Due to a recent severe storm, Samuel de Champlain P.P. is closed. Camping is still available at nearby Driftwood.

This page is not upto the quality standards of this website. I will fix it when I revisit.

Website

Samuel de Champlain

Samuel de Champlain P.P. is located on 6905 HWY 17, in Stonecliffe, ON. The park is known for its Voyageur history, scenic Mattawa River vistas, and great tubing/paddling in the series of lakes and rivers.

History

Camping was opened in 1960, and the park was formally established in 1962.

Samuel de Champlain was a famous French explorer, who used the Mattawa River route to navigate the Great Lakes.

What the Park Offers

The activities at Samuel de Champlain are:
- canoeing on several lakes and rivers
- fishing for large and smallmouth, pickerel, northern pike, and muskellenge
- Voyageur boat tour and discovery programs
- birding for heron, warblers, and birds of prey

The only trail we did here was:

Wabashkiki Trail - 1km, easy

Walk through a marsh and end up at the tip of a peninsula overlooking scenic Moore Lake. Beautiful boardwalks. Beware - it is a bit overgrown. (no bikes)

(sorry for the sideways images - it's due to a Google Sites glitch; apologies)

Visiting the Park

After passing the park sign, you'll drive down a LONG and bumpy road before seeing a visitor centre on the left hand side. Continue to see the store on the right, Babawasse Campground on the left. There'll be a bridge on the left that leads to Jingwakoki Campground and group camping. Continue straight and arrive at the canoe launch. Etienne Trails are accessed via a road near the dump station.

Interesting Species

Note that the photos in this section are not explicitly from this park, they are good photos of species that live here.

Rare wildflowers - including pickerel weed

Painted turtles

Black-capped Chickadee

Various fern varieties

Tips and Advice

On the way back from Bagwa Beach, there is a bridge with waterfalls between on the right side - check it out.
Book a Voyageur Boat Tour.
Stop by the visitor centre - easily one of the best in the province.
Tube down the Amable du Fond River.
Stop by these waterfalls (below). Accessed from Jingwakoki or Babawasse Campground.

SPOTLIGHT: Voyageur Boat Tour

Book a tour on a replica 1700s canoe. Guides will take you on a 3 hour long boat tour up the Mattawa River explaining the crut out of everything. Historical facts, historical artifacts, how to paddle, how Voyageurs paddled, etc, etc, etc - it's awesome. Not only this, they also offer 20 minute boat rides around Moore Lake - for free. These are held less often, obviously.

Opinions

Nash

Great history. Good looking lakes. Cool stuff to do. 6/10.

Maps: www.ontarioparks.ca/pdf/maps/samueldechamplain/park_map.pdf

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse