Land of Nipigon

Trip Idea

Visiting the Palisades and Lake Nipigon

Highway 11 north to Beardmore offers up some great scenery and wildlife viewing.

Lake Helen
Starting at the south end of Lake Helen, eagles love sitting on the cliffs to swoop down onto the lake for a meal. Ducks, Cranes and even pelicans love the shallow waters along the edge of the lake.

The Palisades
Just 40km (30 minutes) North of Nipigon is an area of multiple waterfalls falling from many diabase plateaus at Orient Bay, the southernmost point of Lake Nipigon. Wintertime brings ice climbers due to the abundance of frozen waterfalls. Visiting during or after a good rain is recommended. The Palisades hiking trail will take you up to the top of the cliffs for breathtaking views.

Beardmore and Lake Nipigon
Beardmore, once a thriving mining town provides one of two official access points for Lake Nipigon. Be sure to visit the Beardmore snowman.

Just outside Beardmore to the North is highway 580 to Poplar Point, the eastern access to Lake Nipigon. On the drive out you will pass the site of the Leitch Gold Mine, which was the highest grade gold mine in Canada for its operation. The road you are driving on used waste rock from the mine site and does contain the occasional piece of gold.

Poplar Point is a municipal park/campground with a long sandy beach and playground for your enjoyment. A trip south along the gravel High Hill Harbour Road takes you to the new marina at High Hill. A beautiful look off is available via a short trail just off of High Hill Harbour. The breakwater at High Hill Harbour was also built with waste rock from the Leitch Goldmine and does potentially contain gold.

As you travel on Highway 11 between MacDairmid and Beardmore, you will witness the result of an enormous forest fire from 1999 which burned over 50,000 hectares.