SOMETHING SATURDAYS
  • The Blog
  • Travel
  • Index
  • About

Sault Ste. Marie Weekend

4/7/2017

1 Comment

 
To celebrate the long Canada Day weekend - and Canada's 150th birthday - we decided to set forth and explore a little bit more of the gigantic province that we live in, making our way up to Northern Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie.
Picture
On Friday morning we made our way to the airport, and were soon on our way, over the Great Lakes to Sault Ste. Marie. The flight takes about an hour and a half, which should give some idea as to how big Ontario is, especially considering that its not even half way across the province from Toronto.
Picture
Landing in Sault Ste. Marie, we picked up our rental car and headed straight for the cottage we'd booked for the weekend, picking up some supplies on the way. We stayed at Glenview Cottages, which was only a short drive north of town, and directly on the Trans Canada Highway, but felt like we were properly out in the (extremely expansive) woods. After settling in we went back into town for dinner. The place felt a bit more deserted than we were expecting, but we did find a bustling restaurant where we could enjoy some awesome grilled food.

On Saturday, Canada Day, we had booked ourselves onto the Agawa Canyon Train Tour, a 10-hour round trip into the the Northern Ontario wilderness. The weather was a little overcast, but we were still treated to some stunning scenery on the four hour trip from downtown Sault Ste. Marie to the heart of Agawa Canyon.
Picture
The train stops at the bottom of the canyon for an hour and half, so we could get off, stretch our legs and explore the nearby trails and waterfalls. We then spent the return journey having a nice long lunch in the dining cart, and a well deserved nap. Sitting down on a train all day is hard work.
Picture
We finally returned to the station in The Soo at around supper time, so we set off looking for some food before heading back to our cottage for the evening. We ended up finding a great Indian restaurant, for a traditional Canada Day curry buffet...

​On Sunday we enjoyed a bit of a lie in, and spent the morning lounging around the cottage and our campsite. In the afternoon, we set off in our car for a bit of exploration. We had set our sights on Pancake Bay, just 40 minutes away. The drive up the Trans Canada Highway took as up along the shore of Lake Superior where we were treated to more spectacular views. Arriving at the park, we decided to go for a quick stroll on the beach before taking on a nearby lookout hike through the woods.
Picture
The hike took about two hours and, despite the occasional patch of mud along the way, was pretty straightforward. While we often felt like we were exploring rural Newfoundland on this trip, this hike was very different to what one would encounter along the East Coast Trail, winding its way through spacious forests beneath a high canopy of tall deciduous trees, and encountering the odd chipmunk along the way.
Picture
At the end of the trail we encountered some steps that took us up to the top of a rocky outcrop, where we had a great view over Pancake Bay and Lake Superior. Here, we learned that Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world, and contains as much water as all of the other Great Lakes combined. A well deserved name then.
Picture
On our last day up North, after a morning hike by our cottage, we decided to check out the Sault Ste Marie Canal National Historic site. When we arrived, we first had a look around the locks themselves before renting a couple of off-roadin' "fat bikes", and taking them for a ride around the surrounding parks. The trails were a lot of fun, taking us over boardwalks, and through the woods, and providing some great views of the rapids after which Sault Ste. Marie is named ('Sault' coming from old French, meaning falls... or something... like somersault). We also happened to see a lot of wildlife on the trails, be it the numerous chipmunks standing directly in the way of our big fat tires, or the surprisingly placid Canada Geese floating on the ponds.
Picture
After the canal, we popped over to the Bushplane Heritage Museum to kill an hour before our flight and learn a bit about the pilots who navigate the wilds of Northern Ontario, and were pleasantly surprised. We first learned a bit about Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first female Canadian astronaut and Sault Ste. Marie native, before checking out the hangar full of planes big and small. The museum even featured a 3D movie about aerial firefighters as they tackled the largest forest fire in Ontario in a decade. Having been seen first-hand how thick and expansive the forests of Northern Ontario are, it was easy to imagine how fire can spread so quickly during a hot dry summer, and the footage of the raging inferno was pretty terrifying.
Picture
And that was it for our short adventure in Northern Ontario! From the museum we drove back to the airport to hop on our plane back to Toronto. Since the weather was so bright and clear on Monday, we were treated to a great view of Ontario from above, as our plane passed over Lake Huron and the surrounding wilderness, before returning to the extensive farmlands of Southern Ontario, and the sprawl of the GTA.

​Here are some more photographs from our weekend away:
This time last year we were celebrating Canada Day by running around Toronto in the dark. Two years ago we were road tripping around Newfoundland, visiting Lewsiporte, Boyd's Cove and Twillingate along the way.
1 Comment
Kay link
8/7/2017 09:16:26 am

Beautiful photos as usual!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About Us

    Picture
    We're Elizabeth and Luke.
    Join us on our weekly Something Saturday adventures, where we explore somewhere new or try something new! 
    ​
    Read more about us here.

    Follow along

    BLOGLOVIN'
    BY E-MAIL
    RSS FEED

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Asia
    Australia
    Beach
    Canada
    Cheese
    City Break
    Cuba
    Culture
    Curacao
    Diy
    Dogs
    Food
    France
    Games
    Hiking
    History
    Hong Kong
    Ireland
    Mexico
    Music
    Nature
    Newfoundland
    Ontario
    Ottawa
    Sport
    Sports
    St. John's
    Subway Saturday
    Toronto
    Uk
    United States
    USA

    Archives

    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.