Wabakimi Provincial Park is a

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

park located to the northwest of

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon ( ; ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northwestern Ontario. Part of the Great Lakes drainage basin, it drains through the Nipigon River into Lake Superior. It is the largest lake entirely within the Canadian province of Ontario. Ety ...

and northwest of Armstrong Station in the 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 ...

, Canada. The park contains a vast and interconnected network of more than 2,000 kilometres of lakes and rivers. The park covers an area of and became the second largest park in Ontario (after

Polar Bear Provincial Park Polar Bear Provincial Park is an isolated wilderness park in the far north of Ontario, Canada. It lies on the western shore where James Bay joins Hudson Bay. The terrain is part of the Hudson Bay Lowlands and features unspoiled low-lying tundra i ...

) and one of the world's largest

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

reserves following a major expansion in 1997 (it was expanded almost sixfold that year). A number of local citizen groups and residents, including Bruce Hyer (former MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North) have been instrumental in the creation, expansion, and preservation of this region. Armstrong Station has access points to this remote park by Caribou Lake Road, Little Caribou Lake, canoe, float plane, or rail. The main line of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

skirts the south end of the park and

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

provides passenger service twice a week. Paddlers (mostly canoeing) often travel the

Allan Water The Allan Water () is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. It shares its ...

, Flindt, Pikitigushi, and Ogoki River (along with a number of additional extended waterways) during the summer months. Wabakimi Provincial Park's waterways straddle a height-of-land from which water flows either to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

via

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

or to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

via the

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

basins. Several provincial waterway parks connect to Wabakimi: * Ogoki River Provincial Park, to the east * Albany River Provincial Park, to the north * Kopka River Provincial Park, to the south * Brightsand River Provincial Park, to the southwest Many camps and outfitters use Wabakimi including Keewaydin Canoe Camp.

Wabakimi Project and Friends of Wabakimi

The Wabakimi Project (2004-2018) was a not-for-profit effort to rediscover and explore the lost and/or abandoned canoe routes that lie within Wabakimi Provincial Park and on adjacent Crown lands. The Friends of Wabakimi is an Ontario non-profit that advocates for canoe routes and protection of the greater Wabakimi area.

References

External links

*
Explore the Boreal Forests of Wabakimi Provincial Park
{{Authority control Provincial parks of Ontario Parks in Thunder Bay District Protected areas established in 1983 1983 establishments in Ontario