Ojibway Provincial Park

Ojibway Provincial Park is located about 20 km from the community of Sioux Lookout. It is 45 km off of Highway 17 (Trans Canada Highway) in Ontario. Ojibway Provincial Park is a little known Ontario Park that is off the beaten path. It has only about 30 sites in the entire park.

Site Review:

And while small, Ojibway is nicely spaced out along a portion of the shore of Little Vermilion Lake.

Some of the sites have access to the water. Sites #17, #19 and #22 all have stairs from the site pad down to the lake. I would consider site #19 to be the best site in the park.We had site #16. It had a view of the lake through the trees and was directly adjacent to the path to the beach. The quality of the site was good. It was a large site and fit our equipment easily. There is not a lot of pedestrian traffic using the path to the beach so privacy was not an issue. We visited in the middle of the week during the summer and the majority of the sites were empty.

Ojibway Provincial Park is so lightly visited that the front gatehouse is closed and check-in is self serve. During the day a couple of staff come to the park to empty the garbage, clean the bathrooms and do a general drive around to verify that people have permits to be on the site they are occupying. I talked to one staff member who was making the rounds and she said that they only employ 3 staff at the park for the entire summer. 

There is electric service on some sites.

There is a trailer dump station and there is a comfort station with hot showers and flush toilets. There are even laundry facilities.

Activities:

Biking:

No. The campground roads are dirt or they are heavily gravelled. There are some areas that are quite hilly. You can bike if you want to and go from point A to point B but this is not a bike-friendly kind of park.

Hiking:

Ojibway Provincial Park has 6 named trails that you can hike.  Most meander through the forest. The Ontario Parks website offers descriptions of the following trails:

• Boreal Walking Trail – 1.5 km, easy 
• Lakeshore Trail – 6 km, moderate
• Little Walking Trail – 0.8 km, easy 
• Red Pine Walking Trail – 0.5 km, easy
• Ridge Bottom Trail – 2.8 km, moderate
• Terry Lake Trail – 1.5 km, easy

One of the trails connects to a wooden bridge that accesses an island.

Fishing/Boating:

There are 2 boat launches within the park for small boat use within the park. The lake is loaded with Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass and Lake Trout. A fish cleaning station, with running water and cutting tables, is located by the north boat launch. Fish are easily caught just off the docks and the rocks along the shore as well. You are required to have a fishing license to fish at Ontario Parks (though I don’t know who is actually checking here). Fishing Licenses need to be obtained prior to coming to the park as Ontario Parks do not issue them.

Swimming:

There is a sandy beach for swimming.

Canoeing/Kayaking:

Little Vermilion Lake is a large lake with many bays and inlets for exploring. The lake also connects to canoe routes and surrounding lakes.

There are no cottages or homes on the lake anywhere that I could see when I was paddling around. You may encounter the odd motorboat on the lake that someone is using for fishing but there were no big recreational boats or jet skis -though I suppose you could bring a jet ski if you wanted.

If you want to canoe/kayak/SUP then you will have to bring your own equipment because the park does not rent anything.

I used my own kayak and paddled around quite extensively. It was just me on the lake each time I went out. It was fantastic. The lake was calm and serene. Well, except for this guy 🙂

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Things to Know:

1. Like some other Northern Ontario Parks, the management of Ojibway Provincial Park is contracted out to a local agency. This sometimes means that things run a little differently. In this case, hiking trails are not well marked and information on canoe routes was not available. The park was closed for the 2020 camping season and new management had taken over for 2021 and they were catching up on some park maintenance that had been neglected. 
2. We always travel with our freshwater tanks filled,  because potable water availability is often an issue. You would be wise to do the same when you visit Ojibway, just in case.
3. Nothing is for sale here- no wood or ice.
4. The town of Sioux Lookout is 20 km away if you need to purchase any forgotten items.
5. The road (highway 72) from highway 17 to the park entrance is in decent shape, so travel with trailers or in a motorhome is not an issue.
6. The next closest provincial park is Aaron Provincial Park which is about 60 km away.

IMO:

Ojibway Provincial Park is a true hidden gem if you are looking for a remote, tranquil wilderness experience. I loved the break from the hustle and bustle and even the “go-go-go” you sometimes feel on a road trip. If you are in the area I would definitely recommend Ojibway Provincial Park as an RV Place to Go for a refreshing soul rejuvenating getaway.