Hiking the Southern Headland Trail, Pukaskwa National Park

Southern Headland Trail Hike in Pukaskwa

A hike on the Southern Headland Trail is just what three of us and a dog needed after being cooped up in a car for seven hours. We’d driven from Espanola, west of Sudbury through Wawa to arrive in Pukaskwa National Park, a little known park that boasts dramatic Lake Superior scenery.

We were in the park for another reason – to backpack the phenomenal, add it to your bucket-list, Coastal Trail.

After completing the required orientation for the Coastal Trail, we headed off to locate the dock where our boat shuttle would pick us up the next morning. Adjacent to it was the trailhead for the Southern Headland Trail.

Since it was a beautiful day and the hike was short – a mere 2.2 km we thought it would be a good warm-up for the rest of the week plus it would get rid of the kinks from sitting for so long.

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Views from the Southern Headland Trail, Pukaskwa National Park
The start of the views on the Southern Headland Trail, Pukaskwa National Park

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Sheltered cove with a pretty beach - though the water is bloody cold
Sheltered cove with a pretty beach – though the water is bloody cold
The hiking is glorious
Glorious hiking on the Southern Headland Trail
Even the hiking through the woods is lovely
Even the hiking through the woods is lovely

The Southern Headland Trail delivers superb Lake Superior scenery

The scenery as you can see is divine. This short hike is rated by the park as moderate, but compared to the Coastal Trail it was like an easy walk in the park.

There were boardwalks in places and signage was excellent on the Southern Headland Trail. With stiff winds, bugs were never an issue either – and they definitely can be, especially early in the hiking season.

Lake Superior is covered in white caps
View from the Southern Headland Trail of Lake Superior covered in white caps
The rocks around Lake Superior are some of the oldest in the world
The rocks around Lake Superior are some of the oldest in the world
Inuksuk overlooking Lake Superior
Inuksuk overlooking Lake Superior
Looking down on the beach at Horseshoe Bay from the Southern Headland trail
Looking down on the beach at Horseshoe Bay from the Southern Headland Trail
Horseshoe Beach on Lake Superior
Horseshoe Beach on Lake Superior seen from the Southern Headland Trail

Why it’s worth the stop in Pukaskwa National Park to hike the Southern Headland Trail

Pukaskwa National Park doesn’t see a lot of visitors because of its’ remote location – roughly 1,100 km northwest of Toronto and 320 km east of Thunder Bay. With its beautiful beaches and rugged lake-shore scenery, it ranks right up there as one of Canada’s great national parks.

If you’ve got a long drive planned across Canada, a visit to Pukaskwa National Park is one side trip worth doing. It doesn’t take long to drive in from the Trans-Canada Highway, perhaps 20 minutes if I remember correctly, maybe less.

So take a few hours to stretch your legs, hike the Southern Headland Trail and enjoy a picnic on the beach beside Lake Superior. You’ll be very happy you did. And if you still have some energy do another short hike nearby that takes you out to a different headland. There’s also a walk around Halfway Lake via the beach or campground as well.

Where to stay within 75 minutes of Pukaskwa National Park

On the way coming or going from Pukaskwa National Park there are some accommodation options where you might want to stay a night.

Schreiber

The Voy – rated very good, offers clean, quiet rooms.

Walker Bayfront Retreat is a home on a lake – and a great option if you’re traveling as friends or family.

Marathon

Marathon is not too far from Pukaskwa National Park so the Travelodge by Wyndham Marathon would be a good choice if you don’t like camping.

Interested in more hiking in northern Ontario?

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The Southern Headland Trail hike in Pukaskwa National Park, Ontario

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16 Comments

  1. What beautiful blues followed by the poetic word ‘inuksuk’. Had to look it up, so now I’ve learned something today too:)

    1. @Mary It’s certainly not one of the easier parks to get to but it’s definitely worth the trip. The scenery along the Lake Superior shoreline is on the grand scale.

  2. What a gorgeous hike. I love a road trip, but I’m getting tired of the long hauls, no matter how necessary! Looks like fun!

    1. @Corinne I don’t like sitting for a really long time – though I do have one 13 hour drive planned this summer. This hike is definitely a good way to break up a long drive.

  3. It would be good to revisit Canada and get to some out of the way places. Although we spent 8 weeks in 2010, when it is split between east and west coasts that is not much time. We did however see the major sights so next time we can venture further afield. Lucky the wind blew the bugs away 🙂

  4. Another great hike with some fantastic scenery, Leigh. And it sounds like this trail is pretty accessible, not too far from the highway.

  5. Wow, gorgeous, I would love to visit some day, the hike looks like a lot of fun and lots of wonderful vistas

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