Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park

Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park Review

315 km (195 mi) west of White River on Trans-Canada Hwy. 17.

Steep, narrow Ouimet Canyon cuts so deeply into the volcanic rock of Lake Superior's north shore that botanists have discovered Arctic plants growing on its sunless floor. A walking path stops short at the edge of the 2½-km-long (1½-mi-long) chasm, where viewing platforms allow you to look 350 feet straight down; the far wall is only 492 feet away. Geologists believe the canyon could be a gigantic fault in the earth's surface or the result of glacial action. (Note: access to the canyon floor is restricted due to its fragile nature.) To get here, watch for signs to Ouimet Canyon, just past the town of Hurkett, west of Nipigon.