Destinations

Superior Country is your one-stop shop for authentic guest excursions within the Lake Superior North Shore Inside Passage. Guests enjoy the region for its solitude, unique flora and fauna, Indigenous culture and delicious local tastes, led by friendly hosts in a laid-back environment. Explore sheltered bays and isolated islands. Breathe the fresh aroma of the boreal forest. Learn about the rich history and culture of the land and its Peoples.

Superior Country offers expedition cruise guests a variety of ways to experience the waters and communities on the largest freshwater lake in the world. Mainland excursions, island exploration, on-water adventures and underwater discovery await guests cruising the Lake Superior North Shore Inside Passage.

SHORE EXCURSIONS

All the excursions listed below are available at each of our locations. Further excursions, unique to each community, are listed under the communities listing.

Indigenous Culture and Storytelling

Guests will learn about the culture, language, and history of the Anishnaabe Peoples, who have made this region their home since time immemorial.

Painting Superior

The Group of Seven is a legendary artists’ collective whose members painted in the boreal forests of Northern Ontario and along the shores of Lake Superior in the early 1900s. Guests will learn about the Group of Seven while creating their own painting inspired by the famous landscape artists. Offered in both English and French.

Taste the North Shore

Picnic style, enjoy local coffees/teas and fresh foods made with locally sourced ingredients such as wild blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb.

OUR NORTH SHORE COMMUNITIES

Silver Islet

Located 90km (56 miles) east of Thunder Bay, Silver Islet is a small community with a rich mining and commercial fishing history. In the late 1800s, a silver mine, one of the most productive in the world, was developed on a nearby island, also called Silver Islet. The houses originally built here were to accommodate miners and are now used as private summer cottages. The general store has been restored, and serves light snacks in its tea-room, in addition to selling a variety of gifts and souvenirs.

It is a popular spot for recreational boaters, paddlers, and campers staying at nearby Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

The marina can accommodate large tenders and zodiacs.

Excursions:

• Silver Islet village guided walking tour, shopping and snacks.
• Guided hike to the Lake Superior Sea Lion within the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
• Chartered bus tour to Panorama Amethyst Mine
• Chartered bus to tour to Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park
• “Silver and Stone”, a Voyageur Canoe experience delivered by Parks Canada, available in both English and French.

Porphyry Island

Porphyry Island is a nature reserve in Lake Superior that has a rich history and a unique geology. The island is located on the eastern side of the Black Bay peninsula 40km (24.8 miles) east of Thunder Bay by water. Porphyry is made of more than 300 distinctive lava flows of Late Precambrian age. Since 1873 when Point Porphyry Lighthouse was erected, it has been operated by dozens of lightkeepers.

Features:

• Porphyry Island Light Station and two lightkeepers dwellings.
• Fog alarm building that houses an art gallery and film projection theatre.
• Mini museum.
• 85m (280 ft) of docking space with two mooring balls.
• Parks Canada Red Chairs with a view of the Sleeping Giant.
• Picnic tables.
• Sauna that can accommodate eight people.
• Swimming area and hiking trails.

Red Rock

Located 116km (72 miles) east of Thunder Bay, the Township of Red Rock is a beautiful, quaint town nestled between Red Rock Mountain and Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior.

Learn all about Red Rock’s recent past and the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation at the Marina Interpretive Centre.

The marina has a depth of three meters and can accommodate tenders up to 18.3m (60 feet) long.

Excursions:

• Red Rock Marina Interpretive Centre and Gift Shop
• Guided kayak tour
• Guided voyageur canoe tour
• Guided or self-guided historical walking tour of the town
• 1 hour return hike, guided or self-guided, on the Nipigon River Recreation Trail to Lloyd’s Lookout, overlooking Nipigon Bay and the town of Red Rock
• Chartered bus tour to Panorama Amethyst Mine
• Chartered bus to tour to Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park
• Chartered bus tour to Hurkett Cove Conservation Area and guided or unguided hike on Hurkett Cove Nature Trail.
• Chartered bus tour to Nipigon.

Nipigon

Located 110km (68 miles) east of Thunder Bay, the Township of Nipigon is located at the headwaters of Lake Superior. There is an accessible paved walking path from the popular Bridgeview Lookout under the Nipigon River Bridge, the first cable-stayed bridge in Ontario. The Nipigon River still holds the world record for the largest brook trout. Caught in 1915 by a Thunder Bay dentist with the help of Indigenous guides, the fish weighed in at a whopping 6.6kg (14.5 lbs).

Nipigon Marina can accommodate zodiacs. In addition, excursions can be arranged via land transportation from Red Rock marina.

Excursions:

• Guided voyageur canoe tour.
• Guided kayak tour.
• Guided or self-guided walking tour of downtown Nipigon, including Nipigon Historical Museum, Paddle to the Sea Park and shopping.
• Guided or self-guided walking tour of the Bridgeview Lookout and Nipigon River Bridge
• Chartered bus tours to Panorama Amethyst Mine
• Chartered bus to tour to Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park
• Chartered bus tour to Hurkett Cove Conservation Area and guided or unguided hike on Hurkett Cove Nature Trail
• Chartered bus tour to Red Rock.

Rossport

Located 190km (118 miles) from Thunder Bay, the village of Rossport was formerly a bustling commercial fishing port and whistle stop on the railway line. This quaint village overlooks the largest island archipelago on Lake Superior and is a gateway to the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, the largest freshwater marine conservation area in the world. One of the most sheltered coastal areas on Lake Superior, Rossport offers a haven for both boaters and kayakers.

The Rossport Marina can accommodate zodiacs and larger tenders.

Excursions:

• Guided kayak tour or voyageur canoe tours.
• Guided hike on Quarry Island lookout with a spectacular view of the village.
• Guided or self-guided walking tour of the village.
• Guided or self-guided hike on the Rossport Coastal Trail.
• Guided or self-guided walking tour of Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
• Chartered bus tour to Schreiber or Terrace Bay.

Schreiber

Located 210km (130 miles) from Thunder Bay, Schreiber is known for its beach, offering opportunities for picnicking, swimming and hiking. What is possibly North America’s most diverse, best preserved and internationally known collection of micro-fossils lies within the Precambrian rock of the Schreiber Channel. The Schreiber Discovery Centre and Railway Museum connects Schreiber’s past and present as a Canadian Pacific Railway town.

Zodiacs can land ashore on the Schreiber Beach. Excursions can also be arranged via land transportation from Rossport or Terrace Bay Marinas.

Excursions:

• Schreiber Discovery Centre and Railway Museum.
• Schreiber Beach visit with guided or self-guided hike along a portion of the Casque Isles Hiking Trail, featuring Parks Canada Red Chairs.
• Guided or self-guided walking tours of Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
• Chartered bus tour to Terrace Bay.

Terrace Bay

Located 223km (138.5 miles) from Thunder Bay, Terrace Bay has a number of attractions including a 15.25m (50-foot) lighthouse replica, and an expansive sandy beach which includes an accessible boardwalk and a pavilion/gift shop. A 30.5m (100-foot) waterfall flowing into a 2.6-billion-year-old granodiorite-draped gorge, Aguasabon Falls and Gorge is one of northwestern Ontario’s natural wonders.  The Slate Islands Provincial Park is just 12km (7.5 miles) offshore from Terrace Bay.

Terrace Bay’s docks can accommodate zodiacs. In addition, excursions can be arranged via land transportation from Rossport Marina or Schreiber Beach.

Excursions:

• Guided or self-guided walking tour of Terrace Bay Beach and a portion of the Casques Isles Hiking Trail.
• Beach Pavilion, boardwalk and Parks Canada Gift Shop.
• Guided or self-guided tour of Aguasabon Falls and Gorge.
• Guided or self-guided walking tour of Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
• Slate Islands Brewing Company tasting.
• Guided or self-guided walking tour of downtown, including shopping and Terrace Bay Lighthouse Tower.
• Guided busy tour to Schreiber.
• “Paddle Back in Time”, a kayak experience delivered by Parks Canada, available in both English and French.

Slate Islands Provincial Park 

This group of rugged islands 12km (7.4 miles) south of Terrace Bay is one of the places where woodland caribou still roam. The islands are also home to beaver, hare, fox and various shorebirds. There are 15 islands in the Archipelago, which are spread over two groups: the major group consisting of Patterson, Mortimer, McColl, Edmonds, Bowes, Delaute and Dupuis islands.

Remnants of two Indigenous settlements, as well as a former timber operation, are located here. The islands are covered with a southern boreal forest with some arctic-alpine flora. For the most part, the rock is early Precambrian of volcanic and sedimentary origin.

The Slate Islands are not available for land excursions; however, the islands can be viewed by water.

Marathon

Located mid-point between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, Marathon is a town built around gold mining but has a number of natural attractions for guests to explore. Marathon’s expansive and beautiful pebble beach is located on the shores of Lake Superior. The recently established Lake Superior Group of Seven Trail is dotted with beautiful vistas and interpretation about the world-famous Group of Seven artist collective that was inspired by and painted in region.

Excursions:

• Guided or self-guided hike on the Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail.
• Guided or self-guided walk on Marathon’s Pebble Beach.
• Marathon Museum.
• Chartered bus tour to Neys Provincial Park.
• Chartered bus tour to Pukaskwa National Park.

UNDERWATER ATTRACTIONS

The Silver Islet Mine

“Silver Islet” refers to both the small rural community on the peninsula, as well as a small island close to the village. A deposit of silver was discovered on the island in 1868. At that time, the island was very small and only 2.5m (8.2 feet) above the water. After the building of a wooden break wall and installing loads of crushed rock, the island was expanded to over 10 times its original size, and it became a highly productive silver mine.

By 1883, most of the highest quality silver had been extracted and the price of silver had declined. When a shipment of coal did not arrive before the end of the shipping season. The pumps holding back the waters of the lake stopped and in early 1884 the islet's mine shafts were flooded. The mine's underground operations would never be reopened.

Over the 16 years that the mine was in operation, $3.25 million worth of silver was extracted.

The Gunilda Shipwreck

This site is approximately 8km (5 miles) from Rossport, at the base of the McGarvey Shoal, at a depth of approximately 82m (270 feet). The Gunilda was a yacht that sunk on 11 August 1911, during an attempt to free her from the shoal that she struck days prior. All passengers survived, as they were able to disembark because she was still upright when she ran aground. The Cousteau Society called Gunilda the “best-preserved, most prestigious…” and “the most beautiful shipwreck in the world.”

The Neebing Shipwreck

This site is near Moss Island, some 45km offshore from Red Rock. The 58.8m (193 feet) long Neebing steamship sunk on 25 September 1937. She was en route from Paradise Island to Red Rock with gravel cargo when a southeast gale hit. Waves pummeled her until she keeled over and disappeared. Of the 15 souls onboard, five perished that day, including the captain, the cook and the cook’s wife.

Contact

Suzanne Kukko
North Shore Tourism Coordinator
105-B Newton Street
Nipigon, Ontario  P0T 2J0
807 889 0515
suzanne@superiorcountry.ca
superiorcountry.ca