Port Loring – Nature, Canoe Route and History

Three different themes can help guide a trip to Port Loring: a peaceful walk through mixed forest, a guided boat tour with a historical focus, and the terminus of a canoe route.

Forest and a sense of place in Port Loring

The Pine Grove Nature Trail offers an easy, peaceful walk through mixed forest. Maple and other hardwoods found in higher-elevation forest habitats define the woodland. The description conveys the character of the trail: the focus is on a quiet forest landscape and an easy walk. The trailhead is in Port Loring.

The Port Shores is on Wilson Lake, in the heart of Port Loring. The trail’s starting point is in Port Loring.

History on the water and a canoe route

Port Loring Eco & Historical Tours offers a guided historical boat tour exploring a former logging settlement. Its historical focus sets the tour apart from the forest walk on the Pine Grove Nature Trail. If the boat tour is important for your visit, check in advance whether it will be offered on your chosen date.

The Wolf-Pickerel Canoe Route ends at the provincial government dock on Wakuimakog (Wilson Lake) in Port Loring. There are 17 campsites along the route, each suitable for one or two tents; some sites are not maintained. If you are planning overnight stays along the route, check the condition of each site in advance. The endpoint at the dock and the campsites are two different planning details: the former locates the end of the route in Port Loring, while the latter relate to the canoe route.

Nature and history in the Parry Sound District

In the Parry Sound District, Killbear Provincial Park offers a variety of nature experiences. A 6 km recreational trail is intended for hiking and cycling. Canoeing and kayaking are also possible; the park’s landscape includes more than 12 km of rugged shoreline and three islands to explore. When planning, you can choose between activities on land and on the water.

The Massasauga Provincial Park is characterized by hundreds of wind-sculpted islands, as well as inland forests and lakes. It offers wilderness camping on Georgian Bay, from Parry Sound to the Moon River. Calhoun Lodge offers a glimpse into cottage life in the 1930s. Landscape and history feature here in different ways: the island and forest landscape on the one hand, and life in an earlier era of cottage living on the other.

The French River in French River Provincial Park is a river of national historic significance and was the first designated Canadian Heritage River. A 105 km canoe route follows interconnected lakes, through gorges and past rapids, from Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay. The visitor centre presents the history of the First Nations and French and English cultures that lived, worked and travelled on these waterways for centuries.

The town of Parry Sound also offers cultural and nature experiences. The permanent exhibition at the Museum on Tower Hill covers the history of logging, shipping and early life in the North. The Northern Nature Exchange welcomes people of all ages and encourages them to appreciate nature and learn about the environment through observation. Two Artists’ Stations each look out over views painted by Tom Thomson during his visit in 1914.

Discover more destinations: Rosseau, Emsdale, Nipissing, Parry Sound District, Sundridge, Callander, South River, Mcdougall

Back to the main travel overview: Parry Sound District.