Slate Islands Provincial Park
Slate Islands Provincial Park is our brilliant gem on the waters of Lake Superior. Approximately 12 km (7.5 miles) south of Terrace Bay, on the Canadian North Shore of the Lake, Slate Islands Provincial Park is a 7 km-wide (0.6-miles) archipelago touched by a history of logging, mining, early Oneota and Iroquoian campsites, and a resilient herd of woodland caribou that migrated over by ice bridge most recently in 1907.
To explore the Slates, visitors first need to plan their adventure or charter a boat for the crossing. If you are an experienced and strong kayaker, you can make the crossing by kayak. However, it is very important—due to the changing weather conditions on the Lake—that kayakers have a back-up mode of transportation available to support a crossing.
In the event of any difficulties, while very uncommon, it is important that visitors also pack food and bring shelter when making the trip.
Before camping on the Slates, non-Canadian visitors must first purchase a
crown land camping permit. In order to preserve the Slates for the caribou, please do not leave trash on the island, use the existing campsites and do not create new campsites in other areas (
backcountry camping etiquette).
A great fact about the Slates, with complete lack of light pollution and the right atmospheric conditions, visitors are able to experience the Northern Lights without having to travel so far up north!
At present, there are no facilities on the island, with the exceptions of the Lighthouse and Lighthouse Keeper’s Residence.
For visitors interested in fishing (permits are required for
resident and
non-residents), there are healthy populations of lake trout in and around the archipelago.