Welcome
to Ontario's Island Retreat, the world's LARGEST freshwater island.
Getting Here...
By Bridge
You’ll be crossing an Ontario Heritage site – one of the only swing bridges in Canada.
From Toronto, take Highway 400 North to Sudbury, then Highway 17 West to Espanola. From there, head along Highway 6 South until you reach our iconic swing bridge.
You’re now on island time!
Getting Here...
By ferry
The Chi-Cheemaun is a full service passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle ferry travelling between the ports of Tobermory and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. Take a break from the drive and enjoy the fantastic views (and some good food!) as the “Big Canoe” delivers you to paradise in style.
This service operates from the first Friday in May until the Sunday after Thanksgiving in October.
Tickets available from Owen Sound Transportation.
PULL UP A CHAIR
Manitoulin Island caters to all your dietary needs. From eating freshly caught fish by the water, to enjoying fine dining on a Lake Huron dinner cruise, you’re sure to find great food and make long-lasting memories.
BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL
Forty years ago, there was one signature hiking trail on Manitoulin Island: The Cup and Saucer. Now, virtually every community boasts its own unique and scenic hiking trail. These trails range in difficulty from easy to moderate and each trail is allied to the culture and scenery typical of the host community.
BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL
Forty years ago, there was one signature hiking trail on Manitoulin Island: The Cup and Saucer. Now, virtually every community boasts its own unique and scenic hiking trail. These trails range in difficulty from easy to moderate and each trail is allied to the culture and scenery typical of the host community.
Island Stories
Explore Manitoulin's past, present and future
Points of Interest
South Baymouth Little School House Museum – Informs about the community’s early fishing days through displays and artifacts and features
Manitoulin Hiking Trails
Manitoulin has many hiking trails which take anywhere from a couple of hours to a full day, requiring various degrees
Grab an Explore Manitoulin Visitors’ Map and enjoy our many local beaches
by Isobel Harry Manitoulin is chock full of beaches both on the ‘big water’ Lake Huron side or in the
The Murals of Manitoulin
by This is Manitoulin staff Some communities embrace the concept of large, wall-sized artwork, murals, while for other towns, the
Sheguiandah Archaeological Site: Time travel up this hill to 10,000 years ago
by Isobel Harry Taking a guided tour through the Sheguiandah Archaeological Site is unlike any other Manitoulin Island experience. To
The ties that bind: A hundred years of family memories on Lake Manitou
by Isobel Harry Last August, an unusual ad appeared in the Manitoulin Expositor – headed by a vintage photograph of
Island escapades made effortless with MICA’s easy e-bike rentals
by Isobel Harry As always, MICA (Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates) is on the move – and making it easier for
Finding fulfilment paddling every lake on Manitoulin. Join ‘The Attempt’ with your own Island paddling expedition this summer
by Warren Schlote, This is Manitoulin April 2021 You might need a few trips to Manitoulin Island if you want
Pleasures of Providence Bay: The Mutchmor’s new-fangled take on art and crafts takes off
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2021 The pleasures of a picturesque small village—a swoon-worthy crescent of palest-sand beach,
Lillian’s Crafts Art Gallery: Feel the love in lifetime collection of Indigenous art and craftsmanship
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2021 It’s all about love at Lillian’s teeming crafts shop and museum at
Sheguiandah Site: Travel back 10,000 years to the prehistoric quarry of Manitoulin Island’s first people
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin 2021 The morning of the long-awaited excursion is wet; rain, misting at first, turning
The Life Aquatic: Cruisers dish on the delights of sailing and safety in the legendary North Channel
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2021 For thousands of years, the spectacularly beautiful waters of the Georgian Bay
Olde South Shore Style: ‘Barn style’ house roofs unique to Island’s Lake Huron area
By Isobel Harry Manitoulin’s south shore, from Providence Bay in the Municipality of Central Manitoulin to South Baymouth in Tehkummah
Did Glenn Gould’s ‘Idea of North’ include Manitoulin? Searching for traces of the celebrated pianist on the mystical isle
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2020 Much has been written and recorded about the late, legendary Canadian pianist
Better with Age: Launch of travel website caps 60 years of Island’s ‘tourist lure’ magazine
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2020 “If you are looking for a vacation of night clubs, we would
Manitoulin’s Mini-Museums: Small Spaces make Special Memories
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2020 There’s a surfeit of riches to discover in Manitoulin’s several distinct museums:
Picturesque Prov: Much More to Love than Sun, Sand and Surf
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2020 There’s an invigorating breeze, a fresh new wave rolling onto Manitoulin’s shores,
Easy Breezing on Manitoulin’s Bucolic Bike Routes
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2020 The indefatigable cheerleader of all things healthy, fun and affordable on two
Anchored in Little Current: Manitoulin’s Cruisers’ Net a Beacon for Boaters of the North Channel
By Isobel Harry, This is Manitoulin April 2020 For 16 years now, seven mornings a week for 62 days in
Sailing away with the CEO on the 45thanniversary of the MS Chi-Cheemaun
By Isobel Harry, This Is Manitoulin April 2020 Boarding the Chi-Cheemaun in Tobermory or South Baymouth always signals an adventure.
Conservancy has spent decades helping you experience Manitoulin’s nature
by Warren Schlote Nature has drawn many people to Manitoulin Island for generations. But this place’s abundance of pristine lakes,
The consuming passions of Doug Smith
The consuming passions of Doug Smith Manitoulin Transport founder finds Gore Bay the best place to be Nestled between two
M’Chigeeng: Ojibwe Cultural Foundation Honours Traditions Old and New
M’Chigeeng: Ojibwe Cultural Foundation Honours Traditions Old and New Fascinating and important encounters await visitors to M’Chigeeng: the First
Saving the Cup and Saucer
Saving the Cup and Saucer Community Resilience and Ingenuity at Work Almost everyone who knows Manitoulin Island, residents and visitors,
A Magical Place
A Magical Place In so very many ways, the duality and intermixing of Manitoulin’s parallel cultures–First Nations people and the
Manitoulin Island – Land of Legends
Manitoulin Island:Land of Legends Manitoulin is a place that, while it’s north, isn’t quite in Northern Ontario, so it’s not
The Burning Boat
Legends of Manitoulin: The Burning Boat When a full red moon rises over the shores of Providence Bay, a phantom
Exploring Manitoulin Island
Exploring Manitoulin To find comparisons that will register with the imagination and accommodate the extreme disproportions of geological time is
Bikes on Board! MICA Initiatives take Island Cycling to Higher Heights
Bikes on Board! MICA Initiatives take Island Cycling to Higher Heights There’s a joyous upsurge in enthusiasm for bicycling on
Sheguiandah National Historic Site: Twice the Age of the Pyramids of Egypt
Sheguiandah National Historic Site: Twice the Age of the Pyramids of Egypt When Thomas E. Lee, an archaeologist with the
Manitoulin’s heritage lighthouses: still beaming brightly
Manitoulin’s heritage lighthouses: still beaming brightly Manitoulin Island is a marine history buff’s treasure trove, and the Island’s storied marine
Trailer sailors explore North Channel waters in small vessels
Trailer sailors explore North Channel If you are a sailboater in another part of Lake Huron or one of the
Get reel! Make fishing your Manitoulin mission
Get Reel: Make fishing your Manitoulin mission It’s 7 am at the Providence Bay Marina and a warmly-smiling bearded fellow