With the rolling waves of Lake Superior crashing against granite shores and towering cliffs surrounded by sandy beaches, Pukaskwa National Park embodies nature as campers love to see it. Located approximately 13 km (8 miles) south of Marathon on Highway 627, Ontario, this national park is every nature lover’s dream destination for RV camping. With opportunities to engage in activities such as bird watching, canoeing, hiking, lookout, picnicking, swimming, paddling, stargazing, photography, and stand-up paddleboarding at the park, RV campers are bombarded with immense experiences that make their visit to the park unforgettable.
This national park, which sits on the northeastern shore of Lake Superior, was established in 1971 and covers 725 sq miles (1,878 sq km), including areas of rugged Canadian Shield wilderness, rocky inlets, amazing cliffs, lakes and streams. Flora in the park include forests of white and black spruce, jack pine, poplar, and birch. The park features abundant wildlife including beaver, fisher, timber wolf, marten, mink, lynx, white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, muskrat, and woodland caribou.
Amenities and facilities at the park include electric and no-hookup RV campsites, flush toilets, showers, potable water, dump station, day use area, parking lots, fire rings, and Wi-Fi.
The park is a great place to learn about the culture and rich history of the Anishinaabe people.
Pukaskwa National Park is located approximately 13 km (8 miles) south of Marathon on Highway 627, Ontario. The park is accessible for RVs, trailers, and other motorized vehicle via Highway 627, the only access road into the park. Highway 627 also leads to the Hattie Cove Campground and the Day Use Area in the park. Driving speed limit in the park is 15 km/hr (9 mph).
There are two major parking areas in Pukaskwa National Park, and you’ll find these parking lots around the day use area. RV campers in the park can also park their rigs at their campsites, particularly as overnight parking is available.
Bus services are offered by Greyhound Canada to Marathon, and taxi services are available from Marathon to Pukaskwa National Park.
Hattie Cove Campground in Pukaskwa National Park features 67 pet-friendly campsites available for RVs and tents. 29 of the campsites in the campground are equipped with electric hookups for RVs. RV length limit at the campground is 10 m (32 feet). Some of the campsites are wheelchair accessible. These campsites offer RV campers unparalleled solitude and privacy and feature amenities such as flush toilets, showers, potable water, dump station, fire rings, and Wi-Fi. The campsites at the campground are available on a first come, first served basis.
Pukaskwa National Parks presents fun and challenging hiking opportunities for RV campers who love to take walks along boardwalks, stairways, and rocks, and appreciate nature while doing so. The park features both easy trails and challenging trails along difficult terrain that involve strenuous steep climbs. As a result, hikers bring their navigational and endurance skills to bear while enjoying the stroll along the park’s trails. If you seek an impressive view from high above a roaring waterfall, then the White River Suspension Bridge Trail is the perfect place to find such scenic beauty in the park.
Lake Superior in Pukaskwa National Park is a popular destination for RV campers to enjoy boating and sailing. Motor boats are permitted in the parts of the park accessible from Lake Superior. Paddling is another activity that campers at the park enjoy at Hattie Cove, which is a protected cove which always remains calm. As a result, the cove is a favored site for amateur and expert paddlers at the park.
What’s interesting is that the park offers stand-up paddleboard and canoe rentals for campers who do not have or own boats, meaning there’s no way they get to miss out on the experience.
RV campers test out their angling skills at Pukaskwa National Park’s clean and fresh waters that are excellent for catching different fish species such as pike, walleye (pickerel) and trout. Because the water is clean, there are regulations in place to ensure all campers only fish with clean lines and, possibly, barbless hooks. A fishing license, which can be obtained in Marathon, is required to fish in the park. Because of the high levels of mercury in Halfway Lake in the park, it is recommended that fish caught in the lake should not be eaten.
Pukaskwa National Park offers RV campers the opportunity to partake in geocaching adventure while enjoying their vacation at the park. The geocaches in the park are designed in such a way that they tell the story of how the land was formed and how it changed over time. As a result, campers who visit the park, whether for the first time or on revisits, are continually taken on adventures that present the park in a new light, re-establishing it as one of the national treasures in Canada.
If you’re interested in the geocaching adventure and you do not have your GPS unit, you can rent a GPS at the park, which already has all the coordinates of the caches preloaded onto it.
The day use area in Pukaskwa National Park is a cool place to enjoy lunch with family and/or friends, even more for the fact that is located just beside the calm, sparkling waters of Hattie Cove. Equipped with several picnic tables and nearby washroom facilities, the area is open and sunny and offers picnickers the opportunity to explore the fire circle, take a stroll along the shoreline, and hike the Southern Headland Trail.
The Park interpreters at Anishinaabe Camp allow campers at Pukaskwa National Park enjoy conversations about the park and partake in traditional activities that are still being done till date. The camp is the perfect place to share in the culture, history and story of the local Anishinaabe people.
