Michipicoten Island

Sea Kayak the Island in the Mist

Explore Lake Superior’s mystical floating isle by sea kayak.

We charter a local boat to take us across the 60 kilometres open water between Michipicoten Bay and Michipicoten Island, landing at the East End Lighthouse. From here, we begin our circumnavigation. This trip captures the remote, forgotten nature of Michipicoten. Once shunned by First Nations peoples as a place of malevolent giants, Michipicoten became one of Ontario’s most promising sources of copper and an easy access point to Lake Superior’s seemingly endless bounty of fish in the early 1900s. Since then, the copper mine and fishing village have been abandoned. All that remains are old mine shafts, ramshackle buildings and flourishing populations of woodland caribou and beaver. Throw in a couple of lighthouses and a few shipwrecks and you've got everthing all wrapped up in  this island expedition. The coastline is rugged and makes for spectacular paddling for those with previous sea kayaking experience.

Your trip begins with a half-day group safety and paddling skills workshop at our Rock Island Lodge and Lake Superior Paddling Centre. We end the day with a fresh whitefish dinner. Advanced reservations are required if you’d like to spend Saturday night in our Rock Island Lodge, however we reserve a number of campsites for trip participants on our sandy lakeside beach. The trip begins with a five-hour boat shuttle to Michipicoten Island. We end the trip with a return boat shuttle to the mainland.

This trip is designed for intermediate paddlers. Your enjoyment will be enhanced if you are in good physical condition and comfortable with wilderness camping. Lake Superior is mostly calm in summer, but when it gets rough we enjoy the view from shore. Although each group will travel according to its own pace, we tend to spend most of the day on the water leaving lots of time for covering the distance and exploring.

You will be responsible for carrying a portion of the group gear in your kayak, as well as your tent, sleeping bag and personal gear. Don't worry about cooking or clean-up – all food preparation is taken care of by our wilderness chefs!

Our trip itinerary provides for one to two wind days to better ensure a safe trip. Still, rough conditions on the lake can prohibit safe boat travel and delay trip start and finish.

Equipment and Services – Partially Outfitted Trip

We Provide: Professional instruction and guiding; BBQ dinner on Saturday evening and all meals to the following Saturday afternoon; boat and vehicle shuttles; all group safety, camping, cooking, eating and sanitation gear.

You Provide: Fully outfitted expedition sea kayak (minimum 16.5 feet in length with two sealed bulkheads – rudder or skeg are recommended), tent, sleeping bag and pad and all personal equipment and clothing. A detailed recommended list is provided on registration.

Outfitting: We have expedition outfitted sea kayaks ($20 day) and tents ($5 day) available at reduced rates for trip guests who prefer to use our equipment.

Michipicoten Island is Lake Superior’s most remote and distinctive island. We only schedule this trip once each year and limit participation due to boat shuttle capacity. We hope you can join us.

Check out more photos of this trip in our Photo Gallery.

Want more information? Contact us by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 1-800-203-9092.