Because we are staying put in one place for so long, we start exploring some of the lesser known places around the park. Today, our plan was to go and find the big dunes at the mouth of Pic River. The dunes are located within the Pic First Nation’s territory which is just outside the park’s boundary.
We turned left on the first gravel leaving the park and fairly quickly came upon a sign advising us that we need to have written permission from the reservation’s administration building.
Since we’d rather no trespass, we turned around and found the administration building in the community centre (after asking around). The admin lady seemed a bit confused at our question and said “just go. It’s okay”.
On the way back to the dunes we stopped to read the information on the plaque telling the story of the fur trade and the Pic River Ojibways.
Off we went again and this time made it to the dunes with no further incidents.
Pic River Dunes
The active dune system is very large and slowly moving inland, burying trees on their path. Sand is swept from the lower, primary dunes onto the secondary dunes. The crests of these dunes are at treetop level.
The community constructed a beautiful long boardwalk
with a few plaques.
and a lookout
We walked the boardwalk and then wandered onto the beach
and walked back along the shore. What a beautiful area with no other soul in sight!
Manitouwadge
The day was still young and we decided to go for a drive. One of the plaques on our trails mentioned that fall colours inland are about 10 days earlier than they are by the lake.
It was a beautiful scenic drive with a bit of fall colours showing.
We drove to Manitouwadge, a small hilly town about an hour away.
Looked around town and found a cenotaph
that had a sapling from Vimy Ridge planted next to it. It was something to reflect about.
On our way back we saw a sign pointing to a dirt road with a promise of several waterfalls along the way. Off we went for another futile quest. We drove on a gravel road for about 20 kilometres when our Garmin GPS went crazy and it was very unclear where we are going and where those waterfalls may be.
We really need to get that Garmin issue fixed. Of course, there was no cell signal either, so Google Maps didn’t work as well.
We turned around.
Coincidently, we just heard on the radio the song “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls”. Clearly, this warning came a bit too late.
Internet gods: 2, us:0.
We did find a Yellow Brick Road on our way back,
but to our disappointment it was just the entrance to a gold mine with a sense of humor.
Back at the campsite we had a new batch of campers come through: Germans, Canadians, Americans, an Argentinian, and a clog-wearing Dutchman (he really was wearing Dutch clogs). Northern Ontario can be a very cosmopolitan place at times.
Again, Tony had an opportunity to practice his axe skills while preparing some wood for the ill-equipped campers!
Sounds like it was quite the adventure just to make it to the big dunes along the Pic River! Glad you made it though as the dunes are impressive, as is that long boardwalk that leads to the shore. How lovely to have the place all to yourselves. It’s too bad that you didn’t find those waterfalls though, but at least the drive looked scenic.
It’s so nice to be all alone in a beautiful place. The serenity that comes with solitude is priceless!
Well that was an interesting day even without the falls. The dunes are quite wonderful. Well worth seeing. They would have made my day.
You are right. Just the dunes on their own would have been great to see and experience!
The dunes and the associated boardwalk are great. I’d love strolling that. Yellow Brick Road…lol. If variety is the spice of life, it sounds like the cosmopolitan make-up of your campers will be interesting and fun.
Talking to the campers was a fun part of the day, and not something that we would normally do. It just shows that going out of your comfort zone can pay off sometimes.
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls started playing on the radio, that’s funny—thank goodness at that moment you didn’t see someone who looked like he belonged in a Stephen King novel.🤣
It is curious about the private property sign and then having things that seem people are welcome such as a boardwalk.
Haha, I thought it was a very funny coincidence! The scary part will be in another episode though. I had the same thought about the sign and then finding the boardwalk…who was the boardwalk made for exactly? And the signs?
Maybe it is a way to mark territory? for too log, Indiginous lands were considered fair game. At least with the sign, you might stop and think – and it was a mark of respect that you went and asked!
This is a plausible explanation and may very well be the case. Like saying don’t take us for granted anymore…
It is so much fun following your adventures! I hope that you eventually do find the waterfalls so you can show them to us. Meanwhile, I am envious of the fall color happening near you. Our trees are still as green as they can be. Happy camping!
Luckily we’ve had our fair share of waterfalls on this trip so we didn’t feel deprived 😊 You’ll get your colours soon and we will probably have snow on the ground and be jealous of you!
The sand dunes are neat! The boardwalk would be fun to follow.
They are, and it was ❤️
Oh those dunes look so idyllic and I love the boardwalk that the community constructed. What a great way to enjoy that view. And seeing the road of the drive makes me miss that part of our province. I hope to go back one day with T when he’s older.
I would be happy just driving through this beautiful landscape for hours! I hope you all get to go back to this part of Ontario!
Our forests are so different from yours but either way they are both beautiful to see. Also the ravages of the forestry industries is obvious in both. Thank you so much for taking me with you on your travels.
I think you are right, there are many different kinds of forests in Canada, but I don’t think many of them look like the forests in Australia. Logging had a huge impact on Canadian forests, but it may be more under control these days. I am so happy to take you along with us!
Nice Post
Thank you
Those dunes are amazing!
They were pretty cool!
I wonder — do you ever get these confused? You visit so many… Cheers, Muriel
Yeah, it can get a bit fuzzy at times. Writing about it helps reinforce the memories though!