Pukaskwa: one of Canada's best-kept secrets!

When planning a trip, people usually look forward to one particular destination or event. It can be an exciting city, an interesting museum or even, a special restaurant. Of all the places Michel and I will visit during our 2018 Summer Quest road trip this month, I am especially looking forward to Pukaskwa National Park.

The author of Superior: Under the Shadow of the Gods, describes Pukaskwa National Park as “one of Canada’s best-kept secrets, the largest national wilderness park in Ontario and a place of undeniable grandeur”. The park has been described as: impenetrable forest; waters that can change quickly from steel grey to brilliant blue, turquoise and emerald green; a shoreline of coves, inlets, shoals and jutting headlands like a jigsaw puzzle. And those are only a few of the striking illustrations I discovered during my research.

I am SO looking forward to discovering this park!

Expanding over 1878 km2 on Lake Superior’s remote northern coast, Pukaskwa National Park is about 10 km from the town of Marathon. So basically, a very long drive from Ottawa. To make it worthwhile, we are planning on spending three days in the area, hiking the Coastal Hiking Trail, which runs along the longest undeveloped stretch of shore on the Great Lakes. Reputed to be one of Canada’s most renowned and scenic hiking routes, the trail stitches up a primeval line of granite headlands, pebble beaches and old-growth forests.

And in case you were wondering, the origin of the name Pukaskwa (pronounced Pukasaw) is unknown. Some contend that the word is descriptive terminology for cleaning a fish. Others suggest it could mean "eaters of fish," "something evil," or "safe harbour".

We may never know the true origin of the name, but today it has become synonymous with the wild shores of Lake Superior known as Pukaskwa National Park.