Category Archives: The Northwest

Towns in the westernmost part of Highway 11, from Rainy River on the U.S. border going east to Nipigon.

Shebandowan / Shebaqua Corners

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She-ban-do-wan, ooby do dooby do do She-ba-qua-qua

That’s not a real song.  I’ve just always thought that Shebandowan and Shebaqua Corners (well, minus the ‘Corners’) sounded like an improvised line from a minor Frankie Valli hit.

Highway 11 Lake Shebandowan

Lake Shebandowan at dusk (Photo credit: Linda)

It’s kind of funny to think that even parts of Ontario as remote and in the wilderness as north-west Ontario have their own cottage countries.  Or, as they like to call them up here, “camps”.  Shebandowan is one such area – I guess if the hustle and bustle of Fort Frances or Rainy River is too much for you, you can escape here.

Seventy kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Shebandowan has access to three lakes (upper, middle, and lower) for swimming, boating, and fishing.  Inco used to run a mine on the south side of the lake.  There used to be a hotel in the area, but all that remains are some scattered stores.  I’m told that this area of north-western Ontario is beautiful.

Linda emailed me the photo above and to let me know that there is more going on than I’ve reported.  American visitors often frequent Beda’s Lodge. There is great pizza at the old Burstrom’s and the Shebandowan Pie Sale in August is the annual must go to event to see everyone, have a drink or two and go home with a fresh baked pie.

Shabaqua Corners is a small hamlet on Highway 11 west of Thunder Bay.  What’s kind of neat about Shebaqua Corners is that every single vehicle either coming or going by way of Manitobagoes through this spot as there is no other way to get through Northern Ontario from out west.

As in most truck-stop towns, Shabaqua Corners has a local diner, an LCBO, a gas station, and a store.  There used to be a hotel in town…Chris emailed to tell me that it is still open.

Shebandowan, Highway 11 Ontario highway11.ca

Is that a bandstand beside the municipal office in Shebandowan? If so, I wanna be on their council. (Photo: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)

Sapawe / Kashabowie

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The watershed mark at Sapawe.

The watershed mark at Sapawe.

Don’t get me wrong.  Sapawe and Kashabowie are two separate places.

On the old site I used to have separate pages for Sapawe and Kashabowie as they are definitely two individual dots on the provincial highway map.

But when I had to re-do the site (thanks, Paypal, for not notifying me that they had arbitrarily cancelled my payement to the webhost, who subsequently deleted my website for non-payment of fees!) keeping Sapawe and Kashabowie separate just seemed so inefficient.

A reader tells me there isn’t a lot in Kashabowie, but that it’s a good fishing supply area with access to many lakes, a gas station, and an LCBO.

This is near Kashabowie. Or at least somewhere within 30 kms.

This is near Kashabowie. Or at least somewhere within 30 kms.

 

Atikokan

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Welcome to Atikokan, Ontario, highway11.caYou might think that any town whose website lists its public library as a tourist attraction would be in need of some excitement. However, Atikokan actually has a fair amount to do.

Atikokan started off as a mining town when ore was discovered nearby in 1938.  After diverting ten kilometres of river, damming the water flow, and draining a lake, workers had shifted twice the amount of earth moved to build the Panama Canal in half the time it took to build the world famous waterway.  For even more history, check out Charles Dobie’s site.

Atikokan subsisted on two mines until 1980 when both closed.  Today, Atikokan is known for forestry, hunting, canoeing, hiking, lodges, and a coal-fired power plant that is constantly giving the area’s local MPP a kink in his party’s anti-coal platform.  The town is now home to 3400 citizens.

(Thirty-four hundred seems a bit high – I’m sure there is some sort of “Ontario small-town population formula” used to make it seem like there are more than 2000 people in any small town in southern or northern Ontario. Maybe they count population during the annual fair or something.)

I can barely portage let alone do it whilst smoking a pipe, Atikokan highway11.ca

I can barely lift a canoe let alone do it whilst smoking a pipe

Atikokan is a good spot for fishing, camping, or starting a wilderness journey – it’s not called the “Canoe Capital of Canada” for nothing.  Atikokan has great access to Quetico Provincial Park, a wilderness park often recognized as one of the most beautiful places in Ontario, if not in Canada.  As well, there is the White Otter / Turtle River Wilderness Area just north of town and public swimming at the beach on Crystal Lake.

Other tourist attractions include tours of the local walleye hatchery, Scenic Little Falls, the Atikokan Centennial Museum, the Mining Attraction, and the Scenic Little Falls Golf Club. And, according to Wikipedia, Atikokan is Ojibway for “caribou bones”. Atikokan - highway11.ca water falls

However, the neatest thing in Atikokan (remember, in northern Ontario something can be “in” a town and still be 40 minutes away – or in this case, 64 kilometres away by boat or snowmobile) is White Otter Castle.  Started in 1905 by a strange local bachelor named Jimmy McQuat, the three story log cabin was built over ten years on the shores of White Otter Lake.  Jimmy single-handedly built his home out of red pine logs.  The castle has been restored by the local community and prints by a local artist are on sale for 100$.

As for services in town, I don’t have much info.  There are some lodges, a motel, a Foodland, and I’m sure a few diners in town.  Patrick reports that there is a great little campsite just outside of town.

Atikokan - White Otter Castle, highway11.ca

Okay, Jimmy McQuat’s White Otter Castle is a ‘castle’ in the sense that Hamilton, Ontario’s escarpment is a ‘mountain’, but it’s still really freakin’ neat.

Atikokan camp site, highway 11

Camp site in Atikokan

Atikokan camp site

The camp site runs on the honour system for travellers heading in at any time of day or night.  (Camp photos: Patrick.)

If you have, please email me to add to this page. My address is info (at) highway11 (dot) ca

Seine River Village

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Seine River Village is a small First Nations community but I haven’t been able to find much on it.  Internet searches only revealed weather information and some random results about Parisian history.

Seine River Village is a fairly isolated spot between Fort Frances and Atikokan on Highway 11.  When you look at the map there doesn’t seem to be much around the town.  So I’m pretty stuck for photos.  Hence the photos here, including the one of a bridge about 10 kilometres east of Seine River Village, sent in by Keith.

Seine River Village, highway11.ca, Ontario Highway 11

And then I found this photo of Seine River Village in the gallery of Wiki Commons user P199.

Ontario Highway 11, highway11.ca, Seine River Village.

This is the best I have for photos: a small bridge 10 km east of Seine River Village. (Photo: Keith)

Mine Centre

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Mine Centre is on Highway 11 in between Fort Frances and Atikokan.

The regional tourist guide says that Mine Centre is “a small community…a great place to stop for a bite, get supplies, or talk to friendly locals.”  However, when you’re considered a small community in a place where every town is small, then you know Mine Centre truly must be another small Highway 11 hamlet.

Nearby, Bad Vermillion Lake is good for fishing – pike, bass, trout (supposedly “huge and tasty!” according to one site), walleye, and northern pike can all be found near Mine Centre.  There is the Turtle River wilderness area for those who wish to canoe or kayak.  I haven’t found many tourist listings on the internet but there seem to be a few cabin/camp operators near Mine Centre.

Keith emailed me to say that between Mine Centre and Fort Frances there is a place called Bears Passage, 7 km east of the intersection of Highway 11 and Highway 502. This area is mostly cabins and cottages but some people live year round. A nice lookout exists at the Bears Passage Bridge looking out on to Rainy River.

Fort Frances

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With a population of around 8000, Fort Frances is the largest town on Highway 11 west of Thunder Bay. Fort Frances is on the border with Minnesota, which you can cross to via the International Bridge.

Fort Frances got its start as a fur trading crossroads.  No less than four independent fur trading companies set up shop where Rainy River meets the lake of the same name.  The Northwest Company, Fort St-Pierre (a French fur trading station,) the American Fur Company, and later an HBC outpost named after the wife of its governor were all present in the area.

The modern town was founded in 1903 around the local paper mill and its power generating station. The last I heard, the mill was facing a crisis with a shut-down potentially on the horizon for its 700 employees.  I don’t know what they’ll do with the hydro station if the mill shuts down – it’ll probably be kept online to generate power regardless.  You can take a tour of the mill if you call ahead.Like every good town on Ontario’s Highway 11, Fort Frances has a few big, weird, random things in town.  One is the Mermaid Statue on Copenhagen Island just off in Rainy Lake, apparently made by some Hans Christian Andersen fan.  And there’s also a really big chair in one of their parks.  I’m not sure if they have a competition with fellow big chair enthusiast Highway 11 towns Gravenhurst and Callander.

Fort Frances Chair and Mermaid

Fort Frances’ mermaid is more Hans Christian Andersen than Walt Disney. And if probably a lot more comfortable on that rock than she be in Fort Frances’ big chair.

In terms of tourist stuff, For Frances has a museum which recently celebrated the town’s centennial.  There are the requisite lodges and wilderness outfitters found in northwest Ontario.  Fort Frances has a nice waterfront and hosts the annual Fun in the Sun festival on Canada Day, with children’s activities, food, fish and chips, bathtub races, and more (according to the municipal website.)  There is also a two week long festival of the arts hosted by the town in April.

Just seven kilometres east of Fort Frances you can travel the Noden Causeway, which goes from island to island with nice views.  There is also the Kitchen Creek Golf Club just outside of town.

Other interesting things about Fort Frances include that more than one quarter of the population is Ukrainian, that it was hit by a Tornado in 1945, and that it hosts the annual Canadian Bass Fishing Championship.

Sunset on the River near Fort Frances, with the bridge crossing to Minnesota in the photo above this one.

Devlin / La Vallee

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Devlin is two towns west of Fort Frances on Highway 11.  It seems pretty small.  I’ve found a few lodges online with Devlin addresses (one even listed as being in ‘North Devlin’) but otherwise I haven’t found much else.

La Vallee is on Highway 11 just west of Fort Frances.

La Vallee might have a francophone community, but I can’t confirm that.  I assume that it is something of a bedroom community for those who find the hustle and bustle of Fort Frances a little overwhelming.  The town celebrated its centennial in 2004.

This might be a farmhouse in La Vallee, Ontario. Or it might be a house somewhere else.

This might be a farmhouse in La Vallee, Ontario. Or it might be a house somewhere else.

I couldn’t find much else on the internet about La Vallee.  There is a wikipedia stub on the town but for whatever reason it’s written in Polish.  The town has a school, an outdoor rink, a community centre, a daycare, a baseball diamond, a couple of churches, and a

post office.  I think there are two cemeteries somewhere around town as well.  In the summer the town hosts two bass fishing derbies and on mother’s day there is a local fish fry.

One interesting thing which appears to be in town is Mud Lake, an old western-style faux-village built by a local couple.

La Vallee and Devlin Ontario share a municipal office, on Highway 11

La Vallee municipal office in Devlin. (Credit: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)

Emo

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Emo. So many possibilities.

The home of the 16th century Villa Emo?

The inspiration behind whiny, over-emotional, largely pre-teen rock?

The humble beginnings of an Irish oil company?

The birthplace of comedian Emo Philips?

Alas, Emo, Ontario is none of the above.  However, Emo is a town of about 1000 on Highway 11 midway between Fort Frances and Rainy River. A small agricultural town, Emo may be reminiscent of many of the small farming communities that dot southern and eastern Ontario, making it unique for something this far north.

Emo, Ontario, Highway 11, highway11.ca

What is this, Temiskaming? Emo’s main drag is cute cute cute. (Photo: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)

Like most of Canada, Emo was settled by people looking for free land and eventually became a little outpost on the Rainy River in 1889.

It soon became the centre of the agricultural industry in northwestern Ontario, and today is home to the Emo Agricultural Research Station.  The research farm began as a crop check in Pinewood in 1985, but moved to Emo in 1990 as they outgrew their surroundings.  Today the farm does research on oilseeds, forages, and cereals.  You can visit on pasture nights held in early June and late September, as well as during their annual open house in late July.  There is also a farm settlers’ museum run by the local Women’s Institute. The fact that Emo has a local Women’s Institute just screams “rural farming community” – I love it.

Emo provides good fishing opportunities due to the Clearwater/Pipestone Lakes found just north of the town.  There is stock car racing at the Emo Speedway.  Emo is also home to the Norlund Chapel (pictured), which ranks as one of the smallest usable churches in North America – it can only hold 8 people at a time.

Emo one-upped Barwick's tiny lighthouse with their own tiny chapel.

Emo one-upped Barwick‘s tiny lighthouse with their own tiny Norlund Chapel.

There are some places to stay in Emo, but since I’ve never been there, I can’t give any informed opinions.  I found listings on the internet for True North Outposts and Cabins, Little Moose Lodge, and Pipestone Lodge.  There is also a hardware store, variety stores, a food and jam shop, and a little grocer in town.

Other Emo events include spring fever days in April, the annual Emo Walleye Classic in May, and a fall fair the third week in August.  There are events held by the snowmobile club in the winter as well.

Emo municipal office, Ontario Highway 11 highway11.ca

We’ll end this profile of Emo with the obligatory shot of the municipal office. (Photo: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)

 

Barwick

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Barwick, Ontario, on Highway 11 highway11.caBarwick is a village of around 900 people just west of Emo.

Barwick has Riverfront Park which provides nice views of the Rainy River.  There is a boat launch and some picnic pavilions. Apparently, the area provides some nice birdwatching.  There is also St. Paul’s Heritage Church in town.  I assume it’s old.

Barwick is also home to a lighthouse, not an old one but one built in 2003.  There is some talk that there were lighthouses on Lake of the Woods in the past, but no confirmation of one being in Barwick.

Barwick, Ontario's lighthouse, highway11.ca

AHOY MATEY…I see a miniature lighthouse. (Photo: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)

That’s what’s cool about so many towns on Highway 11 – when someone gets inspired, the community tends to get something done.The Chapple Museum is home to Barwick’s history.  It is located at a former trading post, and now displays material from local farms, the old Hudson’s Bay Company post, local artists, and is home to a war memorial.

There is a gas station, a RV/campground, a garage, a Christian school, four churches and an oriented-strandboard plant.  You can take tours of the Voyageur Panel OSB plant by calling 807-274-2000 in the summer.

And like all the surrounding villages, Barwick tries to lay claim to the Native historical centre as a local attraction, but it is in Stratton, one town west.

Stratton

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Stratton is the seat of Morley Township and is two towns east of Rainy River.

RR-14-Stratton-LogoThe Township of Morley has the coolest city logo I think I’ve seen while compiling this site (see left).  It looks like it was drawn in Microsoft Paint (much like this website), and features a sun, some waves, a maple leaf, what I think is a lunchpail (oops! it’s a silo!), and a curling rock.  If this isn’t the logo of a Canadian retirement town, then what is?

East of town is the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre (imagine having to spell that website address over the phone!).  Located by the Manitou Mounds, it’s an ancient First Nations burial site that’s been commemorated with a historical centre.

There’s the annual curling bonspiel in late February.  And there’s another one in mid-March.  And another one in late-March. And another one for truckers in April.  There’s a fishing derby in July, and then another curling bonspiel in December.

The area was first settled in the 1870s when settlers first travelled to Rat Portage (I bet Kenora sure is happy about changing their name from Rat Portage…) and then travelled by steamboat through Lake of the Woods.  Fires wiped out the early town, but things were rebuilt and in 1903 Stratton became the seat of the township. Today, Stratton is a bedroom community for Fort Frances and an agricultural area, with the only cattle auction/sales centre in north-western Ontario.

Add to this page by emailing me at info (at) highway11 (dot) ca and make Stratton come alive (ok not really.)

Stratton, Ontario, northwest on Highway 11 highway11.ca

(Photo: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)

RR-14-Stratton-Launch