Pukaskwa Coastal Trail: Hatties Cove to North Swallow and Back (9 days / 140 km)
In September of 2025 my husband and I set out to hike the Pukaskwa Coastal Trail both ways in ten days. Finding the majority of the trail to be inland with a few grand trips along the coast, we were able to keep up a good pace of around 3km per hour in most places. The terrain was a medley of rocks from the size of pea gravel to cracked boulders as tall as buildings, flat packed and muddy trails through mossy forests, river and creek crossings, as well as sandy beaches infused with a spattering of human infrastructure such as ladders, boardwalks and bridges. There are sections as challenging as the hardest trails we’ve hiked, but they were interrupted consistently enough by long stretches of flat cruising through the forest that moderated the overall strenuousness.
Remote and rugged, this eclectic trail offered everything from thrilling views to cozy coves. We felt that five days was the perfect amount of time to hike it in one direction, and that the trail demanded less when hiked northbound.
Trip Completed: September 2025
Trip Summary
| Starting Point | Hatties Cove, Pukaskwa National Park |
| Ending Point | Hatties Cove, Pukaskwa National Park |
| Duration | 9 days |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Total Distance | 140 km |
| Elevation Gain | 1500 m (one way) |
Location: Pukaskwa National Park
Traditional Territory: This route takes place on the traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki people.
Maps & Resources
Guidebook: Pukaskwa Backcountry Hiking Trip Planner
Maps Used: Chrismar’s Pukaskwa National Park Map
Interactive Map: You can view and modify this route using the Route Planner
GPS Route: Personal AllTrail Map
Permits & Reservations
Campsite Reservations: Reservations for campsites along the Pukaskwa coastal trail are required and can be made here. The booking dates for National Parks change every year and can be viewed here.
Permits: Permits for the Pukaskwa Coastal Trail are included when you book your sites and can be picked up at the gatehouse as you enter or at the main office in the park, depending on the season.
Know Before You Go
Season: In my opinion the best time to hike this trail is in mid to late September as the mosquitos are minimal, and the temperature is not hot or cold, but chilly enough to drive you forward.
Cell Reception: There was no cell reception along the trail, GPS/Satellite device is required by the Park for safety
Mandatory Orientation: The leader of each hike must attend an orientation before being permitted to hike the trail. These take place either when you arrive at the park or online beforehand and last about 40 mins.
Mandatory Form: You must complete a detailed form regarding trip details. The parks staff will email it to you prior to your start date.
Mandatory GPS/Satellite Tracker: Pukaskwa requires that you have a device which you can use for communication, location tracking and to make an SOS call.
Mandatory De-registration: Upon completing the trail the parks staff requires you to check out at the gatehouse so they know you are safely off the trail, can ask you a few questions regarding trail conditions and wildlife encounters, and to give you your commemorative patch.
Water: There is access to drinking water along most of the trail, aside from a few sections of higher elevation.
Wildlife: Black bears are prevalent on this trail, and although we didn’t encounter one, we saw their footprints everywhere. Northern caribou, moose, wolves, lynx and bald eagles are also native to the area.
Waste: There are fully enclosed outhouses along the entirety of the trail but all other garbage must be packed out as the only garbage bins are at Hattie Cove.
Outfitters & Shuttles
Outfitter: We did not use an outfitter for our equipment or supplies but there are a few in Sault Ste Marie. Naturally Superior Adventures in Wawa doesn’t have gear to rent but I have heard wonderful things about their guided trips along the Lake Superior coastline, and they do have a small amount of gear available to purchase.
Shuttle: The only way to Hattie Cove other than walking is via boat. There are two shuttles available for drop off or pick up, but beware as they are weather dependent and Lake Superior is very temperamental. Most people do book a shuttle to hike the trail one-way, but frequent repairs and weather are a serious consideration and you will have to be ready to adjust your itinerary if the shuttle is cancelled.
North Shore Adventures: https://www.northshoreadventures.ca/ ; [email protected]; 807-228-0709
Michano Marine and Company: [email protected]; 807-228-1490, 807-228-0399
Trip Report
Day 1: Hattie Cove to Chigaamawinigum Falls (10 km)
After sixteen years of dreaming, my husband Michael and I finally hiked Pukaskwa Coastal Trail. This nine day yo-yo hike in late September had us hauling 18 lbs of food as well as our autumn gear, making our backpacks weigh in at around 40 lbs each. Getting there itself took about twelve hours, so we divided the drive into two days, camping along Hwy 17 on the way up.
Signing up to do this hike was a journey in itself. Not only did we have to preform the usual tasks of researching and creating our itinerary, but Pukaskwa required quite a few tasks from us as well. Before we could set out we had to attend a 45 minute orientation, available both online ahead of time or upon arrival to the park. Along with this we had to complete a form asking details such as the number we could be reached at via our mandatory satellite communication device.
We arrived at the park at 10am and picked up our permit package at the gatehouse. Normally, permit packages could be picked up from the Visitor’s Centre but I had requested it be brought to the gatehouse in case we arrived earlier than the Centre opened. About an hour later, after double checking our bags and using the washrooms, we were on the trail, marching through the site of the 2002 controlled burn.
For the next hour we walked along a well-worn path through boreal forest interspersed with marshes and boardwalks. This was the first place we first saw Old Man’s Beard moss (Usnea) dangling from spruce branches, but certainly not the last. Once we traversed the floating boardwalk, the trail started to demand more energy and careful steps. We were so excited to finally be in Pukaskwa that we hardly noticed the challenge of this section on our way south, but we certainly felt it northbound on day nine.
By 12:45pm we had hiked 4km to Playtor Harbour North 1, a site too beautiful to be true. Perched on the tip of a rock at the mid-point of a fjord-like harbour, this site was a dream; it even had its own fresh-water swimming lagoon. Despite its dreaminess, we had two gripes with this site: the areas large enough to fit a tent were scrubby and few, and there were several “Bears in Area” signs.
A note here about “Bears in Area” signs in Pukaskwa: Parks staff place these signs wherever there has been a bear sighting or encounter within the current hiking season, so we knew these signs were relatively fresh and not just there to promote general awareness.
After a 30 minute lunch we left the site and continued south. We crossed a wooden bridge right before passing by the turn-off for the Mdaabii Miikna trail. Twenty minutes of mostly gentle forest walking later, we encountered the exit sign for the same trail. About the same time we realized we had forgotten not only our first aid kit but also our washroom kit containing both our soap and hand sanitizer for the trip. Concerned about the 7:40pm sunset, we took a quick inventory of what we had on hand that could support us in the same ways (an extra bag of medication I packed at the last minute and compressed cleaning wipes) and decided to trust that the trail would provide us with whatever else we needed.
We reached the iconic White River Bridge (km 8 on the AllTrails map) by 2:30 that afternoon and took about a thousand photos of the water churning over boulders between the cliffs that supported our transparent overpass. About 15 minutes later we encountered the signs to Chigaamawinigum Falls sites 1 and 2; 20 minutes up a woodsy path lay our site for the night.
A note on signage: Pukaskwa Coastal Trail is technically unsigned, other than campsites and other areas of note (other trails, portages, or places where it’s easy to wander off the trail). We did not struggle at all to find and follow the path through the wooded areas, though, as it is very obvious. The areas of exposed rock were slightly harder to follow but cairns led the way. This trail was more intuitive to follow than even some well-marked trails like La Cloche Silhouette, where we’ve wandered off a time or two.
Campsite: CF2 is the prettier of these campsites, being right beside the tumbling White River as it rounds a corner and calms itself into a pool. The tent pad area is comically small compared to the enormous amount of slanted rock surrounding it.
CF1 is tucked deeper into the forest but is closer to the privy and food locker. There is more room for tents at this site, but still not much. We met a group of five friendly men sharing this area, each with their own tent, who somehow made it work. They were on their way out of the park the next day and offered us their left-over hand sanitizer! We were so relieved and grateful to receive a gift so desperately needed.
Sharing the food locker with that many people was challenging, especially since we were carrying ten days worth of food. This area had issues with rodents, so within the locker there was a rodent-proof barrel. There was no way our food plus the gentlemen’s food would fit, so we divided our food in half, keeping one bag outside the barrel and sacrificing it to the rodent gods. In the morning it hadn’t been munched at all; another gift to be grateful for.
We passed the rest of our evening watching a merganser painstakingly fish his way up the rapids while sipping on warm coco and assembling a tiny puzzle. Swimming here would have been challenging due to the combination of very strong water currents from the rapids and the steep, slippery granite along the shore.
Note on the campsites: each individual campsite has a fire ring of one sort or another, and each group of sites has at least one food storage locker and fully-enclosed (not just a thunderbox) outhouse.
| Distance | 10 km |
| Elevation Gain | 110 m |
| Travel Time | 3.5 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: Chigaamawinigum Falls 2 |
Day 2: Chigaamawinigum Falls to Fish Harbour 3 (22 km)
This was our biggest day kilometre-wise, so we woke up very early and left our site at 6:30am before the sun fully rose. Foregoing a warm breakfast and coffee was difficult, but it was worth it to know we would arrive at our next site before dark.
Note on AllTrails vs Garmin: Our Garmin InReach distances did not match the ones we got from tracking our journey on AllTrails, and neither of them matched the distances in the park’s Backpacking Guide, so for the sake of making our location obvious for the reader I’ve included km markings from the AllTrails map in my description. The actual distances travelled each day were also tracked with AllTrails, and the times do not include any breaks taken.
The trail continued along the White River where we clambered over enormous piles of driftwood that had been delivered by the spring runoff. Here there were windows through the cedars to towering cliffs on the other side of the water. Our path through a dense forest of mostly aspen and spruce was less worn but still obvious, and half an hour later we reached the thundering Hook Falls (AllTrails km 8.5). One lovely waterside campsite greeted us just before the falls, and the other two came soon after it.
Around 8am, the forest spat us out onto exposed rock via a formidable climb to the trail’s second highest elevation (270 metres, AllTrails km 11). Weaving through rocky pathways lined with moss, lichen, and ferns we made our way to the first coastal view just before Willow River (AllTrails km 14). The number of opportunities to slip to our deaths, though plentiful, had so far been outweighed by the multitudes of mushrooms we’d seen; one variety was even purple!
Over the next five kilometres we encountered mostly flat, forested terrain which offered us our first boulder field and wildlife camera sighting (there are six in total along the trail). We hoped that the camera captured more wildlife than we were seeing, but we did spot a brave solo hiker with at least 60 lbs of gear spilling out of her backpack. Pots, pans and all sorts of things were dangling off her bag, creating a jingling, clanking sound that rang with the bittersweet grit it takes to hike on ones own out here. We said hello and she responded, but we could tell she did not want to talk.
There were six campsites at Willow River Harbour (AllTrails km 16.5, 10:45am), and we waved to a few groups of hikers as we passed through. The suspension bridge here was much less astounding than the first one we encountered as it rests across a calm river.
Directly after Willow River we got to choose between the 5.6km “Interior Route” or 6.6km “Scenic” one. It was 11am and we still had at least 10 more kilometres to travel to our site, so we chose the shorter inland route on our way south but vowed to take the longer route on our way back. Half an hour later we had completed the reasonably flat (still quite scenic) inland route and were on our way up and over a granite highway, through two more boulder fields all the way to Shot Watch Cove (AllTrails km 21.5). It was 1pm and we were hot and hungry, so we went for a quick swim in the frigid water, then ate our lunch and dried out in the sunshine.
The next campsites we came across were very large, open and at Morrison Harbour (AllTrails km 23). We had avoided adding Morisson to our itinerary because I’d read so many warnings concerning bears in this area; ironically, it ended up being one of the few campsites without a “Bears in Area” sign. I guess the bears moved on. It was also very beautiful and sheltered and I’d love to spend the night here another time.
Leaving Morrison Harbour required us to make our first unbridged river crossing. The waterway was only a trickle and the impressive log bridge piled up over it led us to believe that at other times of the year this crossing is more of a big deal. Travelling back through another bearded forest, then out to a shoreline of large, mingling smooth and sharp rocks, we came upon a cairn that instructed us to enter the forest again via an enormous fissure in the granite.
The approach to Fish Harbour felt unnecessarily circuitous. From the first beach we could see the sites we were headed to, but still the trail took us up, up, and around and then finally landed us at camp by 3:30pm.
Campsite: We were booked at the first site we came across; Fish Harbour 3. It was the largest site with the nicest path to the beach, which was a great surprise at the end of a long day. At precisely the same time we arrived, a group of paddlers also arrived via the water to take a short break. They spooked us at first by saying this was their site, but left us laughing afterward with their friendliness.
Although the site was large, it was challenging to find a spot that wasn’t already occupied by extremely active and enormous, underground red ant communities. Ants were piled on top of ants, scurrying in and out of their holes and seemingly sending winged ants out on missions. We did our best not to interfere with their operations. Once we found a place to peaceably coexist with them, we set up our tent so it could properly dry from last night’s condensation. We brought dinner out to the beach and nestled our toes in the warm sand until the sun set over the living art that was Fish Harbour.
Just before the sun went fully down we noticed that the woman we had met on the trail earlier had arrived a couple of sites down from us; an interesting end to that story, we thought, especially since she had been hiking in the opposite direction of us. Little did we know there would be more to come.
| Distance | 21.8 km |
| Elevation Gain | 25 m |
| Travel Time | 8 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: Fish Harbour 3 |
Day 3: Fish Harbour to Fisherman’s Cove 2 (17 km)
After a good night’s sleep, we woke up at 7:30am and left camp by 9:15. It is of note that the ants had not yet woken up, or at least not started working by the time we left. To be up and out before hardworking ants felt encouraging.
A note on weather: While the daily expected high in Pukaskwa for this time of the year was 13C and the low 6C, we experienced above average temperatures closer to 20C during the day and above 10C at night. Our sleep system was far too warm at night and we wished we had brought a more adaptable set up. September is also supposed to be one of the rainiest months of the year in the park, and we experienced more than a full week without any rain at all.
We had seen our first bear print in yesterday’s mud, but today we saw many more in the sand; mostly, adult ones, but sometimes there were baby prints alongside them like in Cave Harbour. In that same area there was another unbridged river crossing with no water but an impressive pile of logs to balance our way over.
After the crossing we encountered mostly muddy forest walking, Ahdik Lake an hour in at km 29.5, and then the very distinctive dry riverbed at km 32. This is one of the few areas where signage is plentiful for good reason; it would be very easy to get off course here.
The Oiseau Creek crossing came at the end of the dry river bed and was quite challenging as it was very deep and the boards stacked across it are not stable. We ran into hikers who told us it was “a trick” and that we should just take off our pants and wade through the shallowest part of the creek. We decided to risk getting soaked and try the thrill ride that is the board crossing. We made it without falling, but each of us had a moment when we thought we probably wouldn’t.
On the path away from the creek we encountered the tallest capped mushrooms we had ever seen. Some of them were over a foot tall! It felt like we were entering Wonderland; and then at 11:30am, in a manner of speaking, we did, as the expansive Oiseau Bay Beach (AllTrails km 33) lay before us. It took us about 15 minutes to walk the full length of the beach, and there at the other end was another creek crossing. This one you could hop across, though; if the bears would let you, that is. Apparently, this same week a woman reported a bear preventing her from crossing here for more than two hours. We were lucky, though, no bear was gatekeeping this time.
Beautifully smooth coastal walking was on the agenda for the next half an hour, until a little ladder ushered us down to another sandy beach. We crossed a shallow inlet at the end of the beach and followed more bear prints across the sand and back into the woods. By 1pm we had reached Dampier Cove (AllTrails km 35), and after some challenging ridge walking, Nichols Cove 40 mins later. This was when the trail really started to test us. The three-kilometre section between Nichols Cove and Fisherman’s Bay were what we consider the second hardest part of the trail. We climbed up and over a forested ridge covered in azaleas, then higher still until we reached a breathtaking vista of the approaching bay. The elevation, the wind, the exposure all mingled into a flying feeling, and we struggled to keep our feet firmly on the ground while our stomachs leapt with exhilaration.
It took us about half an hour to scramble down to water level and start clambering along the rocky shore. It was 3pm before we ascended quite steeply one final time only to almost immediately descend. Our descent was through a crack in the forest floor, under which you could hear water mysteriously flowing. At the bottom of the hill the trail continued onto a beach where the extremely rudimentary paddle-in sites at Fisherman’s Cove are located. We spent a good ten minutes trying to find our site in this first part of the Cove, until we realized we had 20 more minutes of easy woods-walking to get to our site.
Campsite: We arrived at 3:42pm to my favourite site along the trail, Fisherman’s Cove 2. While both sites at this cove are great, site two is hidden behind a short, forested peninsula, making it very private. You have your own little beach and are hemmed in on two sides in a way that feels ultra-cozy. Michael and I swam in the icy water until we tingled from head to toe, rinsed our clothes in the water, then lay back in the sun, allowing the feeling of warmth to slowly melt its way back into our veins.
While preparing dinner we came to realize that Fish Harbour, though noted as one of the campsites without rodent issues and therefore without a rodent proof barrel in the food bin, did indeed have a rodent problem. Someone with small, sharp teeth had bitten their way through our dry sack, multiple layers of ziplock bags and straight into one of our dehydrated meals, leaving milk power coating the contents of our dinner bag. Not the worst mess, but we could have done without it and no longer considered the chewed meal a viable dinner option. We were glad we always brought a little extra food just in case, because now we needed it.
After watching the sun sink low in the sky on our beautiful, private peninsula, we zipped ourselves into the tent for some pre-slumber reading. From out of the silence we heard a voice: “Hello! Hello? I think you’re on my site.” I shot up into a sitting position, a little stunned, and replied, “Um, hello! Hi. Let me double check our reservation.” She checked hers too and found she was booked on the other site. We climbed out of our tent to help her find her site and couldn’t believe our eyes: it was the same jingling solo camper we’d met yesterday.
“How was today?” I asked.
“Don’t ask” she said, and I left her alone.
| Distance | 16.5 |
| Elevation Gain | 165 m |
| Travel Time | 6 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: Fisherman’s Cove 2 |
Day 4: Fisherman’s Cove to White Spruce Harbour 1 (12 km)
Waking up to more beautiful weather, we took our breakfast out to the point again to watch the sun rise and the mergansers fish. Halfway through breakfast we heard a familiar voice tell us not to look because she was skinny dipping. This poor hiker, we always seemed to be right there when she least wanted us to be.
We packed up and headed out by 9am, ready for what we knew was going to be a day full of climbing; this section between Fisherman’s Cove and White Gravel River is considered the most challenging part of the trail due to it containing the trail’s highest elevation (315 metres). The trail did not leave us guessing, as it ascended immediately through the forest. An hour later we were at a plateau with a view of Lake Superior.
After half an hour of ridge walking we descended back into the woods, but not for long as there would be many ups and downs throughout the day. In the forest we encountered quite a bit of mud considering the dry weather we were having, and also quite a lot of moose poop considering the number of animals we were seeing (only birds so far).
By noon we’d made it to the outlet of White Gravel River (AllTrails km 47) located halfway along a beach comprised of both shifting sand and river rocks. We crossed the river on a day with very small waves; it was about twelve metres wide and its deepest point was up to our knees. The most challenging aspects were remaining balanced as the waves hit us and keeping our footing as the rocks shifted under our feet. It was a really refreshing reprieve from the heat of our effortful morning hike.
At the southern end of the beach we were glad to find a post full of signs leading us back into the woods. It took us an hour of blissfully easy forest walking to get to our site at White Spruce Harbour.
Campsite: This site was a mixed bag. We were greeted by multiple “Bears in area” signs, plywood sheeting, and my least favourite thing: camper infrastructure (handmade tables and grills etc). It was obvious that this campsite was used often and by people who gut fish on-site, which is not a problem unless it attracts bears…which from the signage and bear prints, it was seeming to do. All that said, it was a lovely haven set into the woods just a few feet from our own private harbour that was entirely enclosed except for one small opening into the larger lake. As if that wasn’t enough, there was an island to explore, as well as a little mountain you could climb that gave you a perfect view out of the harbour. The water was warm and crystal clear. We went exploring and, after nearly getting sucked in by quicksand, returned to camp for some rest.
| Distance | 11.5 km |
| Elevation Gain | 186 m |
| Travel Time | 4 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: White Spruce Harbour |
Day 5: White Spruce Harbour to North Swallow River 1 (12 km)
Surprised and delighted to not have encountered a bear in the night, we arose to overcast skies, had a quick breakfast, and left by 8:55am. Right out of White Spruce there is a climb, but an hour later at kilometre 52, before we began the long walk into Simon’s Harbour, there was one that rivaled every other incline on the trail; it was rocky, hand over hand, nearly straight-up climbing. It didn’t take much time, but certainly a bunch energy and courage, to get to the top. As soon as we arrived we got to descend the other, less challenging side.
On the way into Simon’s Harbour we passed giant fern-covered boulders as we walked along the water’s edge for about half an hour. Near the apex of the harbour we had to traverse a smooth, steep granite rock that sloped down into the water. We could see that it used to have a rope tied across it, but it had been severed. Luckily the water level was low enough that the shoreline rocks and driftwood would have kept us from slipping in had we fallen, but it was still of note.
The trail went back into the woods at the end of Simon’s Harbour and led up and over ridges to one of my favourite views (AllTrails km 56): Hideaway Lake with Lake Superior in the background. We arrived at the view just in time for lunch at 11:45am.
The site at Hideaway Lake was actually on Lake Superior with the smaller lake at its back. It was quite a small site but had lots of charm and a gorgeous view. We kept moving through the woods past Hideaway, up the trail’s final big ascent (236 metres, AllTrails km 58), and out onto smooth rocks along Superior’s coast.
From there we descended a wooden ladder and hopped through an area with several boulder fields. Past a marsh and then supposedly beside English Fishery Harbour, which we couldn’t see, we made our way to a beautiful unnamed lake by 1pm (AllTrails km 58.5). For about half an hour we followed a narrow path that ran beside the lake. Sometimes it led us onto small, slippery shoreline rocks where the water lapped at our feet and other times it took us farther up through the forest. After the lake we entered a further section of forest. This area was quite scrubby with lots of blow downs and a path that was easier to lose.
Campsite: By 2pm we made it to North Swallow River and considered where to cross. The friendly men we met on our first night told us it was best to cross at the river’s outlet but that it was also very deep and strong. In fact, the crossing posed such a challenge that one of them had lost a shoe there and another a hiking pole.
We saw that the trail had led us to a narrow section of river that could be crossed via boulder hopping if the water was low enough, which it was. We were happy to have made it across without having to remove our clothes, especially since I was feeling grumpy due to lack of sleep from the night before. Fifteen minutes later we broke into wide smiles at the sight of the “Welcome & Congratulations” sign. We had made it to North Swallow Harbour! As a thick fog rolled in off the lake we took a quick, icy dip, rinsed our clothes, and celebrated by relaxing into the red Parks Canada chairs.
The site at North Swallow was tucked back into the forest a few feet from the beach, and had room for several tents. The overcast sky mingled with the fog to set the most ominous scene: it felt like if ever we were going to see a bear on this trail, it would be here while puzzling and eating bannock in this mystical, spine-chilling moment.
| Distance | 12 km |
| Elevation Gain | 257 m |
| Travel Time | 5 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: North Swallow |
Day 6: North Swallow River to White Gravel River 3 (17 km)
Note: This is the point at which we turned around, to start retracing our steps back to Hatties Cove
We kept with tradition and left camp at 8:55am, crossing the river at the same place we had yesterday. The forest before us was still scrubby, but I enjoyed it more because I was well-rested. After climbing up the wooden ladder there was an area of steep, smooth rock that I would not like to travel when it’s wet.
Hideaway Lake sparkled in the sun today as we hiked past and to my favourite view. There are a lot of strenuous ups and downs through this section, both through the forest and on the shoreline.
Campsite: Our pace was exactly the same going north as it was going south in this section, and today we pushed an extra hour past White Spruce to White Gravel River 3. The crossing today was even more pleasant than our first time through: waveless and only shin deep. Our good fortune was proof, though, that the level of challenge changes dramatically with the weather out here. The campsite at White Gravel was set back about 30 feet from the beach and had room for more than one tent.
We took a frigid dip in the water, rinsed our clothes again, then sat back on the beach to dry out. We saw two things of note here: a garter snake and the boat shuttling someone somewhere. Proof of life we hadn’t seen in days.
| Distance | 16.5 km |
| Elevation Gain | 225 m |
| Travel Time | 6 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: White Gravel River 3 |
Day 7: White Gravel River to Oiseau Bay (16 km)
The 6 o’clock morning was cold and starry. We ate and broke camp, leaving by 8am and again keeping our same southbound pace until reaching Fisherman’s Cove. Somehow, we completed the challenging climb from Fisherman’s to Oiseau Bay one hour faster than we had going south, making it up to breathtaking views by 12:45 pm and then down to the beach by 2:30 pm.
Campsite: The campsites at Oiseau were nearly a five minute walk from the beach and one that involved a small stream crossing. We decided to set up camp and then spend a few hours on the beach. When we got to the water the wind had picked up considerably, so we piled some driftwood to make a windbreak and tucked ourselves under our blanket. Cleverly disguised, we went nearly unnoticed by the only hiker we’d seen in five days. He was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and a chipper smile. We greeted him as he passed and his first words were “Woah. The warden told me there was practically no one out here.”
“That’s us,” I laughed to myself, “practically no one.”
He was booked to stay at Oiseau for the night but didn’t like the look of the sites. He said he was considering pushing on to Fish Harbour, so I consulted my journal to tell him how long it took us to hike from there from where we were. He decided to try for it, leaving us alone on our gigantic, windy beach.
We saw a rabbit after dinner, which was our largest animal sighting on the trail thus far.
| Distance | 16 km |
| Elevation Gain | 307 m |
| Travel Time | 6 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: Oiseau Bay |
Day 8: Oiseau Bay to Willow River (20 km)
We got another early start on the trail at 8:30 this morning, and found that crossing Oiseau Creek on those boards was no easier in this direction. The trail, once past the dry river bed, however, was more rolling than yesterday’s acute terrain, and we made it to the Fish Harbour sites by 11am. After the steep climb out of the harbour we followed a crag in the rocks out to the coast. A little boulder field led us back into the moss-blanketed woods, which we followed all the way to Morrison Harbour by 12:30pm.
Gentle forest walking brought us to Shot Watch Cove by 1pm, and three boulder fields, some scenic ridge walking and an hour and a half later we began the “Scenic Route” we had avoided southbound. This smooth granite route led us to sweeping views of Lake Superior, revealing rocks that looked like a pod of whales, and an overhead view of Willow River. This route also took us three times as long to travel as the inland one due to the undulating terrain (Inland route 26 mins; scenic route 1hr 10 mins).
Connecting back to the main trail from this path requires a dizzying, rocky downclimb which is another place I would not like to find myself in the rain. At 4pm we crossed the Willow River suspension bridge and found our home for the night at site 1.
Campsite: Something had happened between when we walked this beach the first time seven days ago and now. On the beach, spelled out in sticks, was the word “BEAR” and the date he had been encountered. On our way out we were told by a warden that a bear had been sniffing at a tent full of hikers. He wouldn’t leave their tent alone, so they had to leave and move to another site in the middle of the night. I wasn’t thrilled to be sleeping a few sites down from the memory of that happening, but our site was so unbelievable. Five of the sites at Willow River were pretty nice, large enough for more than one tent and situated along the beach. Our site, site 1, was off to the side on a peninsula of sorts. It also had its own island, which was a giant 40ft boulder you could climb to watch the sun set.
While eating our last dinner we watched the hiker we had met at Oiseau joyfully saunter into camp at 6pm. We also noticed someone who we think was the jingling solo hiker we had last seen at Fish Harbour; somehow, our paths were all converging at Willow River.
Before bed we watched a chipmunk harvest seeds from a pinecone, then cozied up in our tent for a rainy night.
| Distance | 20 km |
| Elevation Gain | 144 m |
| Travel Time | 7 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | Reservation by Zone: Willow River |
Day 9: Willow River to Hattie Cove (17 km)
It deluged rain all night long. In the morning, we realized that we had set up our tent in a bit of a granite bathtub. Water had soaked through the floor and drenched the bottom of our sleeping mat, but everything else was dry. Still raining by breakfast time, the wasn’t much we could do about our tent other than pack it into two separate dry bags and wait for a chance to dry it out. The weather on our trip had been so perfect we could not even consider complaining, so we packed up and left our beautiful, saturated site by 8:45am.
The trail was something completely new. There were tiny lakes and streams where there used to be pathways, and every rock posed a threat to our ankles. Dressed in our full rain gear, we stayed dry aside from sweat, but our boots picked up a pound of mud each. A tiny waterfall that trickled on our way southbound was now gushing water as we sloshed past northbound. We travelled through the woods, climbed up slick rocks, walked over wooden bridges, past marshes, and arrived at the Hook Falls sites by 11am. Over the giant pile of driftwood along the White River to its famous suspension bridge we made our way to the first campsite that captured our hearts, Playtor Harbour North 1 by 12:45pm. Realizing that everything was so wet, and we were so close to our car, we decided to skip our last night on the trail and hike back to our car now. The way out wasn’t as easy as we remembered it being, with lots of demanding climbs now made slippery with mud, but we made it to the floating boardwalk by 1:45, the trailhead by 2:15 and warm showers by 2:30pm.
After completing the hike, we went directly to the Visitor’s Centre to get our badges. The staff member there gave us stickers and we were a bit disappointed, thinking that they didn’t give away patches anymore. The last thing that Pukaskwa asks you to do before you leave is de-register at the gate. There we filled out a form regarding trail conditions as well as animal sightings/encounters. The warden asked us where we’d seen bears and how many we’d seen; when we said that we saw none, his jaw dropped. That’s when we learned about all the bear encounters people had been having all week long; even people only hiking for two days had dealt with more grumpy bears than we had even seen from a distance. He could not believe that we had been out there for so long and not run into a single bear. We were so grateful for and amazed by this.
Before we left for good, the warden showed us the badge he gave most people who completed the trail. Then, with delight, he pulled out a different badge he gave to people who completed it in both directions. We got to choose which one to take. We both chose the yo-yo badge.
| Distance | 17 km |
| Elevation Gain | 173 m |
| Travel Time | 5.5 hours |
| Campsite Reservation | N/A |
Reflections
Pukaskwa was worth the wait. We had perfect weather which allowed us to keep a pretty steady pace, but I’m sure that more rain may have slowed us down and put a damper on our mileage.
We found the trail more demanding when hiking it southbound (Hattie to North Swallow) than northbound. We did take into account that our loads were lighter on our way northbound, and our bodies and minds were more attuned to the terrain. Still, most of the challenging ascents we had faced southbound had all miraculously transformed into descents on our way back north.
The section between Oiseau and White Gravel River was the most challenging for us, due to the amount of climbing and boulder navigation. It follows that this section also included the most astonishing vistas as well as slippery, slanted places where I’d prefer not to be in a rainstorm.
Regarding river crossings, North Swallow was the most difficult although we definitely got lucky with the low water level and some well-placed rocks we were able to hop across. White Gravel River is a straightforward crossing, just watch out for the strength of the waves and depth, both which can change quickly with the weather. Another crossing of note was Oiseau Creek; the log crossing is very tippy but the option of wading through the river is quite deep.
Trail Comparisons
Compared to La Cloche Silhouette Trail, Pukaskwa has fewer breath-taking vistas, but they are grander due to the vastness of Lake Superior. That being said, La Cloche’s highest elevation is 543 metres (1781 feet) whereas Pukaskwa’s top peak is only 315 metres (1030 ft). Additionally, La Cloche’s total elevation gains are around 3000 metres (9800 ft), while Pukaskwa’s are about half that at 1500 metres if hiked one way (5000 ft). Both trails feature spectacular geology, crystal clear water, and rugged topography, but Pukaskwa wins in terms of remoteness.
The Lake Superior Coastal Trail contrasts with Pukaskwa in the amount of coastal walking it demands. Elevation-wise, LSCT only reaches 276 metres (905 ft), but the amount of boulder navigation makes it a much harder trail, in my opinion. When you set the peak height of this trail as well as the fact that there are only two significant ascents against its total elevation gains of 1618 metres it illustrates just how frequently you must climb and descend. LSCT is only remote at the north end near Gargantua and it is not long until you are close to the highway again; many of the campsites and trail sections can be accessed by day hikers and there are areas where highway walking is required. The best part of this trail vs. Pukaskwa, in my opinion, is the amount of time you get to spend right beside Lake Superior.
Author Bio
Ronelle is a horticulturalist, wife, and mother of two little adventurers who she hopes will someday agree to hike this trail again with her.