Next stop in camping trip: Pancake Bay, Lake Superior

After a recent camping trip that took us to first to Sauble Falls Provincial Park, we continued from there to see a good friend at Lion’s Head, and then onto another friend's home near Tobermory.

We were glad to be able to stay over as the temperature dropped to 7C and it was raining. Our friends even had to light a fire that day.

We were planning on crossing to Manitoulin Island on the ferry but had a problem booking an early one, and had to wait for the  5:35 p.m. departure. It was still a cold day but thankfully the sun came out, and we enjoyed a wonderful early evening trip on the Chi-cheemaun, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary ferrying folk and their vehicles from Tobermory and South Baymouth.

Arriving at South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island, we hurried to a private campground on Providence Bay for the night.

After an early morning we headed north on Manitoulin to get as far as we could that day. We had originally thought of doing the Circle Tour of Lake Superior but had incorporated visiting my wife Claudia’s sister, who was moving into a new retirement residence in Sudbury later in the month. So it became the Half Circle tour. We were also excited to meet some of Claudia's cousins in Schreiber on the north shore. All in all, it was going to be an interesting trip.

Sunday morning saw us passing the communities of Little Current, Espanola and, while travelling on Hwy 17, the smaller communities of Spanish, Blind River, Thessalon and through the larger city of Sault Ste. Marie. Claudia had booked a campsite on Superior at Pancake Bay Provincial Park for that evening. The weather was absolutely wonderful and the lake was so calm, it looked like a mirror. The last time we had travelled this area was in May 2022 while returning from British Columbia with our new Armadillo Backpack trailer. That had been a terrible drive with fog and rain dominating the weather along the Superior shore. It had been so bad you could barely see the lake. So this was quite a pleasant change.

After several hours driving, marvelling at the scenery, we took the opportunity to stop for a rest at Batchewana Bay Provincial Park, a day-use park on the lake. It was really a welcome stop for us and we took the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful location on the shore of Lake Superior while stretching our legs during a walk along the shore. It was not too much further down the road that we came to Pancake Bay Provincial Park, located on both sides of Hwy 17. Our area was located closer to the beach between the highway and Lake Superior. We could hear traffic but it was a nice site.

This provincial park boasts more than three kilometres of beautiful sand beach reminiscent of tropical beaches. There  is a panoramic view of Lake Superior from the Lookout Trail Loop of the Edmund Fitzgerald Trail in the park. There are five camping areas in the park — one, the Hill Top campground, is generator and radio free. There are also three ‘rustic’ camp cabins that sleep five available to rent, as well as two soft-side yurt accommodations available. The beach is also also accessible. So, it suits a range of people’s needs on a trip to the North Shore.

After an enjoyable evening spent on the beach area and a restful night we were ready to continue the next day.