Northern Ontario Resource Trail
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The Northern Ontario Resource Trail (NORT) is the designation of two mainly gravel roads in the
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
province of
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. One road travels north from
Pickle Lake Pickle Lake is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the most northerly community in the province that has year-round access by road. Located north of Thunder Bay, highway access is via Highway 599, the only access road to the ...
to the northern shore of Windigo Lake, then to the North Caribou Lake First Nation at Weagamow Lake. The second road travels north from Red Lake. Both link several
winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...
s and
ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...
s that serve communities in extreme
Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...
with the provincial highway system. The first of the Pickle Lake–Windigo Lake Road, as far as the Otoskwin River, also held the tertiary highway designation of Highway808 within the provincial highway system from 1966 to 1983.


Route description


Pickle Lake

The Northern Ontario Resource Trail at Pickle Lake begins at the northern end of Highway 599 in Central Patricia and travels to Windigo Lake. It initially meanders northeast before turning northwest. From the north shore of the lake, a non-NORT road on Crown Land continues for approximate to serve the North Caribou Lake First Nation. Although the road is maintained year-round, it is extremely lightly travelled, and is in a very remote section of the province. Motorists should stock up on supplies in Pickle Lake, and be prepared for remote bush travel. It is recommended to fill up on
gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
and supplies, and check weather conditions before travelling down this road, since there are no
gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
s or any other services on the Northern Ontario Resource Trail north of Pickle Lake. Caution must be used while driving as well, as there are some steep grades on the route. Although the speed limit is , there are many sections where such a speed cannot be maintained.


Red Lake

A gravel road known as the Nungesser Road travels from the Red Lake northwards approximately to Bak Creek. A road on Crown land then continues from that point to the Berens River. It begins at an intersection with Highway 125 just west of Balmertown. Approximately north of there, it intersects with Taxi Bay Road, which provides boat access to
Pikangikum First Nation The Pikangikum First Nation (, Ojibwe: ''Bigaanjigamiing'', unpointed ᐱᑲᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ,,pointed ᐱᑳᐣᒋᑲᒦᐣᐠ) is an Ojibwe First Nation located on the Pikangikum 14 Reserve, in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern O ...
. Several winter roads connect to Nungesser Road, and provide access and supplies from approximately January to March each year to
fly-in A fly-in, also called an aviation meet, is a pre-arranged gathering of aircraft, pilots and passengers for recreational and Socialization, social purposes. Fly-ins may be formally or informally organised, members of the public may or may not be ...
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
territories in the far north of Ontario. Due to the effects of
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, the winter roads have been open for a shorter period each year. Consequently, several First Nations are studying the feasibility of connecting to the road network with all-season roads.


Communities served

The Northern Ontario Resource Trail serves several communities via
ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
/
winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...
s that branch from it: *
Bearskin Lake First Nation Bearskin Lake First Nation ()Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation - Annual Report 2013-2014https://nanlegal.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nalsc-annual-report-2013-14.pdf/ref> is an Oji-Cree First Nation reserve in Kenora District, Onta ...
*
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (Oji-Cree language, Oji-Cree: ᑭᐦᒋᓇᒣᑯᐦᓯᑊ ᐃᓂᓂᐧᐊᐠ (''Gichi-namegosib ininiwag''); unpointed: ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᑊ ᐃᓂᓂᐧᐊᐠ or ᑭᐦᒋᓇᒣᑯᐦᓯᐱᐎᓂᓂᐗᐠ (''Gichi- ...
(Big Trout Lake) *
Eabametoong First Nation Eabametoong, also known as Fort Hope or Eabamet Lake by Canada Post, is an Ojibwe First Nations band government in Kenora District, Ontario, Canada. Located on the shore of Eabamet Lake in the Albany River system, the community is located approxi ...
(Fort Hope) * Kasabonika Lake First Nation *
Keewaywin First Nation Keewaywin (Oji-Cree:ᑮᐌᐎᐣ (''Giiwewin''), unpointed ᑭᐌᐎᐣ) is a small Oji-Cree/Anisisinew First Nation band government in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario. It is connected to Sandy Lake First Nation by Sandy La ...
*
Kingfisher First Nation Kingfisher First Nation (Oji-Cree language: ᑮᐡᑭᒪᓂᐦᓰᐋᐧᐴᕽ (''Giishkimanisiiwaaboong'', "At Kingfisher-waters"); unpointed: ᑭᐡᑭᒪᓂᓯᐊᐧᐳᐠ) is an Oji-Cree First Nations in Canada, First Nation Indian reserve, r ...
* Koocheching First Nation *
Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation The Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation () is an Oji-Cree First Nation band government in Northern Ontario. They reside on the Muskrat Dam Lake reserve, located on Muskrat Dam Lake in the Kenora District. The community of Muskrat Dam, Ontario, is ...
* Neskantaga First Nation (Lansdowne House) * Sachigo Lake First Nation *
Sandy Lake First Nation Sandy Lake First Nation (or ᓀᑲᣞ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᓃᐣᐠ, Negaw-zaaga'iganiing Nitam-Anishinaabe) is an independent Oji-Cree First Nations band government. The First Nations community, in the west part of Northern Ontario, is located in t ...
*
Nibinamik First Nation Nibinamik First Nation ( Ojibway language: ᓃᐱᓇᒥᐦᐠ (''Niibinamik'', "Summerbeaver"); unpointed: ᓂᐱᓇᒥᐠ), also known as Summer Beaver Band, is a small Oji-Cree First Nation reserve in Northern Ontario, located on the Summer ...
(Summer Beaver) *
Wapekeka First Nation Wapekeka First Nation (, formerly known as Angling Lake First Nation) is a First Nation band government in the Canadian province of Ontario. An Oji-Cree community in the Kenora District, the community is located approximately 450 kilometres northe ...
* Wawakapewin First Nation * North Caribou Lake First Nation (Weagamow Lake) *
Webequie First Nation Webequie First Nation is located on the northern peninsula of Eastwood Island on Winisk Lake, 540 km (336 mi) north of Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. Webequie is a fly-in community with no summer road access. The primary way into the ...
* Wunnumin Lake First Nation


History


Pickle Lake

The Pickle Lake Northern Ontario Resource Trail was built beginning in 1962 under the Resources Roads program, which was jointly funded by the provincial and
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
to encourage
mineral exploration Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...
in the far north of Ontario. Initially known as Lingman Lake Road, construction began on north from Central Patricia that year, and was completed in 1963. However, the road was not travelable until the following year, when timber crib and steel girder bridges were opened over the Crow River in Central Patricia and at July Falls. By early 1966, the road was passable as far as north of Central Patricia. On December15, 1966, the portion of Highway599 from Central Patricia to the Otoskwin River was re-designated as Tertiary Road (commonly Highway)808. This designation lasted until 1983, when it was decommissioned as an official
Provincial Highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a state or ...
. The southernmost three km of the trail is paved, while the remaining length is gravel. The road is maintained year-round, due to its importance as a connection to natural resources sites and to
ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
/
winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...
s connecting remote
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
communities in the
Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...
. Beginning in December 2013, the North Caribou Lake First Nation undertook engineering and environmental studies on connecting to the provincial highway network by extending the Northern Ontario Resource Trail. Construction of a bridge over the Weagamow Lake Narrows as well as the new road south to Windigo Lake commenced in late 2016 or early 2017. With the completion of the Wa-Pik-Che-Wanoog bridge in mid-October 2017, all-season road access was extended by , although the extension is not officially part of the Pickle Lake NORT Road.


Red Lake

The Nungesser Road gets its name from the nearby Nungesser Lake, which in turn is named after a French aviator named Charles Nungesser.


Major intersections


Pickle Lake


Red Lake


References

{{Ontario Tertiary Highways Roads in Kenora District