Hope you enjoyed Northern Ontario - Part 1. Here's the rest of our trip, heading back South. We stopped to see The Loonie, toured the Deer Trail and got quite the surprise while exploring Elliot Lake.
Whenever I visit The Sault, I like to take the old Hwy 17 (Hwy 17B) to/from Bar River. It follows along St. Mary's River and is quite picturesque.
You pass through Echo Bay and will see The Loon Dollar Monument on the West (river) side of the road. The designer of The Loonie, Robert R. Carmichael, was from Echo Bay. ~30 km east of The Sault (Hwy 17B)
"be sure to stroll the adjacent Lake George Marsh Boardwalk, a 670-metre (2,200 foot) section of wheelchair-accessible paths to explore. This leads to a bird-viewing platform allowing you to see some excellent views of a provincially significant wetland." SooToday.com
From here, we headed south on Hwy 17 to Iron Bridge, where we took The Deer Trail (backroads) to Elliot Lake. The roads are a bit rough, only gravel in some spots, so take your time. Hwy 546 follows the Little White River. Make sure to find a safe place to stop and take a swim or dip your toes in.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Elliot Lake. It's a nice hotel overlooking Horne Lake. Make sure to ask for a Lakeview Room.
We went to the Fire Tower Lookout at sunset. It was an amazing view but, unfortunately, too smokey to see the sunset.
We did, however, get an amazing up-close view of a bear. This bear climbed up a tree near the railing and surprised us. It's about 1 year old. Click this link for tips on Bear safety - important when you are in Northern Ontario.
We walked along the Horne Lake Heritage Trail from the hotel to the Miners Memorial the next morning. (8 min walk) There was fresh bear scat on the side of the trail, so we stayed alert, but no more bear sightings. On one of the statues, the headlamp stays on at night to highlight the names of the miners on the memorial wall.
Jeff was a big fan of the Wi-Fi Hotspots all around town. Cellular service can be spotty up North.
We found a yummy food truck, Sarah's Food Truck, to order lunch from and went down to the recently renovated Boat Launch dock to eat it.
Chef Jeff Rating:
Shepherds Pie Loaded Poutine: 7/10 (needed more gravy)
Philly Sandwich on Corn Taco (gf): 8/10
The last stop of our trip was visiting family in Sudbury. Of course, you can't go to Sudbury without getting food from the Silver Bullet, which has been around for 30 years!
We ordered the Loaded Poutine, added an egg on top and had for Brunch.
Chef Jeff Rating: 8/10 *have to pay $1 extra for curds
This was the longest trip we've taken since the pandemic started, and we were very happy to come home to our cat Twiggy. Not sure she missed us though ;)
Hope this inspires you to go out and explore.
Until next time,
Diana & Jeffy