Sudbury 
Don’t miss your chance to experience one of Ontario and Canada’s best beach experiences this summer. When the temperatures rise, and you’re around the Lake Superior shores, one of the calmest places to cool off is the Pancake Bay Provincial Park, and while this park is home to a wonderfully large beach, Pancake Bay Provincial Park is also a gorgeous place for a hike, bike ride, camping trip, or for a local concert.
Credit: Colin Field/Destination Ontario
One of Canada’s Best Beaches
The natural scenery around Pancake Bay Provincial Park, in general, is an excellent sample of Lake Superior’s beauty. This includes the inland forests of sugar maples and birch trees, various wetland areas and inland lakes, and the park’s biggest natural highlight: the sandy beach on the shores of Lake Superior.
While much of the Canadian Lake Superior shoreline includes rocky terrain, towering cliffs, or gusting winds, the Pancake Bay shores are low-lying with fine sand and the shelter of the Bay. As a swimming destination, the 3.2 km Pancake Bay beach offers a shallow area with water that is usually crystal clear when viewed up close, or a bright blue-green when viewed from afar. Pancake Bay Provincial Park offers the beach as well as other ways to enjoy this gorgeous shoreline, including paddleboat rentals.
Southern Ontario is certainly home to dozens of beautiful beaches. But part of what sets Pancake Bay apart from those is the park’s distance from any urban centres. With Sault St. Marie over 70km to the south, and Lake Superior Provincial Park covering the shoreline to the north, this beach is as quiet and peaceful as it is pretty.
Credit: Colin Field/Destination Ontario
Hiking & Biking around Pancake Bay
The park’s moderately challenging Lookout Trail is open to both hikers and cyclists. Enjoy beautiful forest scenery, the birds and wildlife around the small inland lakes, and the views at the end of the trail. The platforms offer views over Lake Superior, and the “graveyard of the Great Lakes,” also where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. This hiking and biking area starts and continues around the opposite side of the highway from the campground.
- There will be a fork on the Lookout Trail, which offers views of the Pancake Falls on the Pancake River.
- Along the Pancake Bay Nature Trail (for hikers only), which is on the same side of the Highway as the campground, offers closer views of Lake Superior as it follows the beach for part of the way. The 3.5km loop is considered an easier hike and offers views of the wetlands, Ruisseau Black Creek, and possibly birds or larger wildlife.
Adventures on Lake Superior
Pancake Bay Provincial Park is home to a 3.2km stretch of fine and soft sand on the shores of Lake Superior. This sandy stretch makes the beach a perfect place for a picnic, sports like volleyball, or a lazy day with a book. Then, there are pieces of land which stick out from the shoreline to form Pancake Bay and create a shelter from the vast lake and its winds. With the surrounding Pancake Bay, the sandy beach is also a beautiful place for a dip on a hot day.
- The sheltered Bay also makes these waters perfect for a canoe or kayak trip around the shores. To help with these adventures, the park office provides canoe, kayak, SUP, and PFD rentals. While motorized boating is permitted across Lake Superior, there is no boat launch in the park, but one 11km to the south and outside of the park.
- The fishing around Pancake Bay Provincial Park is considered best during the spring and fall when anglers have a good shot at catching lake trout from Superior, or rainbow trout from the Pancake River.
Concerts & Events at the Pancake Bay Amphitheatre
The Pancake Bay Provincial Park Amphitheatre hosts a variety of events this summer,r including two evening concerts, and a science workshop hosted by Science North.
A Pancake Bay Beach Trip
Camping and overnight stays allow for time to explore the entire Provincial Park, while a day trip to Pancake Bay still offers a great opportunity for a beach day. The day use area around the sandy beach and shoreline offer a variety of spaces between the sand, the grass, picnic tables, and a reservable picnic shelter. Take time around picnic mealtimes for lazy floating on the water, swimming, or walks on the beach.
Credit: Colin Field/Destination Ontario
- Use the eateries along the Trans Canada Highway on your way into the park for a variety of picnic snacks from places like Agawa Fish & Chips, Batchawana Sunset Noodle House, Chippewa River Restaurant and Store, or McCauley’s Restaurant.
Waterfront Camping on Lake Superior
Pancake Bay Provincial Park has a great variety of campsite types from which to choose across five different campgrounds. And no matter where you pick a site around Pancake Bay Provincial Park, each will have individual firepits and picnic tables. Plus, all campers have access to a great deal of park amenities like comfort stations (showers, laundry, flush toilets), outhouses, and drinking water taps. Much of the park is barrier-free, too, including the comfort stations and the beach.
- The Hilltop Campground is the only of the five not right on the Lake Superior shores. The location and the 25 generator/radio-free campsites help to make the Hilltop a quieter option.
- Pancake Bay’s East, East-Central, West-Central, and West campgrounds are all set along the shoreline.
- About half of the park’s total campsites have electrical hookups.
- Those looking for a bit more comfort in their stay, or those who don’t own camping equipment, have more site options include the park’s four rustic cabins, and two soft-sided shelters, or yurts.
- There are more excellent waterfront accommodation options outside of Pancake Bay: the Sunnd Eco Resort, Sawpit Bay Motel & Cabins, or The Voyageur’s Lodge and Cookhouse are all great camping alternatives.
Planning Your Trip – Pancake Bay Provincial Park
Credit: Colin Field/Destination Ontario
What: Pancake Bay Provincial Park sits on northern Ontario’s Lake Superior shores to the north of Sault Ste. Marie. The Bay and the far eastern location of the park on the lake help to make the waters around the Provincial Park fairly calm in terms of Lake Superior. The park’s highlights include both recreational opportunities and historical education.
The bay is said to have earned its name from fur traders and voyageurs who travelled through the area to trade. As the bay marked one of their final stops before reaching Sault Ste. Marie, their supplies were often running low. With little left, they’d make pancakes from their remaining provisions—giving rise to the name “Pancake Bay.” Or so the popular story goes.
The Pancake Bay’s 3 km beach is the park’s major source of recreation, while a long trail system extends north from the park to offer more recreation and historical information. The park’s Lookout Trail offers incredible views of not only Lake Superior, but the historical site of the famous sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, also known as the “graveyard of the Great Lakes.” Pancake Bay Provincial Park is open from spring to fall for hiking, canoeing or kayaking, the beach and picnics, and various types of camping.
Location and how to get there: 12729 Hwy. ON-17N, Batchawana Bay; 76km north of Sault Ste. Marie on the Trans Canada Highway
Best time to go camping and day use open: May 2-October 14, 2025
Cost: day use $$10.84-$18.58 per vehicle ; yurts or cabins 111.35-$152.15 per night; camping $46.50-$52.50 per night
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