Point Grondine Park is a First Nations-owned backcountry oasis in Ontario
Nestled between the frequented French River and Killarney provincial parks is one of Ontario's best-kept secrets: Point Grondine Park.
The 18,000 acres of wilderness on the northern shore of Lake Huron is owned and operated by the Anishinaabek people of Wikwemikong Unceded Territory and opened as a park in 2015.
Covered in mature pine forest and featuring several interior lakes and rivers along the Georgian Bay, the area offers canoe routes, backwood campsites, and interpretive nature trails to a lookout and waterfall.
The 30 or so kilometres of trails in the area were the first of a proposed 200-kilometre pathway along Georgian Bay shores, though there hasn't been an update to this coast trail in the last few years.
Take the three-kilometre loop, A-Mik-Zii-Bi for a greater appreciation of the history of the land and to learn about various plant medicines used by the Anishinaabek people. Or hike to an overlook of Killarney's white quartzite mountains by way of Merv's Landing.
The 22-kilometre overnight trail to Wemtagoosh Falls (or Frenchman Falls) leads you deep into the backcountry corners of the park. Once you hit the surging falls, there are campsites with access to Cedar Lake.
You can also see the waterfall on a canoe trip. Take in views of the Mahzenazing River on the way and spot old logging camps from the late 19th century along the shores of the Tri-Lakes (Bejeau, Mcdougall and Misery) just past Wemtagoosh.
The 16 kilometres of water trails leading to six interior lakes, Collins Inlet, Georgian Bay and Phillip Edward Island, as well as numerous canoe-in sites, make this place ideal for a portage adventure.
Indigenous pictographs are visible along the rocky shoreline. There are also guided tours by Wikwemikong Tourism through the summer, with one retracing ancient canoe routes of Anishnaabek over the course of three days and four nights.
If you plan on visiting and exploring Point Grondine Park, make sure to practice safe physical distancing and pick up after yourself to leave the area as beautiful as you found it.
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