Lake Nipissing Circle Tour: A Northeastern Ontario road trip

Where Northeastern Ontario begins, there’s a lake with a much deeper past than many of us know. Lake Nipissing is the third-largest lake located entirely within Ontario. Its shores are connected to historic fur trading routes, Canada’s railway history, the famous Dionne Quintuplets, and First Nations communities dating back to time immemorial. All of this and much more is waiting to be explored on a Lake Nipissing Circle Tour road trip.

This scenic road trip will take you through artisan shops, farm markets, four different provincial parks, and several of Northeastern Ontario’s Franco-Ontarian communities. It’s beautiful throughout the summer and into the fall, when it offers excellent autumn leaf viewing opportunities that aren’t as well-known as routes further south.

We first explored this route as part of a visit to North Bay in September 2025. Have questions about planning your own Lake Nipissing Circle Tour road trip? Join the Road Trips in Canada Facebook community!

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Lake Nipissing Circle Tour: What to know before you go

The Lake Nipissing Circle Tour is a 300-kilometre driving route in Northeastern Ontario. Its natural starting point is the city of North Bay, located at the eastern end of the lake at a junction of Ontario Highways 11 and 17. North Bay is one and a half hours from Sudbury, just under four hours from Ottawa, and three to four hours from the Greater Toronto Area depending on your starting point.

Much of the southern shore of Lake Nipissing is not accessible by road. The loop therefore also includes plenty of rural villages and Canadian Shield scenery. Along the northern half, it passes through Francophone communities and fertile farmland. You’ll be surprised at how dramatically the landscapes change within just an hour or two!

Most of the attractions along this route, including all of the provincial parks, are open between Victoria Day weekend and Thanksgiving weekend, but some have longer or shorter seasons. Be sure to check the operating dates and hours of any key destinations before setting out.

This route can be completed in one day, which is how we explored it, but this doesn’t allow time for longer visits to hike or paddle at sites such as provincial parks. Include at least one overnight stop along the way to add these activities to your plans. If you start in North Bay, camping at Grundy Lake Provincial Park or French River Provincial Park are popular options for overnight stays. Alternately, you could start the loop at the French River on Highway 69and plan to stay one or more nights in North Bay.

We’ve laid out the Lake Nipissing Circle Tour below as we completed it, starting in North Bay and following the route in a clockwise direction. If you’d prefer to travel counterclockwise, start at the bottom of the article and work your way up. If you choose to join the route at French River along Highway 69, begin reading at that section below.

North Bay, Gateway of the North

North Bay is the southernmost city in Northeastern Ontario. Its position at the southern junction of Ontario Highways 11 and 17, as well as along historic Voyageur fur trading routes and Canada’s early railways, has led to it being dubbed the Gateway of the North.

With plenty of shallow freshwater beaches, two carousels, a miniature train, at least three enormous playgrounds (including a great splash pad), and its signature spectacular sunsets, North Bay is one of Ontario’s best destinations for unplugged family getaways.

Explore its two excellent museums: the North Bay Museum, which has interesting and interactive exhibits detailing the city’s history, and the Dionne Quintuplets Museum, based in their birth home relocated from nearby Corbeil, Ontario.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 90-minute cruise through Manitou Islands Provincial Park on board the Chief Commanda II. A stroll from there along the waterfront along Kate Pace Way, then beneath the rail underpass, takes you to downtown to explore the great shops, cafés, restaurants, and colourful murals. The FARM Fashion and Main Supply, The Wizard’s Nook and Oddities, Stix and Stones Yarn Boutique, and the Opera Bakery Café are just a few favourites we discovered during our visit.

On Wednesday mornings during the summer and Saturday mornings all year long, the North Bay Farmers Market brings together more than 100 vendors. Each one is vetted to ensure only local products are offered. You’ll find farm-fresh produce, baked goods, artisan-made wares, craft beer, musicians, and much more.

Add in hiking trails like Duchesnay Falls, the Taste the Bay fall prix fixe menu event, and community staples like Terry’s Place and Syl’s Neighbourhood Kitchen for breakfasts and Cecil’s Brewhouse or Moose’s Cookhouse for casual dining, and North Bay makes an excellent home base for Lake Nipissing adventures!

Stay at The Finch, North Bay’s beachfront escape

North Bay has plenty of great accommodation options. But if you want to make the most of the city’s great beaches and beautiful sunsets, book your stay at The Finch Beach Resort. All four cottages are available year-round and share a private beach with lounge chairs and a fire pit. Guests have access to kayaks and canoes (or snowshoes in winter), a barrel sauna, on-site laundry, and a games room with a foosball table and video games. You can even order room service from Churchill’s Prime Rib House!

We scored the Corky cottage for our stay, which has a massive waterfront deck with a barbecue and a walk-out to the beach. Inside, its three bedrooms sleep up to six guests, and it has a large eat-in kitchen and living room with a gas fireplace.

Depart on the Lake Nipissing Circle Tour toward Callander

As you head south from North Bay, the first stop on the Lake Nipissing Circle Tour is Callander. This community is located on the shores of Callander Bay on the southeast point of the lake. Head to Memory Tree Park to see the recently updated Callander Bay Lighthouse, also known as Farquhar Lighthouse, which has quickly become one of the lake’s most iconic views.

Just south of Callander along Highway 94, a lookout provides an alternate angle of the lighthouse and a broader view across Callander Bay.

If you visit the Dionne Quints Museum in North Bay, you may learn about the Big House, a 20-room mansion that was built for the Dionne family by the Ontario Government and paid for by the Dionne Quintuplets trust fund. Today, the Big House is still standing as part of a retirement home called Nipissing Manor. While the facility is private property and visitors are not welcome, you can drive past to see it from the road. You’ll find it just northeast of Callander on Highway 94.

Explore the cottage community of Restoule

From Callander, follow a series of secondary highways to the community of Restoule. Located in an otherwise unpopulated area south of Lake Nipissing, Restoule is best known for its quiet Canadian Shield surroundings, especially at nearby Restoule Provincial Park.

Popular activities at Restoule Provincial Park include hiking — the Fire Tower Trail is the signature trail, which offers a climb to panoramic views of Stormy Lake — as well as paddling, beautiful car camping and backcountry camping, and mountain biking. We haven’t had a chance to explore this park yet, but we’ll update this article once we do.

Campers and cottagers in particular will enjoy Mill Bay Market, a one-stop shop for local products including fresh and frozen meats, produce, and baked goods.

Board’s Honey Farm has a country store focused on products created by its bees such as honey, candles, and skin care products. A bee yard, trail, educational programs, and a playground are also available. In-person visits are welcome on weekends from mid-May to Thanksgiving and seven days a week through July and August.

On the opposite side of Commanda Lake, Stonethrow Pottery offers unique hand-thrown pottery created by Bas Oorschot. More than 30 years of experience goes into his stoneware, ranging from plates and mugs to pitchers and teapots, vases, garlic keepers, platters, and much more. Every piece is lead and cadmium free, and the cookware is dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe. Stonethrow Pottery is open by appointment or on Wednesdays through Saturdays from mid-June until Thanksgiving weekend.

Spend some time by the water in Port Loring

Next, continue westbound along the gentle tree-lined curves of Highway 522 toward Port Loring. This small village on the shores of Wauquimakog Lake is a popular stop for road trippers thanks to The Port Shores, a family-owned destination with counter-service burgers and pizza, a café with freshly baked goods, ice cream, a beautifully curated home decor boutique called Saturdays, and a wraparound deck with gorgeous lakeside views. Guided hikes and boat tours are also available.

Take a break at Grundy Lake Provincial Park

Highway 522 continues westbound through nearly 50 kilometres of untouched rocky Canadian Shield forest before reaching Grundy Lake Provincial Park. With nine expansive campgrounds tucked in among the park’s three major lakes, Grundy Lake is a very popular overnighting spot for travellers along Highway 69, which lies along the park’s western boundary.

Popular activities at Grundy Lake Provincial Park include hiking, paddling, biking on the park’s roads and the Pakeshkag Lake Trail, bird watching, fishing, educational programs, and swimming at the six natural sand beaches.

We haven’t had a chance to explore this park yet, but we’ll update this article with more information once we do.

From here, continue along the Lake Nipissing Circle Tour by joining Highway 69 and heading northbound. For a short stretch, the Lake Nipissing Circle Tour overlaps with the Georgian Bay Circle Tour. Plan a route that combines both to extend your road trip even further!

Check out the Georgian Bay Circle Tour road trip >

Learn more about the French River, a historic canoe route

The French River connects Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay along more than 100 kilometres of deep gorges and rugged forests. It was the first waterway to be designated a Canadian Heritage River thanks to its long history as an important canoe route for First Nations people and Canada’s earliest colonial explorers. Étienne Brûlé, Samuel de Champlain, and Simon Fraser are all known to have passed through this route, among others.

Add your name to the list of people who have explored its waters by visiting French River Provincial Park. The park offers many iconic multiple-day canoeing and kayaking excursion opportunities. Even if you don’t have time for paddling, it’s still well worth stopping at the award-winning visitor centre just off Highway 69. The Voices of the River exhibit gives you a chance to learn more about the river’s history and how to make plans for a longer visit.

Just a few steps away, the William E. Small Bridge on the Recollet Falls Trail offers a bird’s eye view into the French River Gorge. If you have a bit more time, the full Recollet Falls Trail hike is 3 km long and takes less than an hour to complete.

While you’re in the area, stop in at the French River Trading Post. This popular stop along Highway 69 is most famous for its unbelievably smooth house-made fudge. You’ll also find the Hungry Bear Restaurant with burgers, fries, and sandwiches, and the trading post’s extensive collection of clothing, food products, and souvenirs.

If your travels are taking you further north from here, you can continue north on Highway 69 to Sudbury. To continue along the Lake Nipissing Circle Tour, you’ll exit Highway 69 at Highway 64 and begin your return journey to the east.

Take a look at some of the things to do in Sudbury >

Welcome to Franco-Ontarian country

As you turn onto Highway 64, you’ll notice the French influence in this area almost immediately. The many roads and villages that weave over and around the French River have Francophone names, and you’ll likely hear French being spoken whenever you stop to look around. This part of Ontario has many Franco-Ontarian communities, some of them dating back as far as those earliest days of French exploration on the river.

One example of how deeply French roots run in this communities is in a historic sideroad cairn dedicated to Cyrille Monette (born Alexandre Boisvert), who became this area’s first settler in 1895. The village of Monetville earned its name from him, and many of his descendants still live nearby.

Much of Monette’s story has been lost to time, but it’s believed he assumed a pseudonym to avoid notoriety after helping Métis leader Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion in 1869 and 1870. You can spot this historic monument at the roadside by looking for its Canadian and Métis Nation flags between Noëlville and Monetville.

Hike through wetlands at Mashkinonje Provincial Park

Located just north of Monetville, Mashkinonje Provincial Park protects more than 2,000 hectares of wetlands at the western extreme of Lake Nipissing. Some areas are designated as having provincial significance, and the park’s changing landscapes throughout make it an interesting place to observe a variety of natural environments.

This day use park has 30 kilometres of hiking trails with numerous scenic lookouts. These are accessible from four parking areas, including three directly off Highway 64, as well as some water access points off Lake Nipissing.

We haven’t yet had a chance to explore Mashkinonje Provincial Park, but we’ll update this article with more information once we do.

Explore West Nipissing, Ontario’s most bilingual community

Once you’ve passed Mashkinonje Provincial Park along Highway 64, you’ll enter the municipality of West Nipissing. When this amalgamation of towns, villages, townships, and unorganized areas along Lake Nipissing’s north shore was created in 1999, it became the most bilingual community in Ontario with more than 73% of its population fluent in both English and French.

Roughly here is where you’ll notice a transition from Canadian Shield into agricultural lands. This area is dotted with numerous farm markets and roadside farm stands where you can pick up seasonal fresh produce, preserves, and other locally made items.

Highway 64 ends as it meets Highway 17 in the village of Verner. Stop to view the beautiful Saint-Jean-Baptiste Catholic Church and read the historic plaque about the Reverend Charles Alfred Marie Paradis, who travelled from his birthplace of Kamouraska, Quebec, to this area as a missionary and encouraged many French-Canadian farming families to settle here.

Head around the corner to the Granite Ridge Country Market to pick up some fresh bread, local produce, artisan-made products, and a pick-me-up from the café.

As you turn eastbound on Highway 17, be sure to stop in at The Cutter’s Edge. This enormous and beautiful shop almost defies description: it has carefully curated Canadian-made furniture, housewares, and men’s and women’s fashion departments. There’s just one risk with stopping here: you may fall in love with a large piece of furniture and need to figure out how to get it home!

Take in waterfront views and dueling chip trucks in Sturgeon Falls

Sturgeon Falls is the largest population centre within West Nipissing. Founded on the railway, lumber, and pulp and paper industries, today this area is a popular destination for road trippers and summer cottagers.

Minnehaha Bay is a scenic spot on the Sturgeon River. An outpost of Twiggs Coffee Roasters offers a place to enjoy a coffee or lunch with a view of the marina.

Further down the river, Leisure Farms sells its own produce, including everbearing strawberries that are available for much of the summer, along with house-made preserves and baked goods. Seasonal events include the Weekend at the Pumpkin Patch and Adult Fright Night.

We’re also told that chip trucks are a thing in Sturgeon Falls. Two popular ones, Riv Chip Stand and Larry’s Chip Stand, have been directly across the road from one another for decades and each have loyal followings among locals and cottagers alike.

As you cross over the Sturgeon River on Highway 17, the small Sturgeon Falls Lookout Park provides a view of the Crystal Falls Generating Station and a historic plaque detailing the town’s founding.

The Sturgeon River House Museum is a pioneer village that presents the history of Canada’s 17th and 18th-century fur trade. A series of nature trails winds through the nearby marsh. We didn’t get a chance to visit — note the museum is open from Tuesday to Friday in July and August only — but we’ll add more information here once we do.

Make one final stop as you continue eastbound on Highway 17 at the Lake Nipissing Lookout. This will provide the best views of the entire route over the beautiful Lake Nipissing. Conclude your Lake Nipissing Circle Tour by returning to North Bay.

Explore more Ontario road trips >