Manitoulin Island

Manitoulin is the largest island in any lake anywhere, sitting in Lake Huron and big enough to contain more than a hundred inland lakes of its own, one of which, Lake Manitou, is itself the largest lake on any freshwater island, with islands in it in turn. The north shore is white quartzite and the La Cloche hills; the south is limestone escarpment dropping into clear water at Cup and Saucer and Bridal Veil Falls. Six Anishinaabe First Nations live here and the island has one of the strongest Indigenous cultural presences in southern Canada, with the Wikwemikong powwow each August among the largest competitive powwows in the country. Access is by a one-lane swing bridge or a summer ferry.

History

Excavations at Sheguiandah, found by Thomas E. Lee in 1952, revealed Paleo-Indian and Archaic cultures from at least 10,000 BC, and the name comes from the Ojibwe or Odawa Manidoowaaling, cave of the spirit, after an underwater cave where a powerful spirit is said to live. Father Joseph Poncet set up a Jesuit mission near Wiikwemkoong in 1648, the Anishinaabe were driven from the island by 1650 and it stayed mostly empty for nearly 150 years, and after the Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi returned it was ceded to the Crown in 1836 and opened to settlers in 1862 (Wikipedia, Manitoulin Island).

The landscape

• Cup and Saucer - the escarpment trail with the island's best long view.
• Lake Manitou - a lake within an island within a lake, with its own islands.
• Wikwemikong powwow - one of Canada's largest, held each August.
• Bridal Veil Falls - a curtain fall you can walk behind at Kagawong.

When to go

June to October, with the ferry from Tobermory running roughly May to October and the powwow in early August. Autumn colour in early October is excellent and the island is quiet again. Winter access is by the swing bridge only and most services close.

Good to know

The ferry is the pleasant way in but it books out for cars weeks ahead in summer and the alternative is a long drive around the top of Georgian Bay. Services on the island are seasonal and thin outside July and August. Powwow etiquette matters: ask before photographing dancers and follow the announcer's instructions about which dances are open.

Nearby

Tobermory and the Bruce Peninsula are across the water; Killarney is on the north shore.

Key facts