Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park — Attraction in Dorion Township

Absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend you check this out. Truly a wonder of this world, the grand canyon of Canada! Who knew!? Views are spectacular and its about 1km on easy trails from the parking area. There are two lookouts on site and a couple additional "unofficial spots". No admission, Ontario Park passes required but no booth or reps on site. This is managed by Sleeping Giant Provincial Park 20min down the highway, you can come direct to Ouimet canyon without need to check in or anything; I only mention this as if yoy happen to call the phone number listed on Google they'll answer from Sleeping Giant. For future knowledge of anyone coming through with a camper trailer, YES you can manage fine to get into the park, it's a narrow 2-lane road (9km in from the Trans canada), there is a trailer/RV parking area about 1-2km before the summit upward to the final parking area. It's recommended to drop your trailer or RV as the hills beyond this are fairly steep grades, technically not impossible though. There is posted sinage of the trailer/RV lot area. I wish I knew this beforehand as I wanted to drop my trailer off and check out the scenery, the rep wasn't entirely sure on the phone, so I made a separate trip a day later after backtracking my route, just to find out I could have dropped my trailer in the park! Public restrooms on site, no booth park guard on site, souvenir building closed and has postage signage to go to Sleeping Giant...

Amazing views of a dramatic natural formation from two separate vantage points. The viewing pods are accessed by a trail, suspension bridge and boardwalk. The total walking distance is in the order of 1 to 2 km and there are a few steep and challenging sections for smaller children or individuals walking with a cane. Check the notice board at the trail entrance for more specific details. The site is equipped with toilet facilities and a small tourist information center and a clear set of maps and background information boards at the pods, explaining two theories behind the creation of the formation. There is an "honour system" in place to collect $2.00 per visitor to help defray the cost of caring for the trail network and infrastructure. It's about 11 km off the main highway. There is a small parking lot before the final ascent to the entrance to the trail network due to the steep grade of the final 3km of road to access the parking lot. Well worth the side trip. Can be done in an hour but plan for 1.5+ hours if you are towing a trailer and...

I walked this trail on July 17, 2023. The trail starts off by following through forest before continuing along a boardwalk section and then crossing a bridge over a portion of the gorge. It then forms a loop through the forest which leads to two viewpoints of the canyon.

The viewing platforms offer stunning views of the canyon! The sheer rock walls are incredible and dramatic. There are interpretive signs explaining how the canyon is believed to have been formed along with the Indigenous legend behind the existence of the canyon. I found it interesting how there are sub arctic plants that grow on the canyon floor as the climate is so different at the bottom!

There were no bugs that were noticeable along the trail, but some mosquitoes at the picnic area shelter in the parking lot. The weather was pretty cool and 12 degrees when I started the trail, warming up to around 16 when I finished.

I really enjoyed this short trail and the scenic views of the canyon. Such a beautiful place!

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