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Stretching north from the shores of lakes Huron and Superior to the frozen reaches of Hudson Bay, NORTHERN ONTARIO is a land of sparse population and colossal distances. Give or take the odd ridge and chasm, the landscape is almost entirely flat, an endless expanse of forest pouring over the mineral-rich rocks of the Canadian Shield and interrupted by thousands of lakes. To the Anglophile elite of the south, the region was (and still is) seen as barbarous and crude. Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock, for instance, dismissed it with "The best that anyone could say of the place was that it was a 'sportsman's paradise', which only means a good place to drink whiskey in". Such disdain always ignored the economic facts. The north once produced the furs that launched the country's economy and its raw materials - gold, silver, nickel, timber and so forth - paid for Toronto's gleaming skyscrapers. The extractive nature of the northern economy and the harshness of the climate have defined the locals' attitude to their surroundings. Hunting and fishing are extremely popular - and most visitors who come here join in - but other types of appreciation have been slow to grow. Given that the distances are so great, it's important to plan an itinerary carefully. Northern Ontario is traversed by two main highways - Hwy 11 and the much more interesting Hwy 17. Hwy 11 begins by slicing through workaday North Bay , 345km north of Toronto, before pushing on to the hunting and fishing resort of Temagami . From here, it's a manageable hop onto Cochrane , uninteresting in itself but useful as the starting point for the lonely rail line that strikes north beyond the road network to Moosonee on the bleak and barren shores of James Bay. This rail line, plied by Ontario Northland's Polar Bear Express and Little Bear trains, makes for one of the most unusual excursions in the country and is a comfortable way of seeing something of the Arctic north, way beyond the tree line. From Cochrane, Hwy 11 leads west to a series of mining towns, but this part of the highway holds little of interest and is best avoided, even though you have to double back on yourself. There are two obvious ways to join Hwy 17 . The faster route comes up from Parry Sound to meet Hwy 17 at the mining town of Sudbury , or you can catch the ferry from Tobermory to cross rusticated Manitoulin Island on Hwy 6 and join Hwy 17 west of Sudbury. Whichever route you choose (and both have their scenic advantages), your first port of call on Hwy 17 should be Sault Ste Marie . In itself, this industrial town is only of middling interest, but it serves as the terminus for a splendid wilderness train trip on the Algoma Central Railway . From Sault Ste Marie, Hwy 17 begins its long haul round Lake Superior passing by or through a string of parks, notably Lake Superior Provincial Park and Pukaskwa Nati4onal Park , both of which have dramatic lakeshore hiking trails and campsites. Beyond lies the inland port of Thunder Bay , home to the replica fur trading post of Fort William and the last place of much appeal before Winnipeg , a further 680km away to the west. With regard to public transport, buses shuttle between the major towns on both Hwy 17 and Hwy 11, but all the parks and many of the smaller places require private transport. Note also that if you're heading for a particular hotel, motel or campsite, you should check to see how near you'll get by bus - bus stops are often on the edge of towns. In winter, driving on both Hwy 11 and Hwy 17 can be perilous. Remember too that mosquitoes and blackfly can make life absolutely miserable - take precautions and go hiking either at the start of spring or in the autumn.
Your Tip for Northern Ontario
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