CLOCHE PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park

Take this route offline

Cell coverage thins out fast once you leave Little Current. Export the map as a geo-referenced PDF before you go and open it in BorealMaps — your GPS position shows on the map with no signal at all.

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Practical info
  • Departure Little Current
  • Destination South Baymouth
  • Distance 300 km
  • Duration 5h30
  • Category Long (250–500 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
island Indigenous Hiking waterfall ferry ojibwe ontario road-trip

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