Situated in Terrace Bay, Ont. might be one of Ontario’s best natural gems, and a provincial park like no other. If rugged landscapes and animal sightings are your thing, you might just have the adventure of a lifetime this summer at Slate Islands Provincial Park.
Getting to the park is a journey in itself: it’s 13 kilometres off the Terrace Bay mainland on Lake Superior, so if you want to explore it, you’ll have to hop on a boat or be a superstar kayaker to get across the waters.
Visitors are able to camp on the grounds as long as they bring their own gear. There are no formal camping facilities due to it being a natural environment provincial park, but the stay is worth it for the picturesque landscape.
One reason why this legendary park is so unique to the region is because it was formed by a 32 kilometre wide crater. Skeptical? The park, made of a small archipelago, boasts the world’s largest shatter cones as evidence of the truly out-of-this-world feature, occurring almost 450 million years ago. One even measures a whopping 30 feet high.
The archipelago mainly consists of two islands, Patterson and Mortimer, with five smaller islands surrounding them. There, you’ll find lots of animals like foxes, beavers and hare — but it’s the caribou fans who will certainly rejoice upon arrival. They’re known to walk the land of this iconic park, and you may even be able to see some.
Historically, the archipelago acted as a source of refuge for these majestic creatures. They’re known as the southernmost woodland caribou on the planet, so it’s a unique opportunity if you happen to bump into them. However, in the winter of 2014, wolves made their way onto the islands which caused a huge decline of the caribou so it’s not as likely as it may have been decades ago.
According to Terrace Bay Tourism, only 100 caribou still exist in the area, but the population can vary and has risen to as high as 600 at a time.
Natural elements are what you can expect to get the most joy from on your trip to the park, especially if you paddle its crystal clear waters. Kayak across this calm blue oasis to eventually get the chance to hike up to the little lighthouse just south of Patterson Island, known to be the highest light of all of the Great Lakes.
The park also has a huge history of Indigenous settlements as well as activity of mining and logging, not to mention 250 species of unique plant life.
Admission to the Slate Island Provincial Park is free and is open year-round.
