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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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.
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?
- A Challenging Hike on the Lake Superior Coastal Trail
- The Hike to Agawa Falls in Northern Ontario
- Hiking the Nokomis Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park
- The Top of the Giant Hike in Northwest Ontario
- Mississagi Provincial Park – A Northern Ontario Gem
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What beautiful blues followed by the poetic word ‘inuksuk’. Had to look it up, so now I’ve learned something today too:)
@Mette I believe inuksuks were used by the Inuit in particular to mark safe passages across the Arctic tundra.
I can certainly see why this is considered one of Canada’s great national parks. It’s gorgeous scenery and your beautiful photos are such travel inspiration. This looks like a fun hike.
@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.
“The scenery as you can see is divine.” Like!
@Rachel Pukaskwa is like nowhere else I’ve visited in Canada.
What a spot to get away from it all. The colors in your photos are outstanding.
@Nancie The deep blues and greens felt like an assault on the eyes – in the best way possible.
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!
@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.
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 🙂
@Jan For most of my adventures last year bugs weren’t an issue. I’m hoping I’m as lucky this year.
Another great hike with some fantastic scenery, Leigh. And it sounds like this trail is pretty accessible, not too far from the highway.
@Marcia The trail is very accessible – it’s the park that’s in the middle of nowhere.
Wow, gorgeous, I would love to visit some day, the hike looks like a lot of fun and lots of wonderful vistas
@Noel This scenery was really the warm-up for what lay ahead on the Coastal Trail. It’s all quite glorious.