"Driving west through the wilds" Top 5 Page for this destination Province of Ontario by Bwana_Brown

Province of Ontario Travel Guide: 11,568 reviews and 27,578 photos

Bwana standing on the lip at Ouimet Canyon

In early July I had a wedding to attend in Fredericton, New Brunswick on the Atlantic coast of Canada. When Sue and I left there almost two years ago for me to take up a new job in Regina, Saskatchewan in western Canada we had to leave in quite a rush, driving across the USA on Interstate highways in our 'old' car to make the deadline. As a result, we ended up leaving our newer Honda Accord behind and not being used for the past 13 months. We decided we would make a vacation out of this wedding trip, flying east for a week of catching up with old friends and then taking another week to drive back to Regina through Canada this time.

We had previously done lots of exploring in New Brunswick and Quebec but Ontario had not yet been given a fair shake (except for visits to Ottawa and Toronto). We decided to concentrate on Ontario on our way home, sticking to the back-roads where it suited us and going places we had not been before. Our route ended up covering 4500-km (2900-mi) in total, with five full days in Ontario alone! It turned out to be better than I had expected as we enjoyed our first experience with Algonquin provincial park, then hiking the cliffs of rugged Bruce Peninsula, a ferry ride to the world's largest island in a freshwater lake, waterfalls and more parks along the rugged north shore of Lake Superior and finally the most spectacular of them all - Ouimet Canyon.

Hop in for a drive with us across Ontario as we take in the sights! My 'General' tip includes maps of both our cross-Canada route and some of our stops in Ontario itself.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Excellent roads, not busy even in the peak of summer and lots to see!
Cons:You will need good weather and time, a week is not enough
In a nutshell:A wonderful trip

Last visit to Province of Ontario: Jul 2009
Intro Updated Aug 9, 2009
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Reviews (46)

Our 2004 Honda Accord - Province of Ontario

You can't do without a car in Canada Transportation (2)

Well, you can but it is not easy if you want to explore parts of the country that are a long way from any large cities.... more travel advice

Just a place to spend the night Hotels (8)

With living in New Brunswick, next door to the Province of Quebec, we had already enjoyed the amazing cities of Quebec... more travel advice

Our progress across east/central Canada - Province of Ontario

Our 1-week drive to the Prairies Favorites (1)

This map of Canada shows the route Sue and I took as we left Fredericton, New Brunswick in Atlantic Canada for our... more travel advice

Mixed red sand and magma near Nipigon - Province of Ontario

Impressive highway in rugged terrain Things to Do (29)

The landscape west of Terrace Bay is the most rugged of the drive along the north shore of Lake Superior, largely made... more travel advice

Restaurants (6)
See All A taste of Asia

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Comments (14)

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csordila Apr 8, 2012 at 6:24 AM

Thank you for your visit on my Santorini! Best L.
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rachesuiphilippines Mar 16, 2011 at 7:31 AM

What a beautiful scenery and what an exhilarating experience maybe to be standing on the tip of that Quimet Canyon. pearl
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HORSCHECK Oct 20, 2010 at 2:21 PM

Glenn, outstanding photos of the nature in Ontario. I have only been to the big cities here, such as Toronto and Ottawa. Your page shows a very different Ontario compared to them. Especially the Kakabeka Falls look fabulous.
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MalenaN Mar 28, 2010 at 2:12 AM

So many lakes on the lake island! Going with car on backroads is a great way to travel too, and it looks like you had a beautiful trip!
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icunme Sep 2, 2009 at 3:05 AM

Stunning photos & such great detail - the lakes, the falls, the gorge, the canyon! Grazie, Glen for a grand tour. Carol <(•¿•)>
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GuthrieColin Aug 23, 2009 at 5:57 PM

Kakabeka Falls looks amazing. Mink falls is good to. Chippewa Falls looks a little wimpy. Either way i'm sure all of them are fantastic. Good work on this page and showing us more of the wonderful country of Canada!
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angiebabe Aug 22, 2009 at 2:51 PM

Great that you finally got the chance to fit this trip in! Dont know when I will fit these Canadian and USA dream trips for me! Thanks also for all the effort gone into then making all these tips!
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Nemorino Aug 17, 2009 at 3:48 PM

A fabulous journey across this huge and beautiful province! Aside from Toronto, the only part of Ontario I have been to is Quetico Provincial Park (south of your route on your sixth day), where we used to go canoeing when I was in high school.
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starship Aug 15, 2009 at 10:09 AM

Another first class page! So much information & your usual terrific photos--what a wonderful virtual journey of a part of Canada that most of wish we could do ourselves! The natural beauty of Canada and the quaint towns are a winning combination!
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Gili_S Aug 12, 2009 at 8:12 AM

Such a big country has so much to see and you show it to us. However, last time when there in a canoe I started to miss Scandinavia ;-)