Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Absolutely beautiful! Remote, stunning and gorgeous. I highly recommend Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. If you like the remote wilderness, camping, mountain biking, or hiking (especially hiking); this is the place for you! I stayed for several days in the Marie Louise campground; it was absolutely stunning. I extended my stay to add an extra day/night because my family loved it so much. There is so much to explore here, miles and miles of trails around the Peninsula of Lake Superior and Thunder Bay. Be warned, some of the trails can range from moderate to very difficult. Some trails are upwards of over 70km, some only a couple km round trip. If you wish to see the sleeping giant, it's quite a trek; save yourself 4-6 hours. It's around 7-8km to the base of the summit, then a grueling 4-5km more of steep vertical climbs to the top. Make sure you get a park/trail map immediately, then plan your routes and days accordingly. Be advised that the maps don't do any justice to the duration and distances of the trails (definitely NOT to scale scale, lol). We attempted mountain biking some trails, and let me say this: Middlebrun Bay Trail is impossible to bike unless you carry your bike and walk it in several kilometers until it becomes smoother, it's full of massive tree roots, large rocks and large steep rock hills. The Sibley Creek trail is not as bad but also very difficult to bike due to the path and tree root systems. The Kabeyun Trail takes you to the giant and can be biked, but it's intense with a number of bumps, rocks, and inclines. It can absolutely be done, but biking or hiking; be sure to bring adequate drinks and snacks for your journey. The lookouts and areas in this park are out of this world beautiful, we'll be making this an annual family camping trip as there's just so much to explore and do. Large beach area at Marie Louise with two playground structures and a beautiful swimming area. Washrooms, showers, and laundry on site are available. FOR BETTER OR WORSE: THERE IS ZERO CELLULAR OR DATA RECEPTION IN THE PARK, no wifi, and all payphones are out of service. The only area you'll get is cellular service and hit/miss data is at the Marie Louise Beach. Fantastic if you want total freedom of mobile services, not so good if you need to make a call/text/email back home. The Marie Louise campground is a 40-minute drive south from the trans canada highway. I highly recommend this place, I never knew in my wildest dreams that Ontario had this type of scenery and mountains.

The hike to the top of the giant was tough, but it was so worth it! Walking at a good pace will take roughly 7-8 hours from the parking lot where you start to the top of the gorge, and then back to the parking lot, so allow plenty of time for your hike, especially if youre going to stop for lunch at the top. Most of the hike is actually flat or moderately sloped and fairly easy walking, there's just the one section where most of the elevation change takes place (300 meters verticle) , so if you can get through that you're in the clear! Good shoes are a must, and plenty of water and some snacks to keep you going. We stopped at the Tea Bay camping area on the way down and went for a much needed swim, which I would highly recommend.

What a fantastic way to end camping for 2024! We booked a weekend at the park and were fortunate to land site #206, a waterfront spot on Lake Marie Louise. The site is spacious yet private, with easy lake access, a fire pit, and incredible views. Potable water and a vault toilet were only steps away. On this crisp, sunny fall weekend we enjoyed 3 short hikes with our little dog (The Cemetery trail, the iconic Sea Lion trail, and Middlebrun Bay - gorgeous!). We also made the very short trip to Silver islet. Sleeping Giant provincial park does not disappoint! There is so much to do and so much nature to enjoy in all her glory.

I booked roofed accommodation for 2 nights, hoping to find a balance between nature and luxury. While the location was beautiful, not all the facilities mentioned on the website were available. Make sure to call ahead and verify what amenities are currently offered. We discovered after checking in that the visitor center was closed, kayaking rentals were unavailable, and many trails were off-limits. Additionally, the staff were not very friendly and seemed focused solely on billing. Overall, it was a significant disappointment.

An experience to remember, like no other 🙌 We did the Top of the Giant trail - 1 adult, 3 kids (11 -15). We are fairly experienced hikers and did not find the trail overly challenging but would highly recommended good footwear and long pants/sleeves and or bug spray. The views from the top are surreal. We completed the hike in just over 5 hours - walking at a steady pace. On the way out of the park (around dusk) we saw a few deer 🦌 and a fox 🦊. A wonderful day at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park!!