Ontario Adventurers, We Found Your Next Epic Trip
It’s the quintessential Canadian experience: packing up the car and heading out into the wild. But expectations can clash with reality when popular outdoor destinations are crowded, especially when other hikers and campers are noisy and there’s a lineup for the best views.
Just a few hours’ drive from Toronto or Ottawa, Abitibi-Témiscamingue is a completely different kind of getaway. With more than 65,000 square kilometres of territory and 22,000 lakes, there’s plenty of room to breathe in untouched landscapes where you can really connect with nature and disconnect from everything else.
You’ll feel the difference even before you arrive. As you approach, the roads become quieter (no cottage country traffic here). The forests grow denser. Your shoulders start to drop as pings of your phone are replaced by the call of the loon and the wind in the trees.
Here’s everything you need to know about the region’s most majestic wilderness areas.
Parc national d’Opémican
Here, the landscape softens, with rolling hills giving way to towering cliffs, best viewed from a canoe or kayak on Lac Témiscamingue.
People have travelled these waterways for more than 8,000 years. This is the ancestral home of the Anishinaabeg, and the park is a rich source of archaeological and cultural connection. Pointe-Opémican was also an important logging site, with the first log-driving camp built in 1888. An easy three-kilometre trail takes you to the region’s oldest building (the Auberge Jodoin) as well as the old blacksmith’s shop.
Camping here can be as rustic or as comfortable as you desire. To leave the world behind completely, explore the canoe-camping route in the Île-aux-Fraises sector, where each campsite sits on its own private island, so there are no neighbours to get between you and a spectacular night under the stars. For an easy, no-fuss option accessible by car, book one of the Étoile ready-to-camp sites at Pointe-Opémican, complete with beds, a kitchen and heating.
Parc national d’Aiguebelle
Carved by glaciers over two billion years ago, the rocks and waterways in this provincial park connect you to Canada’s prehistoric past. It’s a rugged landscape that richly rewards those who immerse themselves in its wildness.
Hike 30 kilometres of trails and rest overnight in a rustic shelter or campsite deep in the boreal forest, far away from it all. Venture onto a 90-metre suspension bridge swaying 20 metres high above Lac La Haie. Keep your eyes peeled for bears, otters and especially moose—more of them live here than anywhere else in Abitibi.
To get out on the water, head to Lac Loïs, where you’ll find more islands than people. Let the meditative rhythm of your paddle dipping in the water guide you, uninterrupted and undisturbed.
Réserve faunique La Vérendrye
With more than 800 kilometres of canoe-camping routes spread over more than 4,000 lakes, rivers and reservoirs, this spectacular wildlife reserve allows you to plan a canoe trip lasting from two to 10 days, or even more.
As you paddle, you’ll share the water with bass, sturgeon, trout and beaver. Bears, foxes, moose and white-tailed deer linger in the surrounding forest while more than 150 species of birds soar overhead. On land, take a quick hike to a waterfall or forage for wild raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and mushrooms among the pines.
Breathe in the forest air and absorb the still silence. This is the wild nature you dreamed of when you packed up the car. No lineups. No crowds. Just a simple connection with the land, the water and the sky. It’s the kind of adventure that truly feeds your soul.
This article was sponsored by Tourisme Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Here, time slows down, nature takes center stage, and for those who know how to listen, it reveals itself. Learn more at abitibi-temiscamingue.org.
