Help with planning Northwest Ontario trip

[steve_in_il]

OK friends of John Dee. I need some assistance. I would like to try and plan a "circle tour" starting in Fort Frances, Ontario (40 miles east or west would work too). The OFSC website shows trails that go through Sioux Narrows, Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Aitikokan, to name most of the major towns. 200 - 250 miles per day is the goal. Has anyone spent much time in this area? Any suggestions on places to stay? Areas to avoid? Areas with no fuel stops for 150 miles (don't laugh....some of this is remote country)? The Interactive Trail Guide on the OFSC site is pretty sparse for this region. Thoughts anyone? Thanks in advance!

 

[Admin]

There's a pretty good radio station in Thunder Bay (pick it up here in the Keweenaw in the higher ground). 94.3.

Seriously though, sounds like a very adventuresome trip Steve! Good luck and I hope you get some good info.

-John

 

[steve_in_il]

There's a pretty good radio station in Thunder Bay (pick it up here in the Keweenaw in the higher ground). 94.3.

Seriously though, sounds like a very adventuresome trip Steve! Good luck and I hope you get some good info.

-John

Good music is ALWAYS good John! Thanks! I know it seems weird, but Thunder Bay is actually kind of a "dead spot" in the Ontario trail system. The trail heads into town from the West and then there is a fairly substantial gap...over 100 miles...before the trail system picks up again.

The adventuresome aspect is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish...thanks for the well wishes!!

 

[momoney2123]

I go up to minaki every year fishing, which is a little north of kenora on the winnipeg river. I know a trail goes right across big sand lake from minaki, which comes from kenora. I have always wanted to ride up there. Minaki has lots of gas/lodging in the summer, but I would doubt in the winter. Kenora will def have everything. But from there north it may be tough. If you do this please let us know how it was/where you went. I figured if I ever did this I would start in the baudette, mn area and ride around lake of the woods towards souix narrows and north to kenora. Not sure whats between those stops tho and how far they are by trail.

 

[steve_in_il]

I go up to minaki every year fishing, which is a little north of kenora on the winnipeg river. I know a trail goes right across big sand lake from minaki, which comes from kenora. I have always wanted to ride up there. Minaki has lots of gas/lodging in the summer, but I would doubt in the winter. Kenora will def have everything. But from there north it may be tough. If you do this please let us know how it was/where you went. I figured if I ever did this I would start in the baudette, mn area and ride around lake of the woods towards souix narrows and north to kenora. Not sure whats between those stops tho and how far they are by trail.

Thanks for the reply momoney2123. I've been going fishing in Minaki every Summer since 1968. Of course I started going there when I was 6 months old....OK, maybe a little older than that! Started staying at Minaki Lodge (when the CN railroad owned it)...switched to Holst Point Lodge (before it burned down and Duane turned it into Paradise Cove XXI... )...spent some time at Barber's Resort and for the past 20 years have been staying at Sunset Point. So, I'm a little familiar with that area. We have done several trips with Halley's (he of River Air down in Pistol Lake). One trip started just outside Kenora. Another in Baudette. One out of Fort Frances. And one where we started in Orr, MN and rode all the way up to the English River (One Man Lake) where they ran a Winter operation. From Orr, it was 365 miles and a very long day. A GREAT day though! I will say that it's pretty FUN when the trail comes out of the woods behind Fire Island (Vermillion Island on maps) and we're able to zip across the areas I've fished so many times. As long as you stay away from the river, say Harbor Island north, there aren't many bad ice issues and it's like boating on flat water at 75 MPH.

I've had some issues with trails literally ENDING just west of Emo. This happened to us 4 or 5 years ago. Luckily, I had run my GPS the trip previous and had a track down the Rainy River that we were able to get down to and run. I must say though that first tracks on the Rainy River are a little unnerving.

There are few options IN Minaki to stay. Minaki Marina has a cabin open all Winter....but they're on the wrong side of the river. That's the issue. The trail comes up East of town and all of the town is on the West side. And because the river still has good flow, I'm not real comfortable crossing it without local guidance. I have a freind who has the Sand Lake Outpost cabins...and I think he has the ability to open them during the Winter. If that was something you wanted to do, in that particular area I could give you some names and references.

I want to try and do the "full monty"....head up towards Kenora, then head East towards Dryden and Sioux Lookout before heading back South.

 

[momoney2123]

Wow thats awesome. I have been going to minaki since 1998, i am 27, my dads been going there since 71 or 72. We used to stay at black bear portage on rough rock lake until 2005. Do you know Margot, the owner of what used to be black bear portage? We currently stay by the boat landing of roughrock at a private cabin, I have always wanted to snowmobile past my favorite fishin holes and have always wondered how froze the river channel ever got. How are the trails up that way, i assumed the traffic was light but never knew if they are groomed? Have you ridden the trail across sand lake, it should go right by sand lake outpost from what others have told me talking about sleds up there, but that may not even be there anymore. I have seen the pics on sand lake out post of them pulling ice on sleds, so i figured he used that trail. Also the logging road that is right behind black bear portage inbetween west bay of sand lake and where margot's is located on roughrock, its only about a 1/4 mile wide of land as im sure you know , i thought at one point a trail followed that road around to whitedog dam.

Time permitting one year I will make it up there and I may look you up for some more advice. Thats good to know the marina has a cabin open in minaki, i always thought that i may have to go bang on margot's door for gas or warmth if i got standed in winter ha. she would be pleaseantly suprised if I did. I also have wanted to ice fish as it has to amazing as well.

 

[steve_in_il]

Wow thats awesome. I have been going to minaki since 1998, i am 27, my dads been going there since 71 or 72. We used to stay at black bear portage on rough rock lake until 2005. Do you know Margot, the owner of what used to be black bear portage? We currently stay by the boat landing of roughrock at a private cabin, I have always wanted to snowmobile past my favorite fishin holes and have always wondered how froze the river channel ever got. How are the trails up that way, i assumed the traffic was light but never knew if they are groomed? Have you ridden the trail across sand lake, it should go right by sand lake outpost from what others have told me talking about sleds up there, but that may not even be there anymore. I have seen the pics on sand lake out post of them pulling ice on sleds, so i figured he used that trail. Also the logging road that is right behind black bear portage inbetween west bay of sand lake and where margot's is located on roughrock, its only about a 1/4 mile wide of land as im sure you know , i thought at one point a trail followed that road around to whitedog dam.

Time permitting one year I will make it up there and I may look you up for some more advice. Thats good to know the marina has a cabin open in minaki, i always thought that i may have to go bang on margot's door for gas or warmth if i got standed in winter ha. she would be pleaseantly suprised if I did. I also have wanted to ice fish as it has to amazing as well.

Welllllllll.....I'm a young 58...probably closer to your Dad's age. Black Bear Portage used to be owned by the Seefield family. I had a huge crush on their youngest daughter (Iris) back in the day. I'm not sure if Margot is one of their daughter's too?? I know Iris had an older sister who lived in the area.

The river NEVER freezes under the CN bridge...and I've been up there when it was -50....but it's a dry cold?? That makes a lot of Roughrock problematic with the current cutting right through the heart of the lake. I have ridden the trail on Big Sand and up past Sand Lake Outpost. And it does utilize the old logging road that runs the ridge between West Bay (Big Sand) and Black Bear Portage. From there the trail runs due North and doesn't really get anywhere near the Whitedog Dam. Traffic IS light and grooming is waaaaaaaaaay different than what we are used to in WI or the U.P. Once every week or two is the grooming schedule for that trail. And where a trail isn't running an old logging road, they can be somewhat difficult to groom and maintain....you've seen the terrain. LOTS of bedrock. Should you ever decide to go sledding up that way, I would be more than happy to help you where I could.

BTW, I don't know if you trailer your own boat there during the summer, or not....but you could save quite a few rock chips on your boat and tow vehicle by launching someplace other than Roughrock...those last few miles can be pretty brutal.

 

[momoney2123]

Iris is margots daughter. Her and her husband hanz built black bear portage. They\her still own it but shut it down sometime in the early 90's after hanz passed. We were lucky enough she let us come back until 05 until it was too much for her to handle as she is almost 90, but doesnt look it, at all. hanz was actually a prisoner of war, he faught in rommels army for germany in WW2 and was captured in north africa by the british and was shipped to canada. He loved it so much he decided to move there and they started Black bear portage. The storys ive heard from them i could go on for days. They were both part of the hitler youth, which hearing first hand stories is very interesting. She still lives in minaki, year around and her other daughter sylvia built a nice cabin in the woods to the north of the old camp.

Thats some good info on groooming and the trail does go right behing Black bear portage. I would love to go up there and see it on sleds and I know my dad would too. Maybe thats a good gift for him when I can afford it hehe.

As far as the road to rough rock landing, the road isnt as bad as it used to be they have made some huge improvements the past 5-10 years. the landing is a little tough but as long as you have 4x4 its not to bad

If I do it, it wouldnt be this year. Maybe next. Hope to stay in touch.

 

[steve_in_il]

Iris is margots daughter. Her and her husband hanz built black bear portage. They\her still own it but shut it down sometime in the early 90's after hanz passed. We were lucky enough she let us come back until 05 until it was too much for her to handle as she is almost 90, but doesnt look it, at all. hanz was actually a prisoner of war, he faught in rommels army for germany in WW2 and was captured in north africa by the british and was shipped to canada. He loved it so much he decided to move there and they started Black bear portage. The storys ive heard from them i could go on for days. They were both part of the hitler youth, which hearing first hand stories is very interesting. She still lives in minaki, year around and her other daughter sylvia built a nice cabin in the woods to the north of the old camp.

Thats some good info on groooming and the trail does go right behing Black bear portage. I would love to go up there and see it on sleds and I know my dad would too. Maybe thats a good gift for him when I can afford it hehe.

As far as the road to rough rock landing, the road isnt as bad as it used to be they have made some huge improvements the past 5-10 years. the landing is a little tough but as long as you have 4x4 its not to bad

If I do it, it wouldnt be this year. Maybe next. Hope to stay in touch.

Ahhhhhh....now I understand. It's somewhat ironic, I hadn't been down to the East end of Roughrock in YEARS until this Summer. My wife was up with me and we were cruising around on one of those HOT August days. We took a slow run by Black Bear Portage Camp. I saw the new cabin back in the woods. I figured it had to be owned by someone who owned all of the property, just by the way it was configured on the site. Those old stories, war or otherwise, told by previous generations are classic. You are indeed lucky to have heard them. Smart to have listened.

I'm always lurking here on the site. Feel free to look me up when you decide to try that trip! Also feel free to ask me where I catch all of my fish...can't say I'd be quite as honest though!

 

[momoney2123]

Yea that is a little ironic, the place looked quite a bit different than the last time you seen it. But its a shame looking at the camp now compared to what it used to be. Everything is falling apart. Margot has had a lot of problems with bears getting into her main cabin to the south by the old dock. Lot of good memories there. Up until 2 years ago she would stay there the whole summer, but given her age, her family wont let her stay there by herself anymore. She would drive a 20hp johnson pull start -16ft old rental boat by herself all the way out there from the landing into her mid eighties. Not many grandmas i know could do that!!!! Must be the german blood or something haha

We could exchange some spots, i mainly fish roughrock and little sand and sand. Have actually never fished pistol or gun. PM me or I'll PM you sometime, especially when it gets closer. All this canada talk tho is giving me musky fever and its 5 days before i leave to go snowmombiling....how i am ever going to make it until summer

 

[Hoosier]

Good discussion. I am interested in fishing and snowmobiling up that way. Some of my family has flown out of Red Lake for years for fishing trips. I've gone on a few...

 

[rws]

OK friends of John Dee. I need some assistance. I would like to try and plan a "circle tour" starting in Fort Frances, Ontario (40 miles east or west would work too). The OFSC website shows trails that go through Sioux Narrows, Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Aitikokan, to name most of the major towns. 200 - 250 miles per day is the goal. Has anyone spent much time in this area? Any suggestions on places to stay? Areas to avoid? Areas with no fuel stops for 150 miles (don't laugh....some of this is remote country)? The Interactive Trail Guide on the OFSC site is pretty sparse for this region. Thoughts anyone? Thanks in advance!

I have done this "circle tour" many times. Approximately 1020 km...slightly shorter if you take the red trail north from the Emo area. Depending on trail conditions between Rainy River and Sioux Narrows I have also rode up the Ballard trail on Lake of the Woods to the Northwest Angle and jumped on the L106 back to Kenora. I have stayed at the hotels listed below while doing saddlebag rides in Dist 17 and all are right along the trail with easy access. BTW Manaki is not on any trail that would be on a "loop"...it is about 5 miles or so off the L103 which has not been staked or groomed in years. Note: other area trails are indicated in green.



Kenora - Comfort Inn



Sioux Lookout - Forest Inn and Best Western



Atikokan - White Otter Inn

 

[rws]

Welllllllll.....I'm a young 58...probably closer to your Dad's age. Black Bear Portage used to be owned by the Seefield family. I had a huge crush on their youngest daughter (Iris) back in the day. I'm not sure if Margot is one of their daughter's too?? I know Iris had an older sister who lived in the area.

The river NEVER freezes under the CN bridge...and I've been up there when it was -50....but it's a dry cold?? That makes a lot of Roughrock problematic with the current cutting right through the heart of the lake. I have ridden the trail on Big Sand and up past Sand Lake Outpost. And it does utilize the old logging road that runs the ridge between West Bay (Big Sand) and Black Bear Portage. From there the trail runs due North and doesn't really get anywhere near the Whitedog Dam. Traffic IS light and grooming is waaaaaaaaaay different than what we are used to in WI or the U.P. Once every week or two is the grooming schedule for that trail. And where a trail isn't running an old logging road, they can be somewhat difficult to groom and maintain....you've seen the terrain. LOTS of bedrock. Should you ever decide to go sledding up that way, I would be more than happy to help you where I could.

BTW, I don't know if you trailer your own boat there during the summer, or not....but you could save quite a few rock chips on your boat and tow vehicle by launching someplace other than Roughrock...those last few miles can be pretty brutal.

The L103 is highlighted in green connecting to the Manitoba trails at the border...even though it has not been staked/groomed by the STR club of Kenora in years I still ride it at least once a year doing a loop through Manitoba/Ontario. I do a lot of riding in the area. Last year 3,884 miles in Manitoba...2,447 miles in North Dakota...2,384 miles in Ontario and 1,579 miles in Minnesota.

 

[skiroule]

This is really good information that I need to file away. Too many other trips this year but I’d definitely like to make some variation of this loop next winter. I’d probably make the run from Baudette across the lake to the NW Angle and over to Kenora on the starting leg. Would be fun to peel off from the Atikokan/Ft. Francis trail and cross the border to pick up the Rainy Lake trail on the backside – seems like someone mentioned on another thread that there was a border crossing further east of Ft. Francis. If not, Ft. Francis would work.</SPAN>

Maybe I could talk Bearrassler into making the trip. He has some sort of weird navigational sixth sense that could come in handy. I don’t think the guy owns a GPS.</SPAN>

I’ll be printing up these maps and using them to do a little homework. That trail into Manitoba looks rugged!</SPAN>

Thanks again!</SPAN>

 

[rws]

This is really good information that I need to file away. Too many other trips this year but I’d definitely like to make some variation of this loop next winter. I’d probably make the run from Baudette across the lake to the NW Angle and over to Kenora on the starting leg. Would be fun to peel off from the Atikokan/Ft. Francis trail and cross the border to pick up the Rainy Lake trail on the backside – seems like someone mentioned on another thread that there was a border crossing further east of Ft. Francis. If not, Ft. Francis would work.</SPAN>

Maybe I could talk Bearrassler into making the trip. He has some sort of weird navigational sixth sense that could come in handy. I don’t think the guy owns a GPS.</SPAN>


I’ll be printing up these maps and using them to do a little homework. That trail into Manitoba looks rugged!</SPAN>

Thanks again!</SPAN>

Atikokan to Baudette via Rainy Lake riding MN trails. You need to drop down to Crane Lake to report into US customs.

 

[bearrassler]

This is really good information that I need to file away. Too many other trips this year but I’d definitely like to make some variation of this loop next winter. I’d probably make the run from Baudette across the lake to the NW Angle and over to Kenora on the starting leg. Would be fun to peel off from the Atikokan/Ft. Francis trail and cross the border to pick up the Rainy Lake trail on the backside – seems like someone mentioned on another thread that there was a border crossing further east of Ft. Francis. If not, Ft. Francis would work.</SPAN>



Maybe I could talk Bearrassler into making the trip. He has some sort of weird navigational sixth sense that could come in handy. I don’t think the guy owns a GPS.</SPAN>
I’ll be printing up these maps and using them to do a little homework. That trail into Manitoba looks rugged!</SPAN>

Thanks again!</SPAN>

Let me know when you are ready Skiroule, next year would be great. I have ridden the trails that RWS highlighted in MN and some of the ones in Manitoba and Ontario as far east as Dryden. I want to get to Atikoken some day. Riding without a GPS makes it more challenging and fun but I will probably break down and get one someday. RWS, I would like to ride with you a day or two this winter in ND or MN, I need to get a passport to ride in Canada again.

 

[skiroule]

Let me know when you are ready Skiroule, next year would be great. I have ridden the trails that RWS highlighted in MN and some of the ones in Manitoba and Ontario as far east as Dryden. I want to get to Atikoken some day. Riding without a GPS makes it more challenging and fun but I will probably break down and get one someday. RWS, I would like to ride with you a day or two this winter in ND or MN, I need to get a passport to ride in Canada again.

I’m penciling it in. If we’re lucky, we’ll hit the coldest, windiest weather of the winter. Guess we could add a degree of difficulty by leaving from GF. Who knows we might even run into these other guys up there. Picked up a card to replace my expired passport this year. Figured that's all I would need right now. Very easy, used my old passport as proof of citizenship. The card is way cheaper.</SPAN>

Atikokan to Baudette via Rainy Lake riding MN trails. You need to drop down to Crane Lake to report into US customs.

Thanks RWS, that’s what I thought. Seems like the perfect excuse to hit the Crane Lake area.</SPAN>

 

[Hoosier]

The L103 is highlighted in green connecting to the Manitoba trails at the border...even though it has not been staked/groomed by the STR club of Kenora in years I still ride it at least once a year doing a loop through Manitoba/Ontario. I do a lot of riding in the area. Last year 3,884 miles in Manitoba...2,447 miles in North Dakota...2,384 miles in Ontario and 1,579 miles in Minnesota.

What sled do you ride to put on those kind of miles? I assume something 4 stroke?

 

[rws]

What sled do you ride to put on those kind of miles? I assume something 4 stroke?

2013 Arctic Cat XF1100 Cross Tour

 

[steve_in_il]

rws,

THANK YOU! That's exactly the info I was looking for! Side note: Sorry for the delay in responding...obviously this is my "thread" and I thought I would receive email notifications of responses. I didn't receive any after momoney and I had our little dialog about Minaki.

A couple of questions. I fully realize there's no way to depend on the trail conditions we will encounter, but in general, are there areas on that loop that are better than others?? Second, I know some people are touchy about this, but when riding hundreds of miles in "new" territory, I really like my security blanket(s). Would you be willing to "share" your GPS tracks? I run a Garmin GPS 60csx. Third, as we get closer to this trip (mid-February), would it be OK to "pick your mind" a little bit more? This is GREAT info! Thank you again!

Steve