Find Serenity, Privacy, and Comfort at the Nuthatch. Welcome to the Little Nuthatch Retreat, a lakeside garden sanctuary offering privacy and solitude for couples or small families. Located 2 minutes from Kagawong “Ontario’s Prettiest Village” and Bridal Veil Falls, the large one-bedroom cottage (two queen beds including linens/towels) offers rustic charm with all of the comforts of home including wifi, satellite TV, washer/drier, propane BBQ, private deck to enjoy the western view of Mudge Bay.
Old Mill Heritage Centre Kagawong Island community museums are filled to bursting with mementos of collective histories, gathered by dedicated Learn More
Beautiful campsites for trailers and tents on Lake Mindemoya’s southwest shoreline. This central location is your ideal starting point for Manitoulin Island day trips and exploring. Stanley Park is also a great spot to just stay put and enjoy our fitness room, children’s play area, pavilion, sandy beach, fishing, marina, convenience store, canoe and paddleboat rentals and generally relax in our friendly environment.
2 rustic family campgrounds plus, on Highway 6 less than 10 minutes north of the ferry.1) climax-forested and close to showers, playground, mini-putt, store, and a small WiFi access area,2) open-field in Canada’s first RASC-designated commercial Dark Sky Preserve for astronomy enthusiasts,plus 3) a scatter of hike-in tent sites for serious birders and trackers.Established in 1990, this 260+ acre site hosts miles of hiking trails through 4 distinct ecozones, several rental Teepees and Bunkies for the tent-averse, 3 forest sites with 20 amp service (no water or sewage hookups) plus a plethora of trailer or RV sites for the self-sufficient, and an increasing roster of family-friendly and accessible stellar and nature events.
Gore Bay Manitoulin Hotel has 5 completely equipped suites including full kitchens, barbecue & free wireless internet. The 1 & 2 bedroom units, on the third floor, have queen beds while the 3 & 4 bedroom ones, on the second floor, have 3 double beds & a queen bed. For your comfort, four pillows are provided on each bed plus all the usual bedding, towels, kitchen and bathroom supplies. For your entertainment, there is cable smart television, radio, music and movie players. For your convenience, there are several appliances including hair dryer, alarm clock, iron & board, vacuum cleaner. All services of Gore Bay are only minutes away.
With 1400 feet of waterfront on beautiful Lake Manitou, enjoy a true break from modern society. Make a connection with nature – No TV, no Wi-Fi. Six private, rustic, quality cottages are waiting to become your home for a peaceful and relaxing vacation. All lodges are well-equipped and ready to welcome you. All include a stone fireplace, built-in stoves, refrigerators and private 3-piece baths. Bedding, blankets and towels are not provided. Free use of canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and SUPs for all guests. Boat rentals and dockage available.
150 acre family cottage resort with fully equipped cottages, private beach and dock. Great fishing, incomparable sunsets and lifelong memories. Centrally located and close to shopping, hospitals and restaurants.
You might need a few trips to Manitoulin Island if you want to match the ambition of Islanders Kristin Bickell and Nat Hastings, two long-time friends who have made it their mission to paddle the circumference of every inland lake on Manitoulin, but even a day trip around one of the glimmering waterways might offer enough beauty to satisfy your quest for an adventure on a more manageable scale.
“We’re both people who are up for a challenge; we have a hard time saying ‘no’ to things. It’s just a way to challenge ourselves to stay active on the water and continue to explore Manitoulin,” said Ms. Hastings. “Right now, with what’s been going on with COVID-19, it’s even more of a reason to stay put and explore in our own backyard.”
This isn’t the first canoe-bound adventure for Ms. Bickell and Ms. Hastings. The two successfully circumnavigated the whole Island in a canoe over 13 days during the summer of 2019. Trying to cross off all the inland lakes seemed like the next natural progression.
Last year brought mixed results—they had great times on the smaller water but could not reach as many lakes as they first hoped. This was a teachable moment for them about making extensive plans rather than ‘winging it,’ as they shared with This is Manitoulin, noting they are planning a more structured approach for this year.
Whenever heading out on an outdoor adventure, it’s important to remember that there are always plenty of factors beyond one’s control, from weather to fatigue to an unexpected emergency.
The first step in planning a successful paddling trip is making sure you have the right amount and type of gear, starting with safety essentials. These include wearing properly fitting and up-to-code life jackets, making sure your boat is in good repair and that you have the right paddles to get the job done. An emergency kit is a must-have, which will feature a rope, whistle and waterproof flashlight, ideally within a small bucket-like container that can double as a bailing device if needed.
You’re free to add more items as you see fit, such as a compass, but it’s also important to make sure you don’t overpack and have too much gear to manage effectively.
Once your kit is ready, it’s time to plan out your ideal voyage. When selecting a lake, it’s probably best for beginner and mid-level paddlers to avoid the big water of Lake Huron and even some of the larger inland lakes like Lake Manitou, unless you know the area. These waters can be unpredictable and treacherous so starting with an easily accessible spot is generally a good plan.
A stop at a tiny beach on Manitoulin’s rugged Lake Huron shoreline. Photo by Warren Schlote
“Mother Nature is boss and she reminded us of that many times. The Island’s shorelines are rugged, the surrounding water is intimidatingly big, and the smallest amount of weather out there can make for challenging paddling conditions,” said the paddling duo, stressing the importance of knowing your comfort zone and adventuring within your limits.
Bass Lake in Sheguiandah can be a pleasant paddle for new and experienced boaters alike. The duo behind ‘The Attempt’ journeyed its 8.4-kilometre shoreline as the first entry into their inland lake challenge last summer.
As Ms. Bickell and Ms. Hastings can attest, the scenery available on Manitoulin’s many lakes is varied and can offer years of new experiences while voyaging around more than 100 inland waterways.
“(The trip around Manitoulin) felt worth it all of the time. We got to see the Island in a way that was better than we could have ever imagined. It can be easy to forget that we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and that all of this is within arm’s reach,” they said.
It’s always important to let others know of your plans just in case you should ever need assistance, whether they’re nearby or checking in from a distance. Besides, it never hurts to have someone to snap your next Instagram photo from the shore.
On the water you are guaranteed a sunset a day. Photo by Warren Schlote
The process of getting out on the water can seem intimidating for newer paddlers but thankfully, there are places on Manitoulin Island that can help you out.
If you’re looking for a quick way to see the hotspots on Manitoulin with an expert leader, other organizations like Wikwemikong Tourism offer guided adventures (Wiikwemkoong.ca/tourism/tours; 705-859-3122) including day-trip paddling treks and multi-day adventures over longer distances.
If you don’t have your own canoe or kayak, call ahead to check on the availability of rentals as this summer season unfolds.
As for the two behind The Attempt, they have their eyes set on crossing more lakes off their 2021 to-do list. It’s a rejuvenating activity in what’s been an otherwise hectic year for the pair.
“I think both Nat and I would agree that taking care of yourself is so important. Paddling in this beautiful landscape and all lakes that we have can do wonders for your mental health and happiness in general,” Ms. Bickell said.
Ms. Hastings and Ms. Bickell plan to make this year more interactive, featuring immersive tripping videos, safety advice, helpful tips and, of course, more gorgeous photos from their treks on the water.
To keep up with the progress during The Attempt, follow their adventure on Facebook by searching for the official page, @TheAttemptManitoulin.
The pleasures of a picturesque small village—a swoon-worthy crescent of palest-sand beach, evening strolls and serenades on the boardwalk, fish and chips, ice cream, Russian pancakes, fine dining … Aaahhh, Providence Bay in summer—the perfect Island getaway from your Island getaway, should you need one.
Providence Bay’s enduring attractions also include its nearly 150-year-old annual agricultural fair in August, a popular marina and a June bluegrass festival under the stars; vintage tourist cottages and tent and trailer parks, motel and lakeview B&B are always booked solid. In more recent history, new businesses have merged seamlessly into the country village vibe, adding much to the economic viability and lasting appeal of this tiny Island treasure.
At the centre of the village and steps to the beach, the 10,000 square-foot Mutchmor building can’t be missed: a vividly coloured mural covers the entire south-facing wall of the original furniture store and the McDermid hardware store that operated here since the 1930s.
In 2016, young entrepreneurs Matthew Garniss (who was already operating Lake Huron Fish and Chips up the street) and spouse Bridget Sarpong, imagining a combination of café, gallery and gift shop in the cavernous space, took the leap of faith required to purchase the building. Now, the renovated space, renamed after an early lumber entrepreneur in Prov (as the village is known to locals), is the bustling setting for the welcoming Peace Café with its communal table and benches, sofas and armchairs amid the sprawling bazaar of thoughtfully-chosen wares that takes up three quarters of the main floor, and a long gallery wall of art in front of which to enjoy your espresso.
The Mutchmor’s long gallery walls. Photo by Isobel Harry.
“We wanted to be half-city, half-country, to expose people to broader communities,” says Matthew of their urban concept transplanted to this, well, much less urban outpost. “We’re a blend of rural and town, offering things you might see where you live, but many you would not see normally. We buy things that we love and that sell. For the vendors, the rent is not high, we can play around a bit every year with what works.”
Last season, the gallery featured Julieanne Steedman (Sudbury area and Manitoulin) and Beth Lindner (McGregor Bay), both artists of vibrant northern landscapes that visitors loved and bought. “The art we show at the Mutchmor is approachable and affordable. Bridget and I have picked up art in Marrakesh, in Ghana, Tibetan pieces—we want to show our excitement here about art from all over. The gallery, in the main space, will show one or two artists, or a group, each season,” adds Matthew.
We stroll through the market space, appreciating summer local Rick McKenzie’s photos on canvas, pottery mugs by Greg Voisin (Hamilton), the “functional and sculptural” pottery of daughter and mother Antje Hettmann and the hand-wrought jewelry of Ursula Hettmann (Manitoulin). Bridget and Matthew designed the t-shirts with retro fictional logos proclaiming ‘Camp Prov,’ ‘Prov Bay Pinecones’ and ‘Cold Lake Swim Club,’ much to the liking of the many who snapped them up last summer. There are photos by Vladimir Kabelik (Oakville), witty plexiglass pieces by Kazys Tamasauskas and photos by Jim Ryce (Toronto), soaps, leather bags, cushions, linen and screenprinted clothing, large dreamcatchers called ‘Aga Orbs,’ and an alcove off the main space devoted to Matthew’s dad’s vintage assortment of books, records and collectables.
Artful and eclectic, like Providence Bay itself.
Mutchmor Lofts, Gallery & Peace Café Open May to October Tel: 705-377-4703 www.themutchmor.com
It’s all about love at Lillian’s teeming crafts shop and museum at the crossroads in M’Chigeeng First Nation—the same love for collecting that Lillian Debassige first felt 60 years ago suffuses Lillian’s Crafts and Museum today.
“I started buying baskets in the 1950s,” says Lillian as we tour her museum in the big back room of the overflowing store at the edge of the beach at West Bay. Lillian’s Museum is a collector’s dream, paintings are hung everywhere, glass cases brim with exquisite bead and quill work, walls are stacked high with black ash and pine needle baskets woven with consummate skill and artistry. “I don’t know what it is with baskets,” she says, still a little amazed at what’s she’s gathered over the years. “I just love baskets.”
Lillian, from Kentucky, met Lloyd Debassige from West Bay (now M’Chigeeng) in Chicago and together they came to Lloyd’s Island home in 1962 to buy the building that stood here then. They returned in 1966, this time to stay, and started a restaurant until they tore it down and built the current place so Lillian could open a gift shop. Local basket weavers and crafters would bring their works for her to sell and she ended up buying many for her ever-growing personal collection.
“I wanted to show what I collected; for me, sharing the beauty of the art was the most important part of collecting. There were lots of baskets being made then, and almost none now,” Lillian says, taking in the hundreds of finely crafted pieces of local craftsmanship she acquired over the years. “Baskets are very hard work. The bark of the black ash is removed first, then the log is pounded until the layers of the tree separate into thin ribbons for weaving into baskets. The young kids are not doing this work.”
The gallery also features supplies required to make Indigenous crafts. Photo by Isobel Harry.
Painstakingly crafted and decorated quill boxes are highlighted in glass cases centered in the room; small cards bearing photos and names identify the women who made them by hand many years ago. “They’re gone,” says Lillian of her beloved artists of the porcupine quill. “Anne Pangowish, Josette Debassige, Henrietta Toulouse, Mildred Aguonie, Mamie Migwans.” The stunning quill boxes of Mamie Migwans with their shaman figures taken from petroglyphs line one case; the indescribably beautiful tufted quill animals of Rose Williams are startlingly three-dimensional. “You have to be a sculptor to do tufted quills,” Lillian explains as she shows how the quills are placed straight up with the colours arranged in the planned pattern. “Then you sculpt them down.” She demonstrates, waving an imaginary knife above and through them to carve out the final imagery.
But Lillian’s is also an art gallery that is proud to show talented Indigenous artists’ works, most of them in the ‘Woodland School’ style, for sale.
Illuminated against the back wall are large paintings by Leland Bell. “I love Leland’s work. Everyone loves it,” Lillian says of his timeless towering figures in hot blues and oranges and blazing white. Painters Stan Panamick, Blair Debassige, Stephen John, Duncan Pheasant, all vividly represented in nooks and crannies, on walls and shelves, pottery by Carl Beam, Ann Beam, David Migwans and leather work and bone and antler carvings by many other fine artists.
In the shop, Lillian bustles, answering questions and working the cash register. Much is for sale here and in the museum, but Lillian Debassige’s lifetime cultural collection remains a community heirloom beyond price.
Lillian’s Crafts and Museum 5950 Hwy 540 M’Chigeeng First Nation Tel 705-377-4987 www.lillianscrafts.ca
The morning of the long-awaited excursion is wet; rain, misting at first, turning into a soaker. Nevertheless we persist, unlocking the newly-installed metal gate off an unremarkable lane in the village of Sheguiandah and closing it behind us.
Ahead, a newly-built boardwalk and sets of stairs climb the gently rising escarpment until they vanish into the forest. We are entering the Sheguiandah National Historic Site of Canada, one of the oldest archaeological sites in the country, open this year for the first time ever to the public: Spring 2021.
The earth beneath our feet was laid down 450 million years ago, in successive layers over millennia, on top of what had come before, the two-billion-year-old quartzite bedrock of the Canadian Shield, or Precambrian Shield. On Manitoulin, quartzite is visible in only a few places, in high spots, usually, where the brilliant white rock was the only landform standing above the waters of glacial Lake Algonquin (ancient Lake Huron) over 10,000 years ago. As the waters receded at the end of the last Ice Age, sediment covered the rock below the water line, leaving exposed knobs of quartzite behind. It is then that the Island’s first inhabitants arrived here, moving north as the glaciers retreated and water levels fell, drawn by the glinting white stones’ great utility in quarrying for tools and spear points.
Dr. Patrick Julig picks up pieces of quartzite roughly chipped into usable tools thousands of years ago. Photo by Isobel Harry.
Guiding a sneak preview of the upcoming site tours (pending pandemic conditions) is Dr. Patrick Julig, the geo-archeologist of Sudbury’s Laurentian University who, in 1991, along with Dr. Peter Storck of the Royal Ontario Museum, re-opened the long-abandoned excavations first dug by Dr. Thomas Lee in the 1950s. The team analyzed thousands of found stone implements and geological samples and carbon-dated the site to 10,000 years B.C.E., or about 11,000 calendar years ago.
“The heritage value of the remains found in Sheguiandah,” reads the Canadian Register of Historic Places, “resides in a series of successive cultural occupations of early inhabitants in what is now Ontario, beginning circa 11,000 B.C.E. with the Paleo-Indian Period during the recession of glacial Lake Algonquin. The site also contains artifacts from the Archaic Period (1000-500 B.C.E.) as well as Point Peninsula Culture stone tools associated with the Middle Woodland Period (0 – 500 C.E.).”
The Sheguiandah site offers the thrilling opportunity to experience these ‘successive cultural occupations,’ one after the other, on a guided tour.
“We are walking back in time,” says Dr. Julig as we begin our ascent, describing our trek upward through a series of ancient beach terraces representing different cultural periods, based on the tools and other artifacts found here and on analyses of the earth’s layers.
Earlier, during our orientation in the gazebo at the edge of Sheguiandah Bay, Dr. Julig pointed to the treed escarpment that lines the other (east) side of the bay to explain the beach levels corresponding to different eras that are clearly visible as “steps” in that ridge. The natural landform is a geological record of the ancient glacial lake waters receding through time – remaining at one level for thousands of years, carving a step, or beach, into the ridge – down to the modern water levels we know. Similarly, as we go up the Sheguiandah site hill, each new beach level is higher and older geologically than the last, ending with the oldest part of the site at the top. These older and successfully newer sites correspond to the historic access to the quartzite, from the water, as the ice sheet gradually melted and, over time, access was gained to lower and lower sites.
Dr. Patrick Julig is the geo-archeologist who, in 1991, along with colleague Dr. Peter Storck, carbon-dated the Sheguiandah quarry site to 11,000 calendar years ago. Dr. Julig was instrumental in designing the sensitive site for public access. Photo by Isobel Harry.
From the edge of the bay to the trailhead, just a few hundred yards up a low rise, we have already gone back in time 2,000 years, to the first ancient raised beach terrace on this walk (or the last, and earliest, if you count back from the oldest, top level), the 2,000-year-old Algoma water level. Here lived nomadic people known in anthropology as ‘Late Woodland,’ tribes that traded copper goods, shells and flint tools, made pottery pipes and vessels, baskets and worked hides.
The beach levels are highlighted in a series of 12 explanatory plaques along the boardwalk, as are the corresponding periods of human activity, offering a rare ‘living lesson’ in the prehistory of Manitoulin Island as we walk. “The people kept coming back here to work the site,” says Dr. Julig. “They first arrived to work the quartzite at the top and as more and more land became exposed as the water lowered to the present-day levels over thousands of years, succeeding groups of nomadic people arrived to quarry and live here for brief periods.”
Accompanying us is Heidi Ferguson, economic development officer for Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI), who has worked with the municipality, landowners, the Archaeology Division of the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries and with some First Nations chiefs and Dr. Julig for several years on bringing the development of the site to fruition. Both Ms. Ferguson and Dr. Julig underline the importance of conservation in the planning, building and ongoing use of the site. “The site is very sensitive to disturbance,” says Dr. Julig. “We ask visitors to stay on the boardwalk, to protect the ancient artifacts.”
“We continue preserving, studying and exhibiting collections of artifacts that tell the story of the Anishnabek and earlier Indigenous cultures that quarried, camped, fished, hunted, gathered and traded around Sheguiandah Bay,” Ms. Ferguson adds.
New steps and boardwalk weave through the forest on their ascent back in time.
Photo by Isobel Harry.
For history, geology, anthropology and archeology buffs, hikers, lifelong learners and kids, the Sheguiandah site is a magical place of wonder. The forest provides a leafy backdrop to contemplation and imagination as we rise through the millennia. We move up to the Nipissing beach terrace as Dr. Julig explains the ancient seasonal uses of certain plant species for medicines, dyes and foods including rare-for-Manitoulin blueberries found here in the more acidic soil around quartzite. This beach level, the archeologist says, dates to around 5,500 years ago, and evidence of people of the Archaic era—large quartzite bifaces (the beginnings of their distinctive notched spear points)—has been found near here.
Upward we go, ever farther back in prehistory, reading about fossils found in the 450 million-year-old Mystic Ridge area, learning from Dr. Julig’s intimate knowledge of the site since the ‘90s and of the controversies surrounding the dating of the site since the 1950s. The relatively flat ‘Habitation Area’ is the site of the first excavations of Dr. Lee. Here, in these shallow rocky pits, the scientist found the knives and scrapers that would have been used in a camp or habitation area, animal bones, pigment of the ‘Late Paleoindian’ period, when humans first appeared in the archeological record in North America.
By the time we reach the top, the immensity of what we’ve just experienced as we time-travelled up through this silent forest of ancient secrets is finally felt. We seem to exhale all at once, standing here on the fabled quartzite, eyes tracing the gently sloping landscape as it glides down to Sheguiandah Bay and the Modern Era.
The approximately one-hour-long guided tours can be booked in advance at the Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah or online.
An interactive exhibit with site artifacts may be viewed at the Museum.
