Hiking.
The White Bear Forest's old-growth red and white pine — trees commonly 200 to 300 years old, with the oldest aged red pine 400 years in 1999 — carries about 17 km of interconnected trails accessible from O'Connor Drive in town or by portage from Cassels Lake. The Caribou Mountain Fire Tower trail climbs above the train station to the 1961-vintage 100-foot steel tower, and the Maple Mountain Trail in Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater PP tops out at 642 m on the peak with the greatest vertical rise of any in Ontario.
The brief.
The town hikes (White Bear, Caribou Mountain) are accessible day-hikes — Caribou Mountain has a chalet at its base, and visitors can drive to the tower if they prefer to skip the climb (the tower is closed in winter for safety; the lower viewing platforms remain open). White Bear's 17 km network is volunteer-stewarded by the Friends of Temagami old-growth-trail partnership and threads multiple small old-growth pine pockets at easy to intermediate grade.
The wilderness summits — Maple Mountain (642 m, greatest vertical rise of any peak in Ontario, called Chee-bay-jing by the Teme-Augama Anishnabai) and Ishpatina Ridge (693 m, Ontario's highest point of land) — both sit inside Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater PP and are reached by canoe. The Maple Mountain Trail itself is 3.2 km return on roughly a 2.5-hour day hike to the summit fire tower; Ishpatina is more remote.
Best season is May through October.
5. places.
- 01
White Bear Forest old-growth trail network
~17 km of interconnected trails through old-growth red and white pine; access from O'Connor Drive in town or by portage from Cassels Lake.
- 02
Caribou Mountain Fire Tower trail
Short steep climb from O'Connor Drive / Jack Guppy Way to the 100-foot tower above town; views over Lake Temagami.
- 03
Maple Mountain Trail (Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater PP)
3.2 km linear trail, ~2.5 hr return, summits at 642 m (greatest vertical rise of any Ontario peak) at a fire tower; reached by canoe via Mowat Landing.
- 04
Ishpatina Ridge (Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater PP)
Ontario's highest point of land at 693 m; backcountry access only; rises over Scarecrow Lake.
- 05
Municipal Fire Tower Trail
Eleven documented points of interest along the route to the Caribou Mountain tower; municipal admission applies at the tower base.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.
By the book.
- 01The Caribou Mountain Fire Tower is closed for winter climbing for safety; viewing platforms at the base of the tower remain accessible.Source ↗
- 02The municipal Fire Tower has a small per-person admission fee at the tower base.Source ↗
- 03Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is a wilderness-class park with motorboat restrictions in effect; access to the Maple Mountain and Ishpatina trailheads is by canoe.Source ↗